I never imagined I’d wake up in a pool of my own blood, alone and broken in a foreign country.
What nearly took my life wasn’t just the fall from a balcony — it was believing I was too careful for something like this to happen.
This is my story, shared with the hope that it will make you think twice before drinking abroad. Please stay safe.
I AM POSTING THIS ONLY TO RAISE AWARENESS WHEN DRINKING ABROAD. IT IS INTENDED TO BE SHARED SO PLEASE, GO AHEAD AND DO SO.
Anyone who knows me will know that I am an extremely careful and bubbly person, even when drinking I have a sensible head that will always talk me out of stupid decisions. I won’t go in to a lot of details surrounding the instances that brought the following conclusion but I have just spent 2 days in hospital having my face stitched up after falling from a 3rd floor balcony. I have no broken bones, no internal bleeding, only stitches in my face, a black eye, a pounding headache, concussion and a skin perforation under my armpit. I am EXTREMELY lucky.
I landed on my arm then my face, which broke my fall however this could have been a very different story. I would have never of thought I would be spending time in hospital abroad and would never in a millions years thought that I would be someone who would have fallen from that height especially after all the stories you hear about brits abroad. After I fell I don’t remember much but I want to describe what happened in hope that I will make someone think of this post the next time they decide to drink abroad.
I AM ABOUT TO BE VERY DESCRIPTIVE SO PLEASE BE AWARE. I woke up, in extreme amounts of pain in a pool of my own blood. No one had heard me fall and it was very early morning so no one was around, even though I was in a hotel, I spent at least 20 minutes calling for help and unable to open my mouth properly so, as you may be able to imagine, I could only get out stifled grunts. All I can remember is the taste of blood and a very fuzzy picture of the balcony door I’d fallen on to. I had thought that I’d broken my jaw and my arm, I was unable to move my legs and lay paralysed. I can only try to make you understand how much panic was going through my head.
The next thing I remember is a Greek paramedic asking me my name whilst they hoisted me on to a stretcher and a very distraught woman watching me from her balcony window, not only had I traumatised myself, I probably traumatised that woman too.
I was continuously passing out and ‘dreaming’ about what had happened in very vivid ways, I did not understand what had happened to me, what I was trying to do or even where I was. The next thing I remember is a Greek doctor flashing lights in my eyes and a very echoed voice asking me to tell them my date of birth. I couldn’t answer but I could feel so much pain, I was completely distraught and confused, please understand that even if you think you’re a good drunk, when something like this happens it is the most confusing thing you’ll ever go trough. A nurse stood next to me whilst I cried and cried waiting for another doctor to come, I had been passing out continuously due to concussion and panic attacks so she was there to keep an eye on me. I had no one but a Greek woman I had never met to hold my hand whilst I cried my eyes out, groaning. No one had come with me as the hotel didn’t know which room I was in.
I then had to have my face stitched, I was unable to tell the doctor that my mouth doesn’t numb properly, I need sedating for dental work in the Uk, so he did all of my stitches whilst I felt absolutely everything – the skin being pulled up and around, the needle entering and exiting my skin, his finger moving around inside my face and mouth.
I woke up at one point after this confused trying to pull out the catheter, which then had to be removed because I was yanking it so hard.
I then woke up hours later being wheeled to my hot and foreign hospital room in a neck brace, where my partner and friend had been informed and finally managed to find me. I was then wheeled off for multiple x-rays and CT scans in horrible old rooms with large machines that scared the shit out of me. I had to have so many CT scans because they didn’t know if I had a bleed in my brain, I was told that I may had to of had brain surgery. I did this ALONE. With NO ONE AROUND. I can’t explain how traumatic this has been for me. I don’t wish it upon anyone, not even my worst enemy. I am thanking a god I don’t even believe in that I am okay.
So please remember, even if you are a responsible drunk, alcohol when abroad isn’t the same as home and it will make you make stupid decisions, not think things through and can even make you feel like superman. I have no recollection of what happened which scares the fuck out of me, please, please drink responsibly and if you have a balcony always keep the door locked when you’ve been out on a night and never try to climb it either. I never thought it would happen to me and it did, so it can happen to you too and you may not be as lucky. Please please be aware.