medical tourism

There's a trend these days for folks to travel to Thailand (and other South-East Asian environs) for cheap medical care or inexpensive plastic surgery. I read that after our favourite hospital (the amusingly-named Bumrungrand International) was featured on 60 Minutes, they were swamped with over 7000 inquiries the next day. As for non-life-threatening operating room visits for treats like big, fake, glow-in-the-dark boobs, I've read that it's becoming very popular for people to combine beach holidays with nips 'n tucks 'n stuffings. I suppose it all makes sense. After all, who wouldn't like to get treated quickly, professionally, and inexpensively at a hospital where there are starched-apron-wearing maids who stand at attention beside the delightful hot tea and water carts? And really, if you went to all the trouble of having plastic bags of goop inserted under your chest skin, wouldn't you want to have the opportunity to show off the results on a warm sandy beach next to a sparkling green ocean before having to return to the land of sweaters and potato-pale skin?

Well, knowing that my family would want to be on the cutting edge of any new travel trend, I carefully arranged for them to enjoy a veritable hospital touring extranvaganza for their last week in Thailand. No botox or fat-suctioning, just plenty of good ol' examinations rewarded with heaps of tasty penicillin!

As I wrote previously, I started off this fantastic tour by arranging to have my son come down with a thrilling flu / ear infection combo while holidaying in Hua Hin. A tuk tuk ride to the clinic seemed to be just the thing that Mum would enjoy taking her grandson on. And what better way to top off a trip to the beach than a hot, foodless, extravagantly-delayed train ride back to Bangkok?

Unfortunately, Cathie's experience with the "rice flour" naan bread in Luang Prabang didn't require hospitalization. But I did make sure that the very night that we met back up with Cathie, Mum and Emma in Chiang Mai Ji would have a screamingly painful recurrence of his ear infection. Oh how Phet and I chuckled as we woke up every hour on the hour to hear Ji's agonized screams and cries of pain. We patted ourselves on the back (very gently, as we lay with 4 inches of space each and without pillows, so as not to disturb our darling son once he'd fallen asleep). We were part of the growing group of medical tourists! Yes!

The next morning not only were we able to take Ji to the Chiang Mai Ram International Hospital, but we took Mum as well! She had very helpfully organized herself into a handy-dandy sinus infection. She and Ji bonded adorably as they were both seen by the same ENT specialist. And weren't they excited when they walked away from the hospital with the souvenier we all covet...drugs! Not to be outdone, Emma later increased her previously only high-danger level migraine up to a near-death-may-never-return-to-Canada-or-think-again level migraine. While Mum went to get an herbal steam massage to try to combat her stranglingly harsh cough, Emma zipped over to another hospital and was rewarded with a great pack of Tylenol 2s and other treaties.

Last but certainly not least, Mum double-dog won the whole contest by taking time out from her busy shopping and dining schedule to drop by ye olde Bumrungrad hospital for a post-infection check up once we were back in Bangkok. Diagnosis by the head of the ENT department and the audiologist? A cold. Not likely to bother her on her flight (darn, no brain combustion follow-up to the pain of the Chaing Mai to Bangkok trip).

Oooh, and I forgot to mention that because of Ji's ear infection he was unable to fly back to Bangkok. Instead, Phet took him on the eleven hour bus ride back home, arriving at the apartment at 3 am - just in time to get two and a half hours of sleep before waking up to go to work for an all day meeting! Oh goody! [On The Road-12-October-2005]