rabies update - good news, I am not dead

*********************
a few snaps of the event, some have asked for. Keep in mind, I did not pause to photo document every action as it occurred. I was busy doing other things. There is also a rule in Thai hospitals—no pictures, so I was not able to get a snap of me in the medical sections of the hospital, but not to worry. Here I am being brave in 2D.
*************************

Hi all,

One week after the attack I am ok. I still have more inoculations to take but these are low stress. The result of the full course of vacination will be continued immunity to rabies.

It was a revealing experience, the prospect of imminent death, one which should not be repeated unnecessarily, however, as with most things a rational approach produces the optimum outcome. The consolation of philosophy. I found myself thinking of how I should organise my affairs for a smooth transition.

I am also further convinced of the necessity of taking precautions. Over the last three years I have visited the Travellers Medical Centre in Perth on three occasions, and each time I ensured that all my medications and knowledge of the ills of the world were as good as I could find. I also asked the Drs if rabies vaccination was prudent, their reply: 'no', it is excessive, dog bites are uncommon, you can get innoculated then and there--if needed. So I did not take the, what seemed to me, the safe and cautious approach. In retrospect I should have insisted. If I had been in a more inaccessible area, where the travel time to the big city was longer, I could have been in serious trouble.

moral of the story: don't get bitten by a dog.

ps to those people who asked me how the dog is, don't know, did not go back to investigate as yet.

Ian

Comments

Pattani — the ‘deep’ south of Thailand

First, some advisories: A. ADVISORY: For the last few years and decades there has been an ongoing insurgency in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat (the 'deep south' of Thailand). An average of 600 people have been killed per year between 2004-9. The Australian government strongly urges its citizens not to visit these provinces: "do not travel". Having said this there is no blood on the streets, and life goes on normally for the vast majority of people. In comparison approximately 400 people die every year from traffic accidents in the same region. You have been advised. B. Getting there. There seems to be a scam carried out by the local tour operators to persuade travellers to take mini-buses on journeys between the towns in southern Thailand. These mini-buses cost several times as much as a normal bus. For example, I was quoted 1000 baht (~$35) between Trang and Pattani ~250kms, as compared to 200 baht for a VIP bus. A clear difference. Take the l

Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers—A Critical Critique

The late science fiction author Robert Heinlein was noted for many things, and one of these is controversy. During his life he never shied away from contentious issues, rather he seems to have actively sought them out, both on and off the page. His writing was always provocative, and the most provocative example of this was his 1959 novel "Starship Troopers". The novel was written in a few weeks, prompted by left-wing lobbying for a ban on USA nuclear weapon testing. Heinlein, a strident conservative, vehemently disagreed with this proposal. While the meaning and import of the novel has been debated (it won the 1960 Hugo and is still in print), the story conveys the author's conservative anguish on the perceived flaws of contemporary political and social life. The novel depicts and praises a future government with a sharply limited voting franchise, lauds an authoritarian military, and strongly criticises popular democracy. Essentially, the novel endorses conservative,

Sukhothai Historical Park

Sukhotahi—"Dawn of Happiness" Sukhothai ("suk-hot-thai") is a province in northern Thailand, approximately 400kms distant from Bangkok. The principal attraction of the province is the 'old town' of Sukhothai, as it is referred to locally. This old town is now an archaeological site, however, between the early 13th to the early 15th centuries it was the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom. At its height this Kingdom stretched southwards down the long Malay Peninsular. The principal ruler of Sukhothai was King Ramkamhaeng (c. 1280-1318), who is revered in the popular culture of the province. This Kingdom was the first Siamese (Thai) state, and oversaw the developement of Thai culture, including its language and alphabet. At its beginnings the new Sukhothai state was on the western edge of the dominant Cambodian Empire, from which it had earlier secured independence, however, as the centuries past the Cambodian Empire declined, and the Thai people achieved gr

The Journey(s) of Ian

Search This Blog