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Jack and I went out in Hoi An, Vietnam, doing the whole $5 all you can drink thing – which looking back was 100% a bad idea. Not because of the stitches (because it had nothing to do with it) but because of the hangover and liver damage I incurred the next day. (And seriously, throwing up with stitches where you frow your brow, SUCKS).
Anyway, we went out and polluted our livers with all you can drink Hanoi Vodka, aka rubbing alcohol. As for those who have traveled Vietnam, Vietnam is very hot. So drunk and hot is never a good mix.
I hopped into bed fanning myself, and Jack turns the AC on high. So high, it ends up blowing the AC plastic panel out and it nails me right in between the eyes. I got lucky that it missed my eyes, like seriously, a few centimeters away and it would have been a bad story.
In our drunken stooper, I managed to bleed everywhere, Jack patched me up (poorly) and the woman took me to the nearest hospital. And by hospital, I mean a woman she knew who happened to have stitching equipment.
We walked into this woman’s house, as her husband was watching some sort of telemundo Vietnam and making (what smelled) a delicious breakfast. She props me onto her counter, lays me down, yells at me in Vietnamese, and starts stitching me up. Since it was in between my eyes, I got front row seats to watch all the stitching cross-eyed.
Basically, from here on out, I ruined every picture with my bandaid mark. I called my mom 4 days later and told her “Mom, I got stitches.” And she’s yelling at me. “ I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO ANYTHING ADVENTUROUS OR STUPID!!!” “ BUT, BUT MOM, I WAS IN BED!!”
Stitches from an aircon panel. Not skydiving, not bungee jumping, not swimming with the sharks. From bed. Ugh, how lame.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]However, throughout traveling Asia, people would come up to me and be like…“you’re bandaid girl. We know your story!” I was a Southeast Asian Backpacker Legend. And regardless, I ROCKED it![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I still have a scar, but I like to call it my permanent memory!
If this ever happens to you, please be aware of a few things:
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]- I was really lucky. The hotel offered to pay for my stitches, check ups, and my hotel stay. (No, I didn’t threaten to sue. There’s no point.) However, not all people are as kind and caring as they were. Make sure you have travel insurance to claim back all expenses. My travel insurance reimbursed us for all creams, bandaids and ointments I purchased on further travels. I can’t recommend travel insurance enough.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]- Note where the closest good hospital is where you are traveling. Since we were in third world countries, healthcare is not the greatest. Although it happened in Hoi An, we got the inspection and stitches removal at an international hospital in Da Lat. International hospitals also help for less miscommunication in regards on how to clean and maintain the wound.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]- We brought an excellent medical kit in case anything happened filled with bandaids, disinfectant, alcohol wipes, and cotton swabs. Mind you, I brought a bunch of Spongebob and Barbie bandaids because I thought it would be hilarious if Jack got hurt and had to wear one of these. Well, guess who had to wear Cinderella and Patrick smack in the middle of her face? This guy. Just be smart when creating your medical kit.
– Stay out of fresh water, dirt, or dust to avoid infection. Clean it every day to clear out any bacteria and dirt that may have gone into the wound.
– Make sure the equipment the doctors use are new and sterilized. After this incident, I was having a lot of stomach pain and mouth ulcers. Going back and forth to the hospital, a doctor noted it could possibly be HIV from unsterilized needles used in the stitching. Terrified, I obviously did every test possible right away. Waiting a whole week to hear back the results was one of the most stressful and scary weeks of my life. It turns out it was not HIV (Fun fact, it was Crohn’s not caused by this incident but a story for later), I felt very lucky because it honestly could have been since I was not aware of the quality of the equipment.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Do you have any crazy stories? Tell us about them!
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Awwww poor Jenn! Its ok you still rocked those band-aids!
Crazy story, girl! Be careful. Now I really worry about you xxxx :-) I was bitten by a spider in China and my face got infected, but I recovered after few week :-)!
I was bitten by something in cambodia! Oh man, I’m the most accident prone!
OMG! What a night….
I guess you are right, there was no point on suing them and happy that you are still alive hahah
I bet everywhere you go now, you look up before you sit or lay down!
haha thank you! it was quite a fun story in the end! but I am definitely skeptical where I put my face now….
Hahaha, that´s so hilarious. I´m surprised it didn´t happen to me (yet). I just got a nasty case of dengue in Cambodia, which was not really that funny, eh.
Dang! Dengue does not sound pleasant!
‘You’re band aid girl’ – LOVE how you ended up being legendary! But, sorry to hear about your accident and like all the advice you share in this post. It’s more likely to have a ‘lame’ accident like falling off a curb and twisting your ankle or burning yourself on an oven (yes, you guessed it, both my own lame travel accidents), but in reality who would want worse? You are very lucky it didn’t hit your eyes and managed to get such speedy aftercare! Thanks for sharing!
I can’t believe how lucky you are that it avoided hitting your eye!! Seriously so happy you are okay!! And those band-aids are too hilarious! I can totally picture doing the same thing! Hahah! Glad you’re okay, dear! xx
Thankfully it missed your eyes! My husband was bitten by a monkey in Vietnam and just a week later he got food poisoning. Most expensive doctors visit ever, but thankfully we got everything back from the insurance. I thought he will never come to Asia with me ever again but since then we have travelled through several countries in Southeast Asia.