Gap year hits fever pitch

My friend Elsa and I had been travelling around Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia for four months. Despite all the warnings about food, hygiene and health before we left, we stayed surprisingly healthy. We were wary of where we ate and drank and we were overindulgent with the mosquito repellent, fearing malaria (though malaria is not a risk in central Thailand). And we grew lax in our caution as we realised that actually, it wasn't as bad as people had suggested.

We met up with another friend, Tab, who told us about a Buddhist retreat which lasted 10 days and cost £20, which is very cheap. We were nearing the end of our trip and had just been to a second "full moon party" (one of the all-night raves on the beaches of Ko Phangan). The idea of getting greater insight into Buddhism and making a short stop off the beaten track was appealing – and a well-needed rest for our pockets and livers. Here, all three of us would fall ill, some more seriously than others.

Very early on, I was hit by a bout of food poisoning. This meant I had to forego sitting with 100 other budding beginner Buddhas in an outdoor meditation hall, for a room and bed indoors by myself. That meant I didn't get mauled by mosquitoes whereas the other two did. So if it was here that they picked up Dengue fever, then it was because I was ill already that I was spared.

We left the retreat early because we felt we should be using our time left in Thailand travelling rather than meditating. We went back to Ko Phangan and after a few days said goodbye to Tab who was flying home a week before us. The day after her departure Elsa suddenly felt very ill. She had a high fever, muscle ache and loss of appetite. She couldn't get out of bed because she felt too weak and her joints hurt too much. She found it impossible to eat solid food because she was grinding her teeth so hard at night.

Where we were staying was very isolated which was why we decided to make a break for Bangkok where medical facilities would be readily available. We managed this, though Elsa had to sleep on the floor of the nightbus to make joint and muscle pain more bearable. We checked into a guest house, Elsa took up permanent residence in the bed and I emailed home to let Elsa's parents know that she was ill. The response from home was panic-stricken and I found out that Tab, now back in London, was showing the same symptoms as Elsa. Parents urged me to get Elsa to a hospital and sort things out.

First though, I ran around Bangkok like a headless chicken trying to decide what to do. Elsa and I had already discussed the possibility of hospital but Elsa did not want to go. She couldn't understand how ill she was.

Eventually I persuaded Elsa to come with me to a medical clinic. The doctor diagnosed a number of things which all turned out to be wrong. He didn't listen to what Elsa was telling him and rebuffed my attempts at suggesting Dengue fever. It was important though that we buy the many drugs he had prescribed. I was finding it hard to decide what to do. I felt like everybody was relying on me to sort things out.

We went to a Thai public hospital we'd been directed to, which meant that all writing on signs was in Thai, everyone there was Thai and finding anyone who spoke English was hard.

We were pointed to a booth where a nurse handed me some forms. By this time, Elsa had crashed out in a corner. I insisted that she see a doctor and they took us to the A&E. They diagnosed Dengue fever. I was very relieved to see Elsa getting proper medical support. We learned that if Elsa had waited another day she would have gone into shock from which there could have been serious consequences.

Elsa's skin started to become very blotchy like red bruising. The medical students assured us this was all part of Dengue and was normal. But, one morning I arrived to find Elsa surrounded by white coats. She told me that she had Dengue haemorrhagic fever and was bleeding all over internally. She was losing sight in her right eye due to haemorrhaging on the retina. Her platelet count had dropped far below average. This led to spontaneous bleeding, so she was given a blood transfusion. The haemorrhagic form of the fever can be fatal and takes longer to recover from. Elsa was finding the experience painful and frightening and I would often find her in tears. It was also difficult because she was far away from home. I realised then the importance of staying positive and being as supportive as I could. It took a few days for the insurance people to do anything and for those days we felt we'd been forgotten about. Then things started to get moving and Elsa was moved to a private hospital where we both felt confident she was receiving the best possible treatment.

Once Elsa had been moved to the new hospital my dilemma would be whether to get on my flight home even if Elsa stayed in Thailand. But there was no way I could leave her in Thailand in a hospital by herself. Elsa's mother, who was understandably very worried, decided she should be by her daughter's side and flew out to Bangkok. Elsa and I decided that because of a shortage of flights, I should take mine.

Once back, I found out that Tab had been admitted to the hospital for Tropical Diseases in London and had been diagnosed with Dengue fever (though not the haemorrhagic kind) and giardia (severe diaorrhea) but was now recovering. At this point, I suddenly realised how different things would have turned out if I had got Dengue or even if Tab had fallen ill before leaving.

In the end, that wasn't important. What was, was that both my friends were now on the way to recovery.