Page 46 of Seashells at The Summer Hotel Lovely Bay
‘I know. You’ve got a severe case of the flu, and they were worried about pneumonia, but you're getting the best care. The doctors are on top of it. Honestly, they’ve been brilliant. You’re out of the woods by the looks of it.’
Nina shook her head. ‘It feels like more than the flu. The last thing I remember was feeling as if my throat was closing and I couldn’t breathe.’
‘Yup. The doctor said it’s influenza, compounded by dehydration and the strain of travel.’
‘Wow.’
‘They’ve been great, really on the ball. Thank goodness the hotel did what they did. I couldn’t believe it when I got the call. I came right away.’
Nina tried to nod, but even that small movement sent a wave of dizziness through her. ‘I was so scared in the ambulance,’ she confessed. ‘Everything was such a blur.’
Robby squeezed her hand again. ‘You just need to focus on getting better.’
The room was silent for a moment, except for the beeping of the machines and the distant sounds of the hospital. Nina feltreallyvulnerable. ‘I don’t like this. How did I end up here?’ She tried to make a joke. ‘I thought we were going to a floating market when you got here.’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus.’
‘Thankfully not, and you’re on the mend. You scared me, Neens, but you’re going to be okay.’
28
It was a day or so later, and Nina felt weak but better. She’d been administered fluids, what she’d been told were antivirals, and strong pain relief to manage her symptoms. As she sat up in bed, the noise from the TV of the patient in the next room mingled with the distant sounds of the hospital. It was no longer an effort to breathe, but her throat was still sore, and she was still coughing more than she’d ever thought possible. Her sense of smell was dulled, but she could still detect a faint antiseptic smell that seemed to permeate the room, a constant reminder that she was in a hospital. Occasionally, the smell of food would waft in, a trolley would go past and a member of the staff would pop their head around the door with a smile to check that she was okay.
From her window, she could see the skyscrapers of Bangkok, and somewhere from below, she could hear the traffic, sirens, and the street vendors now a hum. As Nina stared out the window, she could almost feel the humidity outside and she thought about how odd it felt to be in a hospital in what was, to her, a very foreign land. The nurses and doctors, though, had been amazing. Seemingly very good at their jobs, at the same time as being kind and diligent. Despite that, she couldn’t wait toget out of the place. Hospitals were so not her thing. Overall, the whole experience had not been too bad. Obviously, she would have preferred not to end up struck down by influenza and hospitalised on the other side of the world, but it hadn’t been too bad at all.
After a chat with a nurse and something to eat, she had enough energy to shower, and just as she’d put on a clean pair of pyjamas, her phone rang with a call from her mum. She answered the call. ‘Hello, Mum, how are you?’
‘How am I? How are you more like?’
‘On the mend. I’ve just had a shower and I’m going back to the hotel soon. Definitely turned a corner.’
‘Good to hear.’ Nina’s mum said, with a relieved tone in her voice.
‘I’m feeling much better, thank you.’
‘I spoke to Robby last night,’ Nina’s mum said. ‘He said he thought you were on the mend, and it seems as if another night’s sleep has meant that you are. Thank heavens. I’ve been worried sick.’
‘The care here has been brilliant, I have to say.’
‘Yes, yes, from what you’ve told me and the pictures Robby sent me, it seems you’ve done okay.’
‘I have.’
‘Not that I wanted you to get sick in Thailand, but maybe it’s the place to do it.’ Nina’s mum chuckled. ‘I don’t think I’ll be taking my chances on trying it.’
‘Everyone has been amazing.’
‘Yep, Robby said. ‘You have to be careful these days. I’ve heard some horror stories about people getting their teeth done in Turkey.’
Nina rolled her eyes. Going to Turkey for a new set of teeth was hardly in the same ballpark as what she had just been through. Everything she’d seen in the hospital, not that she wasa medical expert, had actually made her feel more than safe and in quite capable hands. But maybe her mum was right, and you never did know.
‘Anyway, I wonder if you would have received the same on the good old NHS,’ her mum asked.
‘Who knows?’
‘So, if you’re being discharged, what are you going to do about your flights?’
