Post-op Day 24:
I want to take this time to talk about the good and the bad about this experience so far. Most things I say in this post I've already mentioned earlier so I guess we could call this a summary of my experience in Thailand.
THE GOOD:Dr. Suporn and the clinic staff - They are simply amazing. The aftercare is simply amazing. The first night out of surgery, a clinic staff stayed with me to ensure I was ok. I received daily visits from the doctor himself for the first 7 days. He would come in, take a look, and advise me on what to do and what will happen next. After I was discharged and sent to the hotel, I received daily visits from the clinic staff. Not one day went by without a visit. They come in, take a look, take your blood pressure, ask you questions, check your meds, I could ask them questions about any concerns, and they wrote everything down. They would report back to Dr. Suporn daily regarding each visit. I was given the clinic staff cell phone numbers. I could call them whenever I needed something.
Apart from daily visits from the clinic staff, I visited Dr. Suporn twice a week for a check-up. Any concerns are quickly taken care of. They give you a month+ worth of supplies. It is all included in the SRS fee. Also included is breakfast, transportation to and from the clinic, hospital, and airport. The amount of medical supplies is unbelievable. And every time I ran out of something, they would stock me back up. So, the aftercare and attention is priceless. And I'm not the only patient. Dr. Suporn has about 15-20 girls in the area at the same time. So it really is amazing.
Long stay/Revisions - Dr. Suporn requires that his patients stay for at least 24 days after the operation. Most doctors will discharge you within a few days and you are on your own. Dr. Suporn wants to make sure that any major complications (or minor for that matter) are taken care of before you go back home. This is certainly a plus. We're talking about major surgery and a hard recovery so things are bound to go wrong sometimes. I, for example, had a revision done and I'm very glad now that I was able to get it done because things look much neater, tighter, and better down there. Dr. Suporn wants to make sure your vulva looks the best it can look before you leave.
The "community" - When you arrive to Thailand, you are the freshman. You will see other freshman and you will see veterans, so to speak. There are about 15-20 girls in the same hotel at any given time. The great thing is you will build friendships with the other gals during your stay. The meeting point is usually at the breakfast buffet, the terrace on the 3rd floor, and also at the clinic. It's pretty much inevitable to make friends. Veterans will tell you what to expect and then when you are about to leave Thailand, you will be a veteran and tell the freshmen what to expect and the cycle continues. Even if you are quiet and/or shy, there are those that will say hi to you and get a conversation started. It's a really nice experience to go through and to have that bond with others going through the same thing is great. It also helps to make the days go by a little quicker.
THE SO-SO:Recovery - This really is YMMV but for my experience, recovery has been so-so. I've had my good days and my bad days. I can say though that I've had mainly good days. The recovery is brutal though. It is not to be taken lightly. You will feel pain and you will feel discomfort. But on the other hand, there will be days where you may not feel any pain or discomfort at all. In the beginning, you may see lots of blood/discharge but towards the end it lessens and lessens. Overall, it's not that bad. You just have to always think positive, have some sort of faith, and stay strong. If I can do it, so can you.
The Hotel - The Chon Inter Hotel is not a 5-star hotel. But it's a good enough hotel to recover in. Plus, it is walking distance from the clinic. You get daily housekeeping which I guess is normal for every hotel. There was one day where the water was shut off/damaged and being worked on in my room, so they had to transfer me to another room in order to shower. It was a little inconvenient but I was at least taken care of in that regard. The power went out 3 times but came back within minutes. DO NOT drink the tap water! The housekeeper that usually cleans my room is super sweet and does a very good job and they know why you are here so they leave you extra toilet paper which is good, lol. Breakfast is included and is really the only good food in the hotel, IMO. For lunch and dinner, I would not eat at the hotel. It is both expensive and not tastefully good, IMO.
THE BAD:Hospital Stay - I was planning on putting this under so-so but I changed my mind, lol. The first 7 days are brutal. You have to stay in the hospital for 7 days but you have to stay in bed for 5 days. That was probably the worse experience in my life. I was in a lot of pain and discomfort and not being able to get up at all for 5 whole days was not fun. Also, being connected to an IV and have a drainage and catheter made it even more uncomfortable. The beds are hard. So, really, expect to cry the first 5 days, haha just kidding. I don't want to scare anyone but it was just a horrible experience for me. Now, having said that, the hospital staff check on you like every 30 minutes. You have a buzzer whenever you need something. They give you pain medication. They check your BP, pulse, temperature. They sponge bathe you in bed the first 5 days. They help you walk and shower on the 6th and 7th day. So, that alleviates things a little. However, I hated it when they would walk in at 10pm to check on my vitals and I was sound asleep. After they would leave, I couldn't go back to sleep! Oh, and their English is very limited as well. And their food kinda sucks, IMO. So, overall, bad experience for me.
Foreign Country - Unless you frequent Thailand or you live in Thailand or you know how to speak Thai, being in Thailand for 30 days can be a bit much. In other words, it may be hard for you to get use to certain things, like their food, their culture, dealing with currency exchange, finding your way out in the street, etc. Sure, Thailand has beautiful weather (well, depends because they have a rainy season) but Chon Buri itself, is not that exciting. There's just not much to see here. When you think of Bangkok, you think temples, beaches, scenery, etc. But there's practically none of that close by to the hotel or clinic. Also, communication is a mess, IMO. Even the hotel staff speak very limited English. And if you speak another language other than English, I think you will be even more screwed. The clinic staff speak English very well and they will you help and guide you with whatever you need. But once you step out into the street, no one speaks English. The simple things you do back home, aren't so simple in Thailand.
Long Trip - Long flight. Do I need say more? My flight is about 1 day worth, 18 hours on a plane and 2 hours for layover, plus any possible delays. Coming to Thailand wasn't a big deal. But going back home only 25 days post-op will more than likely be uncomfortable. However, getting my SRS overcomes this. But I'll talk more about the flight back home after the fact.
Well folks, that's all I can think of as of right now. Tomorrow I will get a final visit from the clinic staff in the morning and will be leaving to the airport in the afternoon. If you have any questions about my experience, don't hesitate to ask.
Til next time....
