I'd like to take this opportunity to share an unfortunate incident that happened to me while I was on a job in Pattaya.

I have (well had as of recent treatment) an extremely sensitive gut. It tends to have difficulties adapting to the various ingredients, along with culinary practices that come with food in Thailand. This is not condemnation of Thai food or international food prepared in Thailand, mind you, just my stomach's inability to process it due to the differences in preparation, and ingredients used.

Long story short, during that job I had some food that didn't sit well with me. It was rather unfortunate as it came from what seemed to be a reputable restaurant but it really can be a bit of a gamble with some of these places. It was different this time though. It was different than the usual pain from eating something that I couldn't properly handle. Still, I went to work; my hours for this project were from around 19.00 (7pm) to around midnight. I remember a terrible sharp pain in my lower right quadrant that just refused to go away. After going back to my hotel it persisted long enough that I had to put a stop to everything and immediately go to a hospital.

I called a taxi to the nearest international hospital (one I won't name due to the defamation laws here). It was already past midnight and the staff available were minimal. They ran a few tests and correctly deduced that my appendix was about to burst. I handed them my insurance card and let them call my insurance company to let them sort things out.

I want to put out there that I am insured by a very reputable insurance company. Thailand has many small local health insurance companies that have a tendency to go bankrupt before paying anything out. The one I'm with is an international company that's partnered with a Thai bank. They've always fully covered any claims that I've had without issue, but they always wait to confirm coverage until knowing the full costs for treatment. That apparently wasn't enough for the hospital that was dealing with my time bomb of an appendix. I was told that the insurance company said they'd like to take everything into consideration first, which the hospital took as a "no" to coverage, and recommended that they call me a cab to either a public hospital or a different private hospital.

I had considered going to the public hospital to avoid any further issue, but decided (and most fortunately so) to go to the private hospital. This hospital then called me a "cab" if you could even call it that. It was a shady truck driver who saw that I was dying on his front seat and decided to gouge me for double rate. He took me to the larger private hospital that had the same issues when calling my insurance. It was around 1.40am when this all happened and I remember at that time the constant sharp nagging pain in my lower right quadrant suddenly stopped for a brief moment. What followed was excruciating pain that just wouldn't go away no matter what position I put myself in on the bed I was on. My appendix had burst. Despite the insurance company still stating that they'd like to take everything into consideration first, the hospital staff decided that they'd have to operate, insurance confirmation be damned.

I won't get into further details. Care at this private hospital was superb. There were very few things I took issue with there. My private insurance covered everything as they always do. I had a full recovery, and it also led to further treatment that helped me with my gut issues.

I don't want to get into Thai healthcare rankings worlwide. Healthcare here is amazing, and is one of the best in the region, if not the world, but it does have its faults. Had I gone to the public hospital I may not be writing this to you as there may have been too many people being serviced that I wouldn't have gotten care in time for my burst appendix. My story could also have easily ended in a similar fashion as this one: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2704071/hospital-faces-questions-over-tourist-death

All in all, I consider myself extremely fortunate, despite or due to the circumstances.