I have a serious dilemma & I'm hoping to get some advice & or reassurance.
Yesterday I got a call from my mother about my brother that is in Thailand doing some kind of missionary work or something.
Basically about 4(?) mths. ago he sold everything he owned & moved to Thailand because God told him to.
Yeah, I know...
Well, as soon as he arrived in Thailand he got mysteriously ill & was nursed back to health by a girl whom he fell in love with, got engaged to as soon as he recovered, & married within three mths. (For the record, my brother is pushing 40 & she is in her early 20's.)
Yeah, I know...
Yesterday, he called my Mom early & said he wanted to leave the country. By the evening he was in a Bangkokhospital apparently suffering a stroke, paralyzed & unable speak. This was all relayed to my mother by his wife (who does not speak English well BTW).
This morning apparently (according to his wife)he is suffering total amnesia & does not even know who he is.
Another problem is the political unrest in Thailand at the moment.
That's the story & all I know. I feel very worried about his situation. For one thing he so far has shown serious lack of judgement in this Odyssey he's been on, IMO anyway.
I told my mother to contact the American Embassy which she has done. No word from them yet.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
posted by Rita @ 8:45 AM
16 Comments
16 Comments:
Well, you can certainly trust the American Embassy to do everything possible, the situation seems to be completely in their hands until you get further notice. Of note is that his wife did well to contact your mother about this situation, and that was a good move on your part to have your mother contact the embassy. Amnesia is better than dead, and it at least sounds like he has some form of medical care, in addition is the fact that his newfound wife is somewhat of a nurse too. I'd say that the chances of this one turning out alright are pretty good.
Of course, your brother and your mom are going to think this is some sort of miracle if everything turns out to be alright, but really the credit belongs to your sound judgement and his newfound wife for taking good care of him (more than once if you trust her information).
IMO: I think she's interested in your 40 year old brother mostly because it could be her ticket out of Thailand and because Americans carry the prestige of generally being pretty wealthy when they are in 3rd world countries, which is also the reason why religious missions generally work too.
I mostly concur with QF's assessment. You really are in no position to go to Thailand (are you?). I don't think that would be a good idea, although I'm not sure how close you are to him. You can't run the risk of putting yourself in a dangerous situation.
As it is, something rather strange and unpleasant must have happened to make him want to leave the country so abruptly. It's possible it wasn't a stroke at all but that he was attacked and injured badly.
It's funny how often when God talks to people they end up doing things that fly in the face of the reason and intelligence He also has supposedly given them, all of us.
Bottom line, unless you really feel compelled to get involved in a serious way (and I'm guessing you don't), your best bet is to monitor things from afar (as in, where you are). You really can't do much for him, and I don't think it's wise if you try. As it is, he is in the hospital and so in no immediate danger.
Maybe you can try to talk to him at some point by phone if possible but there isn't much you can do. He's your adult brother, not your underage child.
qf My mom said the embassy is swamped, & are telling her they are backed up. What a rotten time to have something like this happen.
The next step I gather is to get our District Oregon State Representative to contact the Embassy.
Of course, your brother and your mom are going to think this is some sort of miracle if everything turns out to be alright, Yes, it is OK that my mother has prayer to fall back on, I guess. Even though I don't believe in it, it is making her feel better.
The sad thing is we know absolutely nothing about his wife.
Regulus No I'm not planning on going over there. That would really put my mother in a bad state.
She's 20ish, speaks broken English, knows how to nurse people, and she cares enough to marry your Christian brother and to get ahold of your mother when he was in trouble. It sounds like you have to count on her to take care of your brother who has amnesia, that's your only choice I suppose so hopefully his judgement wasn't that terribly bad being over there.
Did your brother go it alone or make any other descent friends while he was over there who you or your mother know about and can contact for help, or maybe even get him to the embassy confines?
Wow... god is trying to kill your brother. Mustn't have been very good at his mission. ;)
Seriously though, It sounds pretty serious and if it was one of my brothers I'd be on the next plane. Of course, at the moment there is no way in or out of the country.
So, I guess all you can do is stay close to the phone and hope the embassy isn't too busy dealing with your stranded countrymen to look in on the situation. Thinking about it, I'd try to get your state rep to call now, just to say 'we know you're busy but if you can get some news it would be appreciated'.
qf I really didn't pay much attention to his lifestyle, seeing that he's all wrapped up in religion.
We just e-mailed so I never had an address or anything.
His wife didn't give my Mom the name of the Hospital, but she did give my Mom a phone # & a city, Ayutthaya.
My Mom relayed that info to the Embassy people when they got a hold of her.
My brother called my Mom on the phone yesterday morning before breakfast (morning his time)He told her he wanted to come back to the states. My Mom said he told her he lied to his wife & told her my Mother was sick as an excuse to come back, I guess. His wife is saying he got deathly ill right after he ate breakfast. I guess it was immediately serious.
I guess he is better & I do have a phone #.
I'm going to be calling the wife in about an hour.
So who knows?
G3T I have another brother who is ready go over there & get him if it comes to that.
Maybe I just gave her the benefit of the doubt on this one. It does sound fishy to me that he got sick immediately after telling a fib to his wife about his sick mother and how he had to get back home, but then again it is breakfast in Thailand and there are probably organisms in the food too. Thai girls can get pissed though, too, I suppose. So did you get ahold of her?
No the phone # doesn't work
I'm trying to figure out the codes for the area she is in, the city of Ayutthaya. My mom got the number & there most be an area code or something missing. i remember when I used to call my sister in Holland it was a long string of #'s.
Your advice of contacting the American Embassy is the right thing to do. In an Embassy, there is always a department which handles "social affairs".
http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/emergency-assistance.html
the above link is for American citizens in an emergency situation in Thailand. You have numbers to be contacted etc.
I don't know if your bro registered himself as an "American Citizen living in Thailand"...normally, when you go abroad, you are supposed to register in the Consulate or Embassy and this will facilitate things and speed up the process.
Normally, before visiting your brother, American diplomats will try to get all the information possible from you about your brother (name, job details, and other details to analyze the situation) and then visit him (wherever he is!) to see in what condition he is in and if he is receiving a good care if he is in the hospital or taken care by a local. This is the standard procedure in all the Consulates and Embassies.
Contact details of the American Embassy in Thailand - http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/contact.html
There is also a USA Consulate in Chiang Mai in Thailand - http://chiangmai.usconsulate.gov/
Stroke, paralyzed & unable to speak and now, amnesia all happening to a young American in Thailand !!! ... I smell a rotten fish in it. But I don't want to jump into conclusions here. It could happen (I really hope that it is not true!)
And this is not the first time, I am hearing such kind of cases...that is why !
On the other hand, there is always an agent available even if it is out of office hours...the call will be transfered to a mobile or something like that.
Is your mother contacting the right number ?
Thank you for your help prash
Is your mother contacting the right number?
I don't know.
One of the problems my mother is having is a communication problem with my brothers wife. I think they can barely understand each other.
I know the phone # my brothers wife gave my Mom to contact her with does not work.
I'm going to try to contact the wife by e-mail & get another phone#. I have my brothers e-mail address.
I checked out with my colleague in the American Consulate here (who is on an official meeting in Hawai right now) replied me back saying that there normally the Embassy is reachable for American citizens for emergency any time of the day or night...just one has to dial the right number. He told me that the website will clearly mention the numbers to be dialed during the office hours and the number to be dialed during the non-office number (which I think will be forwarded to an official mobile, that is how we, at the French Consulate do).
Hope things are not that bad as said by the Thai fiancee of your brother.
Bon courage, ma chere amie !
I wonder if your brother has a brain tumor or something - something like that might explain the erratic behavior. Hopefully he can get a tomography to see whats up.
My old drummer married a woman from the Philippines last year and they seem to be in seventh heaven - where ever that is. He keeps trying to get me to work on a perpetual motion device with him.
Hope the embassy has done something by now....
rev I haven't heard a diagnosis yet. But, that is a good thought.
A perpetual motion device. Hmmm...
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