The Accident
We went out for lunch before our afternoon yoga session. At lunch, we agreed to stay at the retreat for 3 additional days because we were enjoying it so much. Annie was just starting to feel better again after her stomach was bothering her. On the way home on our bikes, Annie sped by Adam up a really big hill. On the way down, her hat started to fly off and she instinctively reached to grab it before it fell off. She was off balance, her bike swayed left and right, before eventually she flew over her handlebars on her left side onto the pavement.
It was SCARY! Here we were in the middle of nowhere on a remote island, hours away from any real medical services. She wasn’t wearing a helmet, but thankfully her left hip and elbow took most of the impact. To make matters worse, she was wearing only a bathing suit, which facilitated a very healthy road burn on her upper left back and hip.
We walked back to the lodge with blood dripping down Annie’s back (we've saved you from these pictures). We went straight for the local clinic, where absolutely no English was spoken. After seeing the unlabeled jars of clear liquid, we decided it was time to leave and head for a more legitimate medical establishment. We paid the clinic $13 for their “services”, then bribed a boatman $250 to drive us back to mainland Phuket, then to Phuket International Hospital.
Phuket International Hospital is legit. Almost everyone that we saw in the Emergency Room was there due to motorbiking accidents. In fact, everyone kept asking Annie, "Motorbike?" And she would honestly reply back, "Nope, a regular bicycle. I fell off the regular kind." We were incredibly lucky that she only suffered some deep cuts and roadburn as opposed to broken bones or brain injury.
Recovery in Phuket
We’ve been on the road for about 8 action-packed weeks. We took Annie’s bicycle accident as a sign to slow down. With road burn on her back and left side, it was impossible for her to lift her backpack, and getting around was a significant challenge. We cashed in some credit card points and posted up at a resort on the southeastern side of Phuket. Every day, we took a taxi back to Phuket International Hospital for Annie’s wound cleanings.
Most importantly, the hotel boasted a foosball table tucked in one of the back alleys between lines of hotel rooms. Over the course of Annie’s 6 days of recovery, we played 56 games, which ultimately ended in an all-square tie at 28-28. It's a good thing Annie's mobility was limited so that Adam had a fighting chance.