Mary's Diary (Part 12)

Maria Berg (72) made a wish come true: she moved to Thailand in October 2012 and she has no regrets. Her family calls her an ADHD senior and she agrees. Maria worked as an animal caretaker, student nurse, animal ambulance driver, lady bartender, activity supervisor in day care and as a caretaker C in private home care. She was not very stable either, because she lived in Amsterdam, Maastricht, Belgium, Den Bosch, Drenthe and Groningen.

Kismet (Fate), or: It was meant to be

Berta, the mother dog, who went from outdoor dog to garden dog and then became a house dog, I wanted to have sterilized. In Kamphaen Saen, where I live, they sterilize in the veterinary clinic, only using the old-fashioned method and I didn't want that.

I preferred laparoscopy, the fallopian tubes are cut through a small hole and the dog is completely back to normal the same evening. So no major surgery and a row of stitches. This was only possible in Hua Hin, there is the only veterinary clinic in Thailand where they can do this.

Tuesday November 12th was the day, a week earlier at the veterinary clinic with me for a blood test, that report went with us. The operation would take place at 13 pm, a Thai friend went with me and the tuktuk driver took us with a normal car. This man, a dog owner himself, even agreed that the dog was in the back seat.

To my great dismay we were too late, already in Hua Hin, but not yet at the veterinary clinic. My girlfriend called the clinic at my request and to my surprise it was said that this was no problem at all. 13:20 we were there. After completing all the formalities, I was allowed into the operating room and held Berta until the anesthesia took effect. We would be called after an hour or two, then everything had to be over.

We went to eat something, for this we chose the recommended shopping center Plearn Wan. In photos it looks very nice; in real life I personally think it's kitsch from the top shelf. Ate something there and that was nice and then back to the veterinary clinic.

When three hours had passed instead of two hours, I asked how things were going. After a short wait, someone from the operating team appeared. With this method of sterilization, they first look at everything inside with a mini camera. They found a 5 cm hole in the abdominal wall. To close this, a second operation was necessary: ​​this one through a cut and several stitches.

After this operation I was invited to watch the whole operation on film so that I knew what they had done. That was a bit of a shock, a really big hole and I could also see on the film how they closed it, really fantastic. What was even more fantastic was the bill. For laparoscopy you pay 6000 baht, with the second operation at 6950 baht with medication.

Why did I start now Kismet? If I had opted for the old-fashioned surgery and not gone to Hua Hin, the hole in her abdomen would never have been found and she would have been dead within half a year. So it had to be.

At 22 pm we were back home. Berta carried inside. We both slept on one side of my corner sofa. As drunk as she still was, she crawled right up there.

It is now the next day and she has eaten for the first time. On the 19th again to the clinic here for a check-up, then we've had that again.

The price differences

When you get a little familiar with Kamphaen Saen, you notice that you really have to do a price comparison. A plastic basket with a lid, in which the cats can stretch out, costs 400 baht at one store and 250 baht at another. What a difference! A large pen for other animals: 850 baht at one store and 700 baht at the other. The famous Colden Cup Balm: at one store 80 baht, at the other 2 for 105 baht. Canned dog or cat food is also priced differently at every store. In the Netherlands I was not very price conscious, here you become it automatically.

The surprise

Two days after the Hua Hin adventure with the mother dog, the tuktuk driver was at my door early in the morning. In his car hung from the mirror a glass ball with three Buddhas in it. I had looked into this. It was explained to me that these three Buddhas represent the three seasons. I had never seen.

The driver had bought one for me and brought it to me, because I had gone all the way to Hua Hin for the dog. It made me completely embarrassed; how very sweet of such a man, what a surprise.

Second surprise

If, as often happens, I have worked in the garden all morning, I sometimes sleep for an hour at noon. My son came to surprise me, we went for ice cream. Well I didn't know anything, so I went to sleep. My son and my grandchildren stood there calling at my bedroom window. Only, apparently I slept so deeply, I heard nothing. Too bad for them that they had come to me for nothing and sorry for me that I missed the ice cream, because I love ice cream.

Flowers

When I cycle to the supermarket, I come across flowers on the way that I have never seen, one more beautiful than the other. This time I brought my camera. I send those photos to people in the Netherlands, to show what flowers I encounter along the way.

Lots of yellow, orange, or yellow with orange, one more beautiful than the other. A flower, yellow with orange, growing on a bush at the water's edge, has a very beautiful plume growing from the heart. Another flower, also yellow with orange, grows in the water on very long stems. They are beautiful, I enjoy them again with full breaths.

We went to the veterinary clinic for a check-up. Berta only had one external stitch, she is completely healed again, that's great, only she still sleeps a lot. I didn't have to pay anything, which is great too.

Part 11 of Maria's Diary appeared on October 27.

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