I didn’t plan on going abroad at Christmas and indeed was looking forward to going somewhere in Tanzania. To leave the country and come back in costs me another visa fee because money-grabbing Tanzania loves to give single entry visas.
But tomorrow I am flying to Mumbai as a medical tourist. For months I have had what I assumed was a strained muscle in my shoulder. It failed to go away with all the creams and pills and rest I gave it and so, after biting the bullet and spending a few hundred quid on an MRI scan it transpires that I have actually completely torn muscle and partially torn another in my shoulder. It’s no wonder it hurt!
The options for fixing it are only going abroad for surgery. I didn’t even consider South African for reason of cost and after a quick look at Turkey, I quickly decided upon India. I checked the map and saw that Mumbai was the closest big city and so I researched the hospitals there and settled on one with a good reputation.
So I am packing some bags in readiness for my last minute trip to Mumbai. I only have rucksacks and with a shoulder injury, it’s not possible to use them hence I messaged around the friends who are still in Dar and found one which is small enough for cabin baggage.
I have always wanted to go to India for a holiday but never wanted to go on my own. Now I find myself going there on my own and for surgery, meaning I am planning to be ill while I am there too – not the way I wanted my first Indian trip to be.
But when you’re injured and you need surgery and you live in Tanzania, there really are very few options. To have the surgery here is not advisable although it is done. The quality of treatment and hospital care makes the operation in Tanzania risky.
Sadly the prices of flights around Christmas are very high as are hotel rooms and so I have managed to choose the worst time to do the operation.