I got the phone call every parent dreads at 5am...my son was in a Bali hospital with a serious injury.I immediately got in contact with my TA for advice as to the best place he should be and I was told BIMC. He was in Sanglah Hospital Denpasar, so I rang my good Balinese friend and told him to get there asap and get him moved to the other hospital whilst i organised a flight. I was on the next flight out of Perth at 1.30pm. I will try and keep it short and uncomplicated!
He had tried to push a window open and his arm went straight through the glass ,slicing his forearm below the elbow right across.The gaping wound was very deep and cut thru muscle ,veins and nerves.Blood spurted and gushed all over and it seemed as though a major artery had been damaged ,his mate did a tourniquet to slow the bleed but it didnt work for long so his girlfriend literally put her fingers in the wound to add pressure and clamped it shut with her other hand .
they got to reception and staff horrified at all the blood put him in a van expecting they'd be taken to a hospital,instead they were driven to a "clinic" Hysterical and fighting to keep my son conscious his GF yelled to be taken to hospital but staff wanted to see if they could help. So she released the pressure slightly to cover all in blood. Then the clinic staff in panic agreed that hospital was best.
They arrived at BIMC and at this stage he was feeling the effects of the blood loss and believed he may die as he said his body felt heavy and weak and he was incoherent and slipping away. This was around 3am, they had rushed out and not taken their wallets or money,at BIMC he was attended to ...cotton wadding stuffed into the wound and a pressure bandage stopped the bleeding. No travel Insurance documents on them ,no money on them as everything was left in the hotel room. So they were then told this hospital was full no beds available and he needed an operation and needed to pay for an ambulance to transfer him to Denpasar.Thats when I got the phone call.
They were lucky his mate had his wallet and a credit card, they charged him 5.5million and an Ambulance would take him. Thats how he ended up at Sanglah hospital.Here they had no idea how to put in a canula or a drip and stabbed around his hand till they thought it was right.they then handed him the drip bag while they went off to find a coat hanger to hang it on a cupboard.He noticed that a huge air bubble was in the line and he wanted it out, then the blood was running up the line instead of the fluid running into him.The language barrier was frustrating for all.They both felt alienated and scared, feeling they were not getting the medical treatment that he needed.
They were insisting on taking him to theatre for an op and was handed paper work to sign all in indonesian and no one to explain.My balinese friend arrived in time to insist the drip be removed and that he had been instructed by me that my son be moved to BIMC immediately.Things moved ahead quickly as he was told to pay up front for the ambulance back, this time it only cost 700,000 as Agus had paid for it himself.
Arriving again at BIMC in Kuta they were surprised to see him again, this time they were less resistant in giving him a bed.His GF was picked up by hotel staff to get their things and to get the travel insurance papers from their safe.
The travel insurance company were amazing ,making sure the team of dr's and nurses from the insurance were able to assess him via phone and with photos of the wound sent via mobile they decide he definitely needed to get to Perth for an operation. At this stage my son and his GF were getting confused with the decision to make, as the hospital was saying it wasnt safe to fly he needed the op in Bali and the theatre was on stand by and That he may die if he bleeds out on the plane. I just told them to wait till i got there as long as he was stable enough.It was the worst flight of my life.
I arrived at 6pm and he was looking very exhausted but still with us and alert.I spoke to the hospital staff and the Insurance team.I was getting conflicting advice to put him on that plane or not. When the nurse on the phone said to me it is risky but the risk of this type of micro surgery in Bali compared to complications on the flight, if it were her son she would not risk an operation in Bali. As a family we decided the flight would be less risky.
The travel insurance had arranged a business class Garuda flight with a dr to be with him the whole way from BIMC to Royal Perth Hospital.The Dr arrived at BIMC hospital around 7pm and I scrutinized her qualifications and asked exactly what she could do if something went wrong, she was a lovely Indonesian Dr with good English and comunication skills that put me at ease to have my sons life in her hands. He was bundled into an ambulance with his GF and the Dr and off to get the 8pm to Perth.
We waved the ambulance goodbye and then i fell in a heap for a few seconds as my husband consoled me, and in typical Bali style there is always a laugh... a few minutes later the ambulance drove past again as it had to do a u turn and come back past the hospital lights flashing and again we waved them on.
We had a giggle and went off to find accomodation. That night was hard to wait for news to see if they had arrived safely.
The flight went well and he was met at perth by an ambulance and had surgery at RPH. He was very lucky according to the surgeon as he had just missed the main artery and wouldnt have survived for sure He is recovering well and will have full use of his arm in time.
I am sharing this story to warn those that dont think they need travel insurance. You cant go without it ...it may save your life and you must always have your copy of the policy number and the travel insurance contact info on you in your wallet at all times. In an emergency the last thing your going to do is search through your documents in the safe. It is of no use there and as seen in this instance, hospitals want to know that they are going to get paid before they commit to treatment.That was our experience anyway.
I am thankful to all that helped us through this ordeal and extremely grateful and thankful to the travel insurance company and our friends in Bali, this could have turned out very differently without insurance. As my son put it ..."it was the best $90 he ever spent" it really isn't much to pay for peace of mind now is it????