H broke his ankle in India

[cajunmom]

He's there for work, he's been there since Saturday and wasn't supposed to come home until next Tuesday. He slipped and fell and broke his ankle in two places. I don't know why I'm so shaken up by it, it's just a broken ankle and they're taking wonderful care of him. They wanted to do surgery there but the doctors decided to just set it and put him in a hard cast and he needs to go to a  doctor here as soon as he can. I feel so helpless and now he has to travel 20ish hours to get home on crutches and hurting. 

OTOH, even the president of his company is calling to check on him. They'll definitely remember who he is, now!

[raangoli]

Whoa that's awful! I hope they give him some painkillers so he can sleep through the flight home.

[egishere]

poor guy! Glad he is ok though

[mbcdefg]

Oh no! Best wishes for his speedy recovery.

[Pom]

Thinking of your poor H and you. Good thoughts for a comfortable flight for him.

[explorer2001]

Your poor H. Sending healing vibes.

[konapoppy]

Oy. I am sorry about his ankle. Hopefully the airline will take good care of him. My aunt broke her hip in Bali and they were extra accommodating on the flight home.

[OG Jo]

I would 100% recommend getting him home and having his surgery HERE where he will have to do his aftercare. I essentially shattered my lower leg two years ago and opted to wait several days for surgery so I could have a better surgeon closer to home than having to travel to the ER where I was taken in another town.

Plus - the pain from surgery was 1,000 times worse than the pain of the actual breaks. I can't imagine adding the pressure of air travel to that!

[Deleted]

Poor guy. I'd be shaken up if I were in your shoes too. I'm sure they're taking great care of him.

[cajunmom]

Mar 10, 2016 15:05:15 GMT -5 OG Jo said:

I would 100% recommend getting him home and having his surgery HERE where he will have to do his aftercare. I essentially shattered my lower leg two years ago and opted to wait several days for surgery so I could have a better surgeon closer to home than having to travel to the ER where I was taken in another town.

Plus - the pain from surgery was 1,000 times worse than the pain of the actual breaks. I can't imagine adding the pressure of air travel to that!

No kidding! I'm sure flying with the cast will be uncomfortable enough. I managed to get him an appointment with an orthopedist for Monday so I guess we'll see if they think surgery is really necessary.

[cajunmom]

I keep looking at my siggy and feeling like that was kinda what happened to him, and then I laugh and feel awful simultaneously  .

[ECB]

Ugh. That sucks.

[womet]

Oh no, in addition to the long flight home with the pain from the broken ankle, I would also be worried about blot clots since his ankle will be immobilized.

[Awkward]

I don't know what arrangement your husband has with his job in regards to medical claims abroad, but I would make sure he gets copies of EVERYTHING from the hospital. Medical notes, xrays, receipts, discharge papers, prescriptions, etc. in case you need to file a claim with your health insurance. Foreign claims get all kinds of strict scrutiny, and having everything up front will stop a lot of headaches down the road. Good news in in India all the paper work should be in English. :Y:

I hope he feels better! Hopefully he has some good drugs so he can sleep most of the flight.

Also LOL to your siggy comment.

[cajunmom]

Mar 10, 2016 15:37:18 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

Mar 10, 2016 15:35:56 GMT -5 womet said:

Oh no, in addition to the long flight home with the pain from the broken ankle, I would also be worried about blot clots since his ankle will be immobilized.

Yeah, I was coming to comment on this also.

What else could he do? He already has first class, at least on the long flight from Delhi to Newark. I don't think he has first class confirmed from Newark to New Orleans, though. I don't imagine it would be easy for him to try to move around the plane on crutches, even in first class. Maybe they could let him stand up somewhere for a few minutes every hour?

[womet]

Mar 10, 2016 15:45:40 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

Mar 10, 2016 15:44:22 GMT -5 cajunmom said:

What else could he do? He already has first class, at least on the long flight from Delhi to Newark. I don't think he has first class confirmed from Newark to New Orleans, though. I don't imagine it would be easy for him to try to move around the plane on crutches, even in first class. Maybe they could let him stand up somewhere for a few minutes every hour?

Check with the doctor to make sure they don't want him on an anticoagulant or something maybe. I know he'll have surgery when he gets home so it'll probably have to be an injection so it clears his system faster.

Yes. He might also see if he can get compression stockings for his other leg.

[alleinesein]

As someone who has visited an ER in India I can assure you he will be fine. Personally I would opt for the surgery there; the quality of medical care can be better than what we get in the US and quite a few doctors are US trained. I was sent home with a ton of paperwork and my x-rays for my wrist. If he is there for work his office should have an ex-pat handler who can take care of things. We had one for our office and the few times people ended up hospitalized they sent someone from HR to the hospital to pay the bill and take care of everything.

I've flown with broken bones and the biggest worry is someone bumping into the injured limb. I highly recommend a window seat so he doesnt have to worry about anyone climbing over him or other passengers accidentally bumping into him.

[alleinesein]

Mar 10, 2016 15:44:04 GMT -5 Awkward said:

I don't know what arrangement your husband has with his job in regards to medical claims abroad, but I would make sure he gets copies of EVERYTHING from the hospital. Medical notes, xrays, receipts, discharge papers, prescriptions, etc. in case you need to file a claim with your health insurance. Foreign claims get all kinds of strict scrutiny, and having everything up front will stop a lot of headaches down the road. Good news in in India all the paper work should be in English.

I hope he feels better! Hopefully he has some good drugs so he can sleep most of the flight.

Also LOL to your siggy comment.

They give you receipts for everything in India including the ER.  You have to pay for each service before they perform it and they hand you a receipt every time.  They love receipts!

I busted up my wrist and my ER visit, x-rays, orthopedic consult and prescriptions cost a whopping INR 800 (about USD $14 at the time).  Healthcare is so cheap compared to the US.  

[cajunmom]

Mar 10, 2016 16:41:17 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

As someone who has visited an ER in India I can assure you he will be fine. Personally I would opt for the surgery there; the quality of medical care can be better than what we get in the US and quite a few doctors are US trained. I was sent home with a ton of paperwork and my x-rays for my wrist. If he is there for work his office should have an ex-pat handler who can take care of things. We had one for our office and the few times people ended up hospitalized they sent someone from HR to the hospital to pay the bill and take care of everything.

I've flown with broken bones and the biggest worry is someone bumping into the injured limb. I highly recommend a window seat so he doesnt have to worry about anyone climbing over him or other passengers accidentally bumping into him.

I wasn't worried at all about the quality of care he would/did receive. When I was able to talk to him he was a little groggy from meds so all I know is that the doctors decided not to do the surgery. Someone from his office paid for everything but we will probably have to file it with our insurance when he comes home, I have no idea how much it all ended up costing. 

I know he had a window seat on his original flight but I'm not sure about this one.

[steph96]

Oh man! I hope he his trip home goes well.

[OG Jo]

Mar 10, 2016 16:46:32 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

I busted up my wrist and my ER visit, x-rays, orthopedic consult and prescriptions cost a whopping INR 800 (about USD $14 at the time).  Healthcare is so cheap compared to the US.  

That is astonishing.  I was able to track my expenses and what was charged out through insurance for my leg...  Insurance charged about $60k all told.  I wound up paying about $8k out of pocket, if I recall correctly.

[alleinesein]

Mar 10, 2016 17:44:10 GMT -5 OG Jo said:

Mar 10, 2016 16:46:32 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

I busted up my wrist and my ER visit, x-rays, orthopedic consult and prescriptions cost a whopping INR 800 (about USD $14 at the time).  Healthcare is so cheap compared to the US.  

That is astonishing.  I was able to track my expenses and what was charged out through insurance for my leg...  Insurance charged about $60k all told.  I wound up paying about $8k out of pocket, if I recall correctly.

One coworker had to get an MRI of his shoulder- less than USD $100 for the MRI and 2 visits with the doctor.  Another coworker was hospitalized for a week and it was less than $500.  I also had to have a doctor come to my hotel for some mosquito bites that would not close up/scab over and that was about $22 for her on-call charges, an antibiotic and a few other drugs.  If I ever need major surgery and have a high deductible I am hopping on a plane to Chennai or Bangalore because its cheaper and I can gorge myself on Indian food while I recover.

[cajunmom]

He just told me that everything that he had done today (ambulance ride, X-rays, doctor's fee, cast, three Rx, pain and tetanus shots, and whatever else I'm forgetting) was a grand total of $80.

[dreamcrisp1]

Mar 10, 2016 17:44:10 GMT -5 OG Jo said:

Mar 10, 2016 16:46:32 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

I busted up my wrist and my ER visit, x-rays, orthopedic consult and prescriptions cost a whopping INR 800 (about USD $14 at the time).  Healthcare is so cheap compared to the US.  

That is astonishing.  I was able to track my expenses and what was charged out through insurance for my leg...  Insurance charged about $60k all told.  I wound up paying about $8k out of pocket, if I recall correctly.

Also because their COL is so much cheaper comparatively. Our Indian nationals salaries are crazy when we convert them to USD.

I hope your H's flight isn't too awful and his ankle heals as quick as possible. It sucks to be away from someone who can help you when something like this happens.

[AAM2012]

I know it's easier said than done but he's in good hands and the airline will take good care of him especially in 1st/business class.

[crashgizmo]

Ugh I'm glad he's okay- I have nothing to add re: India medical care but I can totally see why you were worried- regardless of where he is, you aren't there and that's hard all around.

[sadlebred]

Mar 10, 2016 20:49:58 GMT -5 cajunmom said:

He just told me that everything that he had done today (ambulance ride, X-rays, doctor's fee, cast, three Rx, pain and tetanus shots, and whatever else I'm forgetting) was a grand total of $80.

It was very courteous of him to be MM .

I hope that he heals very quickly and that his flight is as comfortable as can be!

[sfy]

I'm glad he's okay! I hope the ride home goes well. I agree with the advice given to avoid any clots.