Man saw kaleidoscopic light before going blind
BBC News
When Calum came to the Macdonald Vietnam border, he could not read the administrative forms in front of him. All he could see was a blinding Caleydoscopic light.
He got on the bus with his friends from the popular tourism center of Vang Vieng in Laos.
The day before, the group stayed in a hostel with free whiskey and vodka shots to the guests. Calum was mixing them with non -alcoholic drinks.
Only on the border, he suspected that something could be wrong in his opinion to his friends.
“[We agreed] It was strange, but we thought it was food poisoning and we thought the light I saw was some kind of sensitivity. “
But when they reached the destination points in Vietnam, it was clear that something was seriously wrong.
“We were sitting in the hotel room, my friends and I and I said to them: ‘Why are we sitting in the dark? Someone should open light.'” The lights were already open.
23 -year -old Calum is now blind and tells his story for the first time. He was one of a few victims Mass methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng Last November.
Six people are dead. Calum knew two – Danish girls he met overnight.
They all stayed in the town of Nana backpacker.
Calum is now working with the families of the other three British people who died after methanol poisoning in South East Asia.
They call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be more clear about the dangers faced by people while reservation in countries where methanol poisoning is concerned.
Simone White One of those people.
The day after Calum left Vieng, Simone drank free shots in the hostel. Previously, he had sent a text message to his mother, saying that it was the best holiday ever.
Simone was taken to hospital in the following days and a friend called her mother to inform what happened. Later, he stole again to say that Simone was in a coma.
Sue immediately reserved a flight, but before she got up, she received another call from a doctor in Laos, who treated Simone in the middle of the night.
“[He said] You need to allow for emergency brain surgery or will not survive…
“I flew the next day, knowing that it was going through the surgery and waited for the worst to be honest.”
28 year old He died in the hospital for methanol poisoning.
Sue says, “It’s hard to deal with what happened,” he says. “Nothing will bring Simone back.”
Methanol is a type of alcohol common in cleaning products, fuel and antifreeze. Used for alcoholic beverages is similar to the ethanole, but it is more toxic for humans. The way it is processed by the body.
Alcoholic beverages can be contaminated with methanol if it is produced badly.
According to non -boundary aid doctors (MSF), it is a known problem that hundreds of people are poisoned every year with cheap spirits in South East Asia.
If you consume one of these contaminated beverages and are exposed to methanol poisoning, symptoms may contain dizziness, fatigue, headache and nausea.
It looks like staying from a normal evening for many people, which makes it difficult to know if you are poisoned or too much drink.
After 12-48 hours, more serious problems such as seizures and blurred vision may occur. In severe cases, total blindness and patients can leave patients in a coma.
MSF can be fatal for people with less methanol as 30ml.
If it is diagnosed within 10-30 hours after consumption, methanol poisoning can be successfully treated with dialysis.
38 -year -old Kirsty McKie died in 2022, but wasn’t the result of accepting free shots.
In Bali, the Island of Indonesia, where he lived and worked for eight years, he enjoyed a friend at home the night before.
His friend Sonia Taylor said that both of them felt that they stayed in a bad evening the next day before Kirsty was hospitalized for treatment.
Sonia had dirty alcohol, but survived.
“We had no idea, Son Sonia says. “This was probably the hardest part for me, he didn’t know why you were alive and someone else was dead.
In Sumatra, another Indonesian Island Cheznye Emmons He died after drinking a gin It was later found that the legal limit contained 66,000 times for the methanol in beverages.
Cheznye’s mother Pamela says to BBC: “I think the worst part of this … [was] Just before starting to sleep, when he first came to the hospital, he said to his boyfriend: ‘Really, I’m really scared’.
“And on this basis for the last time [she spoke]. “
Calum’s advice to tourists is to avoid free drinks and souls in general. “I am sure that people really enjoy people in Southeast Asia.”
He says he has changed his perspective on the blindness of learning the deaths of two Danish girls he met in Vang Vieng.
“I am part of the way [had] It was dealing with it, it was to bury my head in the sand… I really felt like my life wasn’t worth living in many ways. “
Calum now learns to use a cane and hopes to resort to a guide dog soon.
Adds: “[The deaths] It made me realize that I am very lucky, and although I had some difficult results, I am very grateful because many people are even worse.
“Considering that I am lucky enough to survive, I have some responsibility to prevent and prevent the same thing from being the other people.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs described methanol poisoning and false alcohol as “a serious problem in some parts of the world” and said he was working with local authorities and travel industry to solve the problem.
“We are trying to clarify the risks for the British people traveling abroad and we create awareness with our travel advice and Travel Consciousness Campaign. “
