Rigby was curled up in a ball under his
mosquito net, moaning and slowly rocking back and forth, which is his
usual reaction to a fever, he was barely able to acknowlede our
presence but after a while made it clear that his ear was in
significant pain. We knew his ear could possibly be infected
yesterday as the weeping had started again, so he was already on the
antibiotics, we attempted to put some more antibiotic drops into his
ear, at which point the screaming started! There could not be an area
on this small 60 acre island that was not immediately alerted to
Rigby's pain.
The immediate panic threw the rest of
us into hasty action! Imogen got busy, quickly responding to Mummy's
orders, picking up bits and bobs and placing in which ever bag was
closest, in a quiet and efficient fashion. Mummy took on prime carer
role and rapidly took Rigby's side and tried to limit the pain and
nurse him to some form of stability. I ran, rapidly at first, in a
south westerly direction. Then on realising my directional error,
less rapidly in an easterly direction, as I continued to question my
route and purpose. The running turned to jogging and then walking and
then for a short moment to a standstill. A level of sanity then
prevailed, a plan and a direction for its execution entered my mind.
I then ran very fast in a northerly direction just as a second set of
whails started to come from Rigby's direction.
Wally's wife was tinkering with the
generator (definitely woman's work!) and I told her of our immediate
need to leave the island to get to Trang. Trang is a town on the
mainland which I remember has a moderate level of facilities. 45
minutes later and we are on a longtail boat heading for the mainland,
Rigby's head in Mum's lap, Imogen and Dad looking concerned and
serious about the situation. I had dug out the insurance details and
have googled the exact location of an english speaking doctor, and
frankly I had the nearest hospital address close to hand aswell.
With just a mile or two to go to reach
the mainland, Rigby turns his head round to me and suddenly opens
his eyes wide and bright and says. “ Dad I've a cool new blog
entry. Let's do one on Transport” at which point he bolts his head
up and continues “ We can do each boat and train, tuc-tuc, and
pick-up and post a picture next to it Dude” Yes I am afraid this
travelling lark has lead everyone to calling each other “Dude”
This comment was the start of the most
miraculous recovery, and by the time we got to the mainland he was
jumping around in his normal state. Obviously we were extremely happy
to see him back, but equally ready to strangle him!
So today we are in Trang, a medium
sized town just off the western coast of Thailand. We are staying in
a very large hotel that has not been updated since its build in the
mid sixty's, at which point I am sure it was the most impressive hotel
in the whole of southern Thailand. It is a fantastic display of
sixty's opulence, but with vast empty spaces, crumbling wallpaper, and
no more than a dozen occupants. The Thumin Hotel is a cross between
the Shining and an original Vegas resort. The surreal feel will make
it the ideal place to rest and make sure Rigby is definitely fully
back to normal. The question is, how will this change the journey
from here?
Pictures from the last few days:
Posing on the boat with Koh Lanta in the background
The Kids on the front of the boat
A tropical storm led to extended School of Mum and Dad
Our Beach on Kradan
After Rigby's miraculous recovery
Tuc Tuc to hotel in Trang
Our Surreal Hotel in Trang
Pictures from the last few days:
Posing on the boat with Koh Lanta in the background
First sighting of Kradan... very small!
The Kids on the front of the boat
A tropical storm led to extended School of Mum and Dad
Our Beach on Kradan
After Rigby's miraculous recovery
Tuc Tuc to hotel in Trang
Our Surreal Hotel in Trang
Poor Felix. I know the pain well. Mine was so bad I got TIM up in the middle of the night to take me to A+E. got seen by doctor who prescribed amoxicillin. On walk back to car I felt a pop and stuff dripping out of said ear. Disgusting I know but VOILA !!! no pain anymore. :))) so maybe it was the same for Riggers.
ReplyDeleteWell done Immy for keeping your head and helping mummy!!
Any way it was lovely seeing and talking to you on Skype today. Especially your front tooth James. Tomorrow we are off to a fireworks display. Catch up soon,
Much love
steph dose this remind you of a time when your ear erupted on hols in wittering still every-thing turned out for the best next time we vidio call we would like to speak to james as we have not yet done so or seen much of him love mum/dadxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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