She said the trip overseas started off great. She toured England and France, and was having a blast. There was no drinking age in Europe, and the students were actually permitted to “sample” alcohol while they were touring. Webhands1 stated that there were girls from all over the United States, so she was also able to meet new people, and was having the time of her life. However, when the tour went to Greece, the fun abruptly ended.
Apparently, she took this trip during some hostile times in Athens (1984), and so many of the girls’ parents made them come home because they were worried for their safety. Webhands1’s parents let her stay. The first night she was in Greece, all the girls who remained were partying and having a good time in the hotel room. There were two girls from Louisiana who had been sampling a little too much libation throughout the trip. They had also been stealing pieces of artwork from each hotel to bring home as souvenirs. This night, as these girls walked by Webhand1’s hotel room, they noticed on her hotel room wall, a large, beautiful painting of a gondolier. Webhands1 was in the bathroom, so they asked her roomies if they could take it, and were given the go ahead. As they were taking the picture off the wall, Webhands1 was walking out of the bathroom at the same time. In a series of unfortunate events, the girls lost their balance in their drunken state, driving the glass picture deep into Webhands1’s right thigh.
Webhands1 was rushed to a small hospital in Greece where no one spoke any English, including the doctor who sewed up her leg. He kept saying “plastique, plastique” so she knew he had to do plastic surgery, but could not comprehend anything else he was saying. The doctor had to sew up her thigh from the inside out, putting in hundreds of stitches. Webhands1 said that the doctor’s extreme concentration was causing him to sweat profusely, and she was sure some of the perspiration got into her wound. When she got back to the United States, the doctor who followed up on her leg wound said that the picture came very close to her femoral artery, and she was lucky to be alive. She says that to this day there is a single, black hair that grows out of the center of the scar, and even though she plucks it out, the hair grows back. She believes that this hair is part of the doctor’s DNA that got into her wound that day; a little reminder of her accident in Greece 26 years ago.
Everyday people have accidents while they are traveling, but this one was particularly odd and therefore earned a place on my blog site. Besides, who could turn down tres leche cake? I am also interested in hearing about others who have had things happen to them while traveling abroad or even in the U.S. and what the outcomes were. Do you have a travel story to tell?
Thanks Bon. That was well told. I forgot to mention my art teacher, Mr. Wetzel. He carried me down three flights of stairs to the car and stayed with me during the long surgery.
ReplyDeleteI meant to show you the black hair today, as I haven't had a chance to pluck it in a while. It didn't show up in the photo. What might surprise your readers is that my legs are virtually hairless otherwise, and the few strands that are there are blonde. The black hair growing from my scar is definitely out of place. I promise not to pluck it again until you see it. If it gets real long, maybe I'll decorate it with beads. Ha ha!
Wow I've known Webhands1 for many years and I've never heard that story before.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing trip you had other than getting hurt of course. The black just gives you a little more character. LOL
Too funny webhands! Thanks for letting me tell your story :-) Thanks for commenting Diamond!
ReplyDeleteI have one of those black hairs under my chin (and no matter how many times I pluck it, it just keeps coming back- must be a 300 ft. long piece of hair!!). I've never been to Greece, so I can't even imagine where my hair came (one of those odd things that happen when you get OLD!). Maybe when the doctor was saying "plastique" he really wanted her to have a credit card to pay for all the stitches!!
ReplyDeleteGreat teacher you had (and I bet Webhands1 parents were just so happy that you had such an exciting trip to Europe!!)