Beatocello and Bumrungrad

We are at Jayavarman Hospital in Siem Reap. Dr. Beat (be-aht) Richner strides into the auditorium and across the stage to pick up his cello. He gives the impression that he is squeezing this performance (a weekly event) into a very busy life. Dr. Richner, who is from Switzerland, combines his musical virtuosity with his quick wit and sense of urgency to raise funds for treatment of hemorrhagic dengue fever and tuberculosis suffered by the children of Cambodia. Dr. Richner is the founder of two hospitals in Phnom Penh and one in Siem Reap. All services at the hospitals are free because 95% of families in Cambodia are not able to pay for health care. Dr. Richner asks for monetary donations from the older people in the audience and from the younger people he requests blood. For more information about this remarkable man and the work he is doing, there is a website: http://www.beatocello.com/.

After I spend two more days in our Siem Reap hotel room not feeling well and not having much of an appetite we cancel our flight to Hanoi. We decide it might be a good idea to return to Bangkok to see a doctor. Richard has read about the highly rated Bumrungrad Hospital. It also is personally recommended by our friend Neil on Active Light. Neil had heart surgery there in 2005.

We arrive in Bangkok the morning after the military coup. We expect to see a military presence at the airport but do not. There are a few military vehicles and soldiers around the government buildings and we see a few in the Siam Square area downtown. The man on the street seems unconcerned. It is business as usual. The coup has the support of the king.

We go directly to Bumrungrad, a beautiful hospital, and looking around it appears that people from all over the world come here. I am seen by a doctor within an hour. An ultrasound shows my gallbladder to be packed with stones. A few days later Dr. Chanvit, a professor of surgery, removes my gallbladder via laparoscopic surgery. Dr. Chanvit and many of the nurses speak excellent English, which I find comforting. Following the surgery I spend two nights in a very nice semi-private room and receive excellent care. The total cost comes to about U.S. $5000. When I am released from the hospital I return to our room at the Krit Thai Hotel and four days later we fly back to Phuket.