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In a few days, I’ll be headed off on a ski trip. While I’m super excited to go and to cross off an item on my bucket list, I can’t help but remember the last time I went skiing in Europe. When I tell people I went skiing in Slovakia and then tell them I ended up in the hospital, they immediately assume that I broke something, or injured something. But nothing like that happened (sorry, I tricked you!). I ended up in a hospital in Slovakia for much different reasons.
Hello gorgeous Zdiar!
The trip to Zdiar was long but uneventful. We arrived in the hostel, went frolicking in the snow and I had a little nap before dinner. After dinner, I started feeling uncomfortably warm and I really wanted a glass of water. I remember trying to flag down someone for a glass of water to no avail, so I decided to go to the bar and get one myself. Except, I never made it to the bar. I was almost there when my vision started blurring and that is really all that I remember.
From what they told me, I fell over sideways and hit my head first on a table and then on the ground. I must have come to pretty quickly because I remember opening my eyes and someone I didn’t know looking at me in confusion. Someone asked if I was okay and instinctively, I said yes. I must have gotten up and then fainted again, because the next thing I knew I was sitting on a chair and my friends were gathered around me trying to wake me up. They told me that someone had caught me the second time I fell over.
I felt nauseous, utterly confused as to how I ended up there. I wanted to vomit and I was feeling disgusting. The room was too warm and it was too loud. Everyone was staring at me. Everyone was talking about me as if I wasn’t there. It was uncomfortable and I just wanted it to stop.
There was a bit of confusion as to what to do. Zdiar is located about a 45 minute drive from Poprad which was the closest hospital. Plus it was snowing pretty heavily. Apparently there was a local doctor in the village, but he never materialized.
After what seemed like forever, an ambulance showed up. By this time I was feeling much better. Less dizzy and no longer wanting to vomit. They guided me to the ambulance and got me to sit on the stretcher. I think I was in a bit of shock because I don’t exactly remember the course of events. I know they asked me a bunch of questions about my medical history, about what I did that day, my name, where I was from. They took my blood pressure and asked if anything hurt. My head was hurting slightly so they ran an IV and gave me some sort of pain killer. Because this was the first time this has ever happened to me, they took me to the hospital.
The whole time I was in the ambulance, I was so terrified. I’m not a big fan of hospitals and I didn’t really know what was going to happen, not to mention the whole language barrier. When we got to the hospital, they wheeled me into the ER on the stretcher. I felt like I was in a TV show or something. The first thing I see? A massive blood stain on the floor of the hospital. I looked like it was dry. No idea how long it had been there. Way to inspire confidence for my visit.
They wheeled me into the back room and started doing some tests. They did a EKG, took my blood pressure again and did a general physical exam. Everything was normal. The doctor had absolutely no idea why I had fainted. I was fairly surprised at the English level of the doctors and paramedics considering I was not in a big city and pretty much in the middle of nowhere. They knew enough English to tell me what was going on and to keep me calm.
That night was a night of many firsts for me. I’ve never fainted before, never been in an ambulance, never been to the emergency room. It will definitely be an adventure to remember and a good story to tell. I’m relieved that there is nothing majorly wrong with me and that I didn’t have a concussion from hitting my head twice (though I was terrified of sleeping that night). And as a lovely memento, I had a 140 euro bill to pay off. Thank goodness for health insurance.
I’m hoping that this next trip will go without any problems. Fingers crossed!
Have you ever had to go to the hospital while you were abroad? What was it like?
Oh no you poor thing! At least you had some friends with you though 🙂 I ended up in hospital in Bari in Italy – I woke up on my ferry from Greece with huge itchy red spots all over me. I found the hospital after walking around town, crying with my backpack on me and soaring temperatures! Thankfully they managed to see me almost straight away and got me a whole lot of antibiotics, apparently it was a nasty reaction to a spider bite!
Yes! Thank goodness for my friends – they really help keep me calm and made all the right decisions at the right time 🙂 Yikes! That sounds like a really painful experience. Getting spots is so scary – it can come from so many different things! Good thing they were so helpful and managed to sort it out for you!
An awful experience I can definitely relate to, having found myself in a hospital in Greece once with a urinary infection. I couldn’t get out fast enough! I was rescued by helicopter in the French Pyrenees once when my feet were bleeding so badly in my tough walking boots that the guide thought I’d end up in an avalanche.
I hope there won’t be any other adventures for you this time!
Anyway, just dropping in from SITS.
Yikes! I don’t think I would enjoy being in a hospital in Greece. That would definitely freak me out. And wow, a helicopter rescue. Sounds intense!
Oeh that sounds like a bad start of a great holiday (I hope you had a great holiday in the end) I had a concussion once but don´t remember much of the event only that I fell of the stairs on a night out in Amsterdam… It might be better that I didn´t remember much haha… Well, you know now – drink enough water 😉
In the end it was a good holiday 🙂 Yikes, getting a concussion sound scary. It is probably for the better that you don’t remember. Don’t need to relive bad memories 🙂
Poor thing! Looks like it was such a lovely location too! Better luck this time 🙂
Thanks Erin! Zdiar indeed is a lovely little village. Gorgeous there.
I’ve never been had to go to the hospital overseas-I always seem to do things RIGHT before big trips. I almost sliced my finger off with hedge trimmers a couple days before heading to Europe, etc. Fingers crossed on this trip for you! 🙂
Thanks Ashley! Yikes! Accidents right before heading out on a trip makes for stressful times. Hopefully nothing goes bad in your upcoming one!
Ouch! That sounds painful! Hope you had a good holiday after it? You are so right about the importance of health insurance too, I know it’s a pain and noone likes paying for it, but it is so important on the rare occasions something goes wrong!
Great website, so glad to have found it. 🙂
Thanks Michael. The rest of the holiday went well and I had a lot of fun skiing 🙂 Yes, definitely, I always have travel insurance with me now. So important.
This is definitely a story to tell. Have you ever figured out why you fainted? I’ve been in a hospital in Canada actually during my days there. I head a shortage of breath that just turned out to be a hyperventilation (apparently nothing important). But I was surprised how quickly the doctor prescribed me with some kind of tranquilizers. No chance that in Croatia they would prescribe it just after one 10-minute visit. I threw them down the drain.
I saw a doctor in Budapest, but they weren’t really able to say why. I did the same in Canada, but no solid reasons. They have suspicions, but so much time had pass, it was too hard to tell. I’m chalking it up to a freak accident. It hasn’t happened again since thank goodness. Interesting – yea, I think North American culture is very med heavy. Take some and ask questions later kinda deal, but of course also depends on the doctor.
I am not an expert but I witnesses something very simmilar with the same symptoms was also only a one time thing .. It was an alergic reaction. You slowly lose sight, energy, lose consciousness and it also may be related with a increased blood pressure caused by that ..
Maybe you should run some alergy tests. It may be soemthing you never encountered before and you may actually not have the same reaction on it again 😉
Imagine it would happen without noone around .. you could be dead by now. Lucky!
Interesting. I never thought that it could be an allergic reaction. Thanks for the tip. Something to look into 🙂 And yes, I was very fortunate for it to have happened in a public place full of people with my best interest at heart.
You certainly assume when folks say they went to hospital on a skiing trip that it was caused by a ski fall and potential broken limbs but your story is very different. Glad that everything is ok and nothing serious but not sure I would have wanted to be in your shoes having to go into a foreign hospital.
However, whenever you are sick or know nothing about it, wherever you are if there is someone willing to help you get better, you will always appreciate the assistance I think (and pray they know what they are doing right!).
It certainly was an adventure! I’m still a little skeptical as to whether or not the docs knew what they were doing, but nothing I can do except trust them. They should in theory know better than I!
That is terrifying! I’m so sorry – what an awful way to start your holiday! Do you think it was altitude sickness making you ill? I’ve heard of that happening to a few people on ski holidays.
We have our first ski vacation planned for next month and I’m pretty nervous about it. I haven’t skied since I was 13. Hopefully we can all pick it up rather quickly and leave without any trips to the ER! :o)
I never thought about it actually. I don’t think so because the mountain wasn’t that high up and I’ve been higher up with no ill effects. But now I wonder…
Skiing is like riding a bike in my mind. Once you learn it you won’t forget it. It might take a little while to get your ski legs again, but it’ll be there. Just take it easy and have fun! Fingers crossed for your trip!
Ugh – I suppose it’s better then getting into an accident, but that’s still no way to have a vacation. Going to the hospital is bad enough normally – I’d be terrified in a place where I didn’t speak the language.
Yea, anytime in the hospital is no good. Hopefully it’ll never happen again!
Ohmygosh, that must’ve been so scary! I’m so glad everything turned out ok!