Hi, I’m Christina. I almost lost my life last night, completely alone in a foreign country. Here’s my story:

Three days ago, I thought I was just coming down with a cold. The first day brought moderate pain, swelling in my tonsils, and heavy fatigue. I had no idea what was waiting for me. That night, I was lucky to be staying with a friend who helped me through some of the most unbearable pain I’d felt. I ended up with a raging fever, body aches, chills, and eventually started throwing up. The next morning they took me to the pharmacy where I was given antibiotics, pain meds, and throat spray. I felt reassured, thinking I’d caught it early.

Well, I hadn’t. I was getting worse. Fast. Because by then second night, when I was alone, the fever came back with a vengeance. My body was in too much pain to sleep. I kept waking up drenched in sweat, heart pounding, trying not to throw up again. But by morning, I was shaking uncontrollably, burning up, and unable to keep anything at all down. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. I threw up six times and had four bouts of intense, liquid diarrhea. (I know that’s TMI, but it shows how close this was to becoming life-threatening). I knew I desperately needed hydration, but every sip came right back up full projectile, just like the other end… Eventually, I had no choice but to give up. I couldn’t do it alone anymore and I knew it. You just know. But then the scariest part was actually after all this when my hands and feet began to go numb and tingle and I couldn’t walk anymore. That’s when I realized my body was starting to shut down. My heart couldn’t keep up as my blood pressure was dropping. My body was trying to protect my vital organs. I could feel myself slipping away. I likely had hours before my body went into organ failure, shock or sepsis and I knew if I didn’t get to a hospital soon, I was going to die. I’ve made peace with death, but I’ve never been so terrified because the one thing that scares me the most is dying alone. And that’s exactly what would’ve happened if I hadn’t listened to my body and my intuition.

As if that wasn’t enough, the roads outside were so flooded from some of the heaviest rain I’ve seen in Thailand, every single ride I tried to book got canceled. I was too weak to anything at this point, let alone use my phone. But I suddenly thought to reach out to a women’s support group I joined recently here in Phuket, and someone tried helping by calling me an ambulance, but it was a risk since I was over an hour from the nearest hospital (so 2hrs before real help), and I didn’t think I had that long. I laid on the floor (I couldn’t even pull myself up on the bed), clutching my phone, praying something someone would save me. And by a literal miracle, a Grab driver with a lifted vehicle FINALLY accepted my request! As we made our way north, through the tears and painful shakes up I just kept praying I’d make it there in time - because I almost didn’t. I could barely stay alert during the ride. The thing that startled me from losing complete consciousness was needing to throw up… again.

When I finally arrived at the hospital, the staff acted immediately. They hooked me up to IV fluids and pain medication. My blood pressure was crashing hard. My throat was nearly swollen shut. My tonsils were coated in white exudate (gross, I know), and I could barely speak or swallow. The ENT took one look and said I needed to be admitted immediately for overnight observation, possibly longer.

They asked for a 50,000 baht deposit upfront to cover the duration of the triage care and overnight stay ( which is around $1,500 USD). All I could focus on was surviving, because I want to live. So I agreed to pay it…

Now I’m in a hospital bed, on my second IV drip and (hopefully) stronger antibiotics writing this message and praying I won’t need another night because I simply can’t afford it. I’ve done everything I can to stay afloat out here, but I desperately need help covering this emergency. I’m still recovering, possibly in shock from how close I came to stepping through the veil permanently… but I’m so grateful to be alive. I’m hoping it means I still have a purpose here.

If you’ve ever felt completely and utterly helpless, praying for a lifeline, or if you’ve ever come close to losing everything you love, please, I’m asking for your help. Even the smallest donation makes a huge difference here. And if you can’t donate, sharing this could truly save me from drowning in medical debt before I’ve get the chance to recover and rebuild my life in Thailand like I originally had planned. I’ll have to relocate if I can’t pay the bill (which is not so easy with 4 animals). Please please understand that I know people advise to always have “emergency funds” set aside for things like this, but the truth is, this came literally out of nowhere and completely blindsided me and the course I set myself on by leaving America to move here. I didn’t have a choice and I absolutely would not be making a GoFundMe if I didn’t desperately need your help.

This experience has shaken me to my core. I never realized how thin the line is between “pushing through” and not making it through. I’m just thankful I listened to my body and instincts before it was too late. Thank you for reading my story and for caring. I don’t take a single moment of this precious life for granted anymore. ❤️‍