Frenchwoman Stretched In The Backseat Undergoing So Much Stomach Pain

Written By: Abigail Jones on September 3, 2010 No Comment

While I was traveling in Afghanistan, I witnessed the most horrific medical emergency when a young Frenchwoman suddenly suffered from an appendicitis attack. She experienced excruciating pains in the middle of a deserted desert while on a stranded bus. Americans who love to travel in remote places abroad sometimes suffer from life threatening conditions in dire need for medical care but unfortunately, proper medical attention is not sufficient in those places.

In just about a few hours out of Kandahar, the bus filled with Afghans got broken in the middle of nowhere. A westerner companion of the Frenchwoman approached me and I could tell that she definitely was worried. Her friend was in an excruciating pain as she stretched out in the back seat. We didn’t have options other than to apply a wet handkerchief to the Frenchwoman’s forehead to temper the day’s searing heat.

After a few hours of waiting, passengers immediately hitched when they saw a truck passed even if it wasn’t headed towards near Kabul. The Frenchwoman’s stomach pains worsen but good thing, a sturdy European sedan passed by. In the car was a Swiss couple who luckily agreed to take the women travelers to Kabul. When another bus came after a few hours, I and the rest of the Afghan passengers immediately caught it. The next day, I found the Frenchwoman’s companion in my hotel thanking me for what I did. After she and the Swiss couple called the embassy in Kabul, it was in the hospital where the French Embassy guided her friend to undergo an immediate appendectomy. The woman with appendicitis was fine but still was shocked by the close call.

Travelers are well taken care of by the Maryland based association for safe international road travel for this organization present in 60 foreign countries provides travelers with measures to observe whenever faced with risky road circumstances. Depending on which country, it has its own road reports on the probability of an animal crossing the road, accident prone areas, the hazards of driving at night and different ways of driving practices. Safety standards are insufficient which makes cars and buses rental riskier.

A 25 year old Bethesda medical student killed in a bus accident in Turkey was the reason for the formation of the association. The most perilous roads based on accident statistics by a non-profit organization are the countries Egypt, Kenya, South Korea, Turkey and Morocco. India might be on the list, but it does not provide statistics. The association has urged the US State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs to add road hazard information to the consular info sheets it prepares for each country. Carry adequate health insurance, and consider buying a medical evacuation policy. The US Embassy can help you look for a medical care if you become sick or if you are injured but you are responsible for the payments. It will be very costly if you are to be evacuated through a helicopter from a remote area to an emergency hospital. The State Department warned that before going abroad, you should find out what medical services your health insurance covers and also, you should carry both an insurance policy identity card and a claim form as a proof of your insurance.

One way to cover a senior citizen’s treatment costs outside the country is through a Medicare supplement plan by the American Association of Retired Persons and not by the Social Security Medicare. On an annual or per trip basis, a few firms offer medical evacuation insurance. The company and its travel agents sell insurance.

The nearest US Embassy should be contacted at once if the worst is experienced. The least that the embassy could do is to give a list of local doctors or other medical facilities. The best medical care is ensured by the embassy personnel to Americans. It is those most Americans who dare to visit remote places are the ones benefiting this. The officers see to it that victims of accident in a foreign country are properly treated in an improved facility, and that their families and relatives are contacted.

Expert resources on yearly travel insurance are located on that site. Further resources about review travel insurance are located there.