The Strange Disappearance of Judy Humphries


Canadians from Saskatchewan, Judy and Rob came to visit us in Nuwara Eliya. Their son, Shaun Humphries is a volunteer for VSO working out of Colombo. Shawn directed their Sri Lanka tour which included a trip into Hill Country to stay at our place, see tea estates, experience Horton's Plains and enjoy the cooler climes of Hill Country.


Judy and Rob Humphries
Shaun Humphries, VSO volunteer from Canada
Now, tourists arrive in Nuwara Eliya totally unprepared for the cold weather. Oh, they have been warned about the cold, but like us all, they think, "How cold can it be? It is the tropics." Then they arrive and find out how cold it can be. The merchants of Nuwara Eliya gleefully clap their hands when they see unprepared tourists shivering as they walk along Main Street because they know that eventually, they will stumble into Bale Bazaar.

Bale Bazaar is an open air market hosting more than forty stalls of warm, winter jackets, fleeces, hats, toques and blankets. The merchants in the bazaar capitalize on the freezing tourists. They make a killing. For Bill and I, a great Friday night out is convincing ourselves that we are still not dressed properly for the cold weather and therefore, need a new North Face or Colombia fleece for Rs2000 ($20).

So, on Friday night, Judy, Rob and Shaun, Bill and I trooped down to Bale Bazaar to look for some nice winter fleece wear. Rahim, our favourite merchant, went out of his way running between the stalls to find each of us exactly what we needed.

"You need bigger size, Madam?" "Ok, I will get." Away he ran.

"You want different colour? What colour? Red? Ok, you wait, I will get."

Off he ran into the invisible abyss of trading merchants. We spent about an hour in the bazaar, and relished our guests' enthusiasm at finding such good deals on such good jackets.

About 7:30 pm, we completed the transactions and hard bargaining for the jackets and headed for the short, but very dark walk away from the main town toward the Grand Hotel where we planned to have dinner. Judy having just met us, had been somewhat reserved, but the Bazaar "loosened" her up and she gaily walked along, pleased as punch with her purchase and exclaiming, "That was so much fun."

Then, Judy disappeared. She was right behind me and then she wasn't behind me. She was gone. She had tripped into the open storm drain along the side of the road. These open storm drains are highly dangerous and follow all road systems here. They are uncovered, for the most part and are concrete channels about 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide. She did a perfect face plant into the storm sewer, knocking her eye glasses 4 feet further along the channel. She hurt her arm.

What happened next is amazing. A Sri Lankan produced a cell phone flashlight to illuminate the scene. A Sri Lankan helped Judy out of the ditch. Another searched for and found her eye glasses. Another, hustled us along to the nearest doctor's office. The doctor's office was closed, so a Sri Lankan hailed a trishaw and directed it to the hospital where I work. The five of us screamed off in two tri-shaws to Nuwara Eliya General Government Hospital's emergency ward. The physician was in, was not busy and immediately examined the arm and decided she needed to be admitted. Gulp.

The conditions in our hospital are not what we are used to at home. Judy was sent for x-rays and was told she had to stay overnight until the radiologist read the x-rays. Gulp. It was now about 10 pm at night, she had not eaten since lunch and they were keeping her overnight. We all began to worry for her.

We left the hospital. Rob, her husband, was not allowed to stay as she was admitted to a female ward. At home, we rustled up food for Rob and Shaun. We all worried about what her night would be like. Was she in pain? Would she be treated properly? What were the conditions like? Would she be fed?

Next morning, we left early for the hospital to find out what was happening with Judy. She emerged from the hospital, arm bandaged. Diagnosis: unclear, but it appeared there might be two small fractures. Judy was instructed to see her physician in Canada. She was given the x-rays to take home.

Judy reported she was very well cared for. She slept in her clothes, was not given a pillow, but staff did find her some food to eat.

Shaun wrote to me after Judy went back to Canada:  "The story of my parents visit to Nuwara Eliya and the ensuing events that led to her hospital stay will forever be part of the family lore."



Judy wrote to me: "Well, our trip to Sri Lanka lives on. Rob dropped me off at the hospital where I was admitted and had surgery the next day. I had two fractures in my elbow, which the surgeon repaired with a large screw, some pins, and wire. I am now 2 ½ weeks post-op and am healing nicely. So, it appears we were given good medical advice in Sri Lanka. This surgery involved a lot more than I would have wanted to endure away from home. While I would have rather come home with all my body parts intact, my experience in the storm sewer is now the crowning glory of our adventures in Sri Lanka."

Glad they aren't mad at us!
If you would like to read Judy's own account of her experience, go to Shaun and Trina's blog site at:

http://www.shaunandtrinaaresweating.wordpress.com


 
 


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