WEBVTT - Bethany And Simone Did Everything Together - Until a Toxic Drink Took Simone’s Life 0:00:10.365 --> 0:00:13.085 You're listening to a MoMA Mia podcast. 0:00:13.885 --> 0:00:16.885 Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters 0:00:16.885 --> 0:00:18.765 that this podcast is recorded. 0:00:18.365 --> 0:00:22.125 On about half past eight, we noticed that her breathing 0:00:22.125 --> 0:00:25.525 had changed and she started gasping for air. And that 0:00:25.605 --> 0:00:29.285 for me was when I thought, crap, I really have 0:00:29.405 --> 0:00:32.365 no idea what this is, because the hangover would never 0:00:32.445 --> 0:00:33.165 lead to that. 0:00:41.765 --> 0:00:44.885 Bethany Clark was three days into the trip of a 0:00:44.925 --> 0:00:50.205 lifetime with her best friend Simone White when everything changed. 0:00:51.365 --> 0:00:54.525 They were traveling through Lao, having the kind of adventure 0:00:54.525 --> 0:00:57.085 you meant to have in your twenties, meeting people, seeing 0:00:57.125 --> 0:01:00.685 the world, having fun. But one night they were given 0:01:00.805 --> 0:01:04.045 vodka shots at the backpacker hostel they were staying at. 0:01:04.605 --> 0:01:08.605 The drinks had been laced with methanol, a toxic chemical 0:01:08.885 --> 0:01:13.605 that can be deadly. By the next day, both Bethany 0:01:13.645 --> 0:01:18.445 and Simone were seriously unwell. The friends eventually admitted themselves 0:01:18.445 --> 0:01:23.045 to hospital. Only one of them survived. This is a 0:01:23.165 --> 0:01:29.285 story about survival, grief, and what it takes to speak 0:01:29.325 --> 0:01:33.445 out when your best friend can't. It's also a warning 0:01:34.165 --> 0:01:38.205 one Bethany is determined to share because it could save 0:01:38.325 --> 0:01:42.885 someone's life. Bethany Clark, Welcome to No Filter. 0:01:43.965 --> 0:01:44.285 Thank you. 0:01:44.725 --> 0:01:48.965 Can I say first of all that I'm extraordinarily sorry 0:01:49.005 --> 0:01:51.525 for the circumstances that have led to us meeting. 0:01:51.885 --> 0:01:53.085 Appreciate that, thank you. 0:01:53.645 --> 0:01:58.525 And the circumstances that I'm referring to occurred not even 0:01:58.565 --> 0:02:03.125 a year ago, November twenty twenty four, last year, and 0:02:03.205 --> 0:02:07.885 you were traveling with your best friend, Simone White. The 0:02:07.925 --> 0:02:10.805 pair of you grew up in England together. We did 0:02:11.125 --> 0:02:14.245 tell me a little bit about your upbringing together. 0:02:15.365 --> 0:02:16.045 So we met. 0:02:16.245 --> 0:02:18.445 I think I was four, she would have been five 0:02:18.925 --> 0:02:21.365 in the first year of primary school. 0:02:22.445 --> 0:02:25.045 And yeah, we've basically been friends ever since. 0:02:25.205 --> 0:02:27.885 She was that person to just keep us connected the 0:02:28.085 --> 0:02:31.685 entire time, so throughout various phases of our life. You know, 0:02:31.765 --> 0:02:34.645 we went to different secondary schools, we went to completely 0:02:34.645 --> 0:02:38.205 different unis, different parts of the country. She was always 0:02:38.245 --> 0:02:41.165 the anchor and the person that would always arrange the plans. 0:02:41.525 --> 0:02:44.005 We just did so many holidays together over the years. 0:02:44.085 --> 0:02:46.885 We did a massive backpacking trip when we were twenty 0:02:47.525 --> 0:02:52.045 and we did, you know, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, 0:02:52.565 --> 0:02:56.005 and we had a great time and obviously we just 0:02:56.085 --> 0:02:59.605 had no idea about what was to come, and we 0:03:00.005 --> 0:03:03.285 booked to go to Lao and Cambodia as part of 0:03:04.125 --> 0:03:06.885 a trip. So I was over in Australia doing my 0:03:06.925 --> 0:03:10.525 working holiday and she was as a lawyer back in 0:03:10.885 --> 0:03:15.205 London and Cambodia seemed to be the halfway point, so 0:03:15.285 --> 0:03:17.605 that's where we met and then a few days later 0:03:17.805 --> 0:03:20.525 we went to Lao and that's when it all went wrong. 0:03:21.005 --> 0:03:23.445 What you're talking about, too, is a part of the 0:03:23.445 --> 0:03:27.805 world that means a great deal to Australians. You would know, 0:03:27.845 --> 0:03:30.965 having spent so much time here that a lot of 0:03:31.005 --> 0:03:37.645 Australians start their traveling adventures by traveling through Southeast Asia. 0:03:37.725 --> 0:03:40.245 And in fact I met my husband on a trip 0:03:40.285 --> 0:03:41.965 to Lao twenty. 0:03:41.685 --> 0:03:43.365 Five years ago. 0:03:43.445 --> 0:03:49.685 Yes, So when the stories broke that you and Simone 0:03:50.085 --> 0:03:53.005 were in hospital, that there were these British girls and 0:03:53.005 --> 0:03:57.245 there were other backpackers as well who were in hospital 0:03:57.365 --> 0:04:04.925 at that point being treated for methanol poisoning, the whole 0:04:05.005 --> 0:04:10.045 nation kind of traveled that time period with you in Australia. 0:04:10.085 --> 0:04:15.005 It was also November, just before people leaving school here 0:04:15.085 --> 0:04:18.165 were about to go on schoolies, so it was really 0:04:18.245 --> 0:04:22.165 kind of a reminder of what can happen in a 0:04:22.205 --> 0:04:28.005 world that feels so open, welcoming fun, a celebration of youth. 0:04:29.405 --> 0:04:32.365 Was that the mindset that you and Simone had when 0:04:32.405 --> 0:04:34.005 you set off on your adventures. 0:04:34.565 --> 0:04:36.085 Yeah, I mean it was just supposed to be a 0:04:36.125 --> 0:04:37.405 fun holiday. Really. 0:04:37.725 --> 0:04:40.165 Initially the plan wasn't actually to go to Lao at all. 0:04:40.245 --> 0:04:43.405 It was just to be Cambodia, and Simone kind of 0:04:43.485 --> 0:04:46.005 encouraged me to go with the plan of it also 0:04:46.045 --> 0:04:48.525 being loud because we were only supposed to be there 0:04:48.565 --> 0:04:51.445 for four days. And this happened on the i think 0:04:51.485 --> 0:04:55.205 the third day, And it was really just because it's 0:04:55.245 --> 0:04:57.685 in the same region as Cambodia, and we were planning 0:04:57.725 --> 0:05:00.405 to do the islands like Co Wrong Co Wrong Center 0:05:00.565 --> 0:05:03.245 m because it's that close. She was like, Oh, we 0:05:03.245 --> 0:05:05.125 may as well do it too, because we're not going 0:05:05.205 --> 0:05:07.445 to want to go back just to do Loo. We 0:05:07.445 --> 0:05:10.805 weren't there long and this happened, and yeah, we were 0:05:10.845 --> 0:05:14.605 just there to chill out. We weren't drinking particularly heavily either. 0:05:14.765 --> 0:05:18.005 It was just wasn't much going on in that hostel. Really, 0:05:18.165 --> 0:05:20.845 it was just that happy hour between eight and ten, and. 0:05:21.285 --> 0:05:22.005 That's what did it. 0:05:22.325 --> 0:05:24.725 You were in a town called rain Being, which is 0:05:25.685 --> 0:05:28.565 has become a bit of a hot spot for tubing. 0:05:28.645 --> 0:05:30.485 You can go tubing down the river. 0:05:31.285 --> 0:05:33.205 That's what we did that day that it happened. 0:05:33.325 --> 0:05:37.285 Yeah, and so you'd had a kind of celebratory day 0:05:37.405 --> 0:05:41.685 in the outdoors, you went back to your the backpacker's 0:05:41.685 --> 0:05:44.565 hostel where you were staying, a place called Nana not 0:05:44.725 --> 0:05:45.405 a backpacker. 0:05:45.525 --> 0:05:49.285 Yeah, So we finished the tubing, went back there, got ready, 0:05:49.605 --> 0:05:51.885 and we knew about this happy hour starting at eight, 0:05:52.045 --> 0:05:54.925 So we got there shortly after eight, and I think 0:05:54.965 --> 0:05:57.245 we I suspect we had about five or six We 0:05:57.245 --> 0:05:59.045 were doing rounds and we were sort of going up 0:05:59.085 --> 0:06:01.485 to get the shots, which we would then to count 0:06:01.525 --> 0:06:03.725 into plastic tumblers. 0:06:03.845 --> 0:06:07.085 And then we also brought some sprite which we mixed 0:06:07.765 --> 0:06:08.085 with it. 0:06:08.205 --> 0:06:11.485 So I can't say that I ever tasted Neat vodka, 0:06:12.285 --> 0:06:14.485 but I remember just putting a little bit of sprite 0:06:14.485 --> 0:06:17.205 in testing it to see how strong it was, and 0:06:17.245 --> 0:06:19.005 I thought, oh, maybe they've diluted it. 0:06:19.005 --> 0:06:19.885 It's quite weak. 0:06:20.405 --> 0:06:22.885 So at that point, obviously I didn't have any concerns 0:06:22.965 --> 0:06:25.605 because if something just tastes weak, you think, oh, well, 0:06:25.645 --> 0:06:28.365 there's probably not a lot of ethanol. 0:06:28.445 --> 0:06:30.565 In this a lot of alcohol. 0:06:30.645 --> 0:06:34.485 But obviously, when I look back to that time, I think, well, 0:06:36.005 --> 0:06:40.245 maybe that's because it wasn't actually ethanol. It was methanol, 0:06:40.445 --> 0:06:44.005 so it kin'd of been pure methanol. Obviously we know that. 0:06:44.125 --> 0:06:47.085 But yeah, for for whatever reason, Simone must have had more. 0:06:47.645 --> 0:06:50.765 I mean, she had exactly the same volume, but the 0:06:50.845 --> 0:06:52.925 concentration of what she had must have been more. 0:06:53.645 --> 0:06:57.365 What was the vibe at the backpackers that night, so 0:06:58.085 --> 0:07:01.445 I imagine there were people were in pretty high spirits. People 0:07:01.445 --> 0:07:05.165 are on holidays there from all around the world. Everybody's 0:07:05.565 --> 0:07:09.525 genuinely young. How many people were they at the at 0:07:09.525 --> 0:07:10.165 that happy hour? 0:07:10.725 --> 0:07:13.085 It's tricky because we just sat at the table and 0:07:13.085 --> 0:07:15.885 I think we were probably the first to arrive, and 0:07:15.925 --> 0:07:18.685 we were sitting with two Swedish backpackers and a Dutch 0:07:18.725 --> 0:07:23.125 backpacker that we've met already. And I don't recall seeing 0:07:23.165 --> 0:07:25.525 loads and loads of people there. I know there would 0:07:25.565 --> 0:07:28.525 have been a few, but you know, I don't think 0:07:28.525 --> 0:07:31.725 it would have been any more than thirty. And we 0:07:31.765 --> 0:07:34.285 actually felt that there wasn't that much going on, so 0:07:34.325 --> 0:07:36.805 we were able to play a card game, which normally 0:07:37.165 --> 0:07:38.645 if there's a lot going on, you wouldn't even be 0:07:38.645 --> 0:07:41.245 able to hear. So we were playing Piccolo, which is 0:07:41.245 --> 0:07:44.005 a game on your phone. Yeah, I don't recall it 0:07:44.045 --> 0:07:47.045 being particularly loud, and I think that's also why at 0:07:47.085 --> 0:07:50.005 ten o'clock, when the drinks finished, the happy hour drinks finished, 0:07:50.005 --> 0:07:54.365 everybody just went somewhere else because there wasn't an amazing atmosphere. 0:07:54.805 --> 0:07:56.765 So yeah, it's supposed to be a party hostel, but 0:07:57.285 --> 0:08:01.165 I didn't get that particular vibe that night. So yeah, 0:08:01.205 --> 0:08:04.845 at ten o'clock, I actually went to bed because it 0:08:04.885 --> 0:08:06.645 was either that I had jet lag or it was 0:08:06.645 --> 0:08:08.565 that the method I was already starting to kick in, 0:08:08.685 --> 0:08:10.525 so I thought, okay, I'm going to go to bed, 0:08:11.045 --> 0:08:14.045 and the other three went onto a bar that we've 0:08:14.085 --> 0:08:16.445 been to a couple of nights before, so we knew 0:08:16.445 --> 0:08:19.525 that that one was okay. So they had a couple 0:08:19.565 --> 0:08:23.405 of drinks there and then came back. But yeah, later 0:08:23.445 --> 0:08:26.245 on we deduced that it can't have been that other 0:08:26.325 --> 0:08:29.605 bar because I didn't go there, and I still had 0:08:29.725 --> 0:08:31.085 I still had a problem. 0:08:32.045 --> 0:08:33.845 And we was simone at this point. 0:08:36.125 --> 0:08:37.445 So I got to bed about ten. 0:08:37.565 --> 0:08:41.765 She'd come back with our male friend at about just 0:08:41.805 --> 0:08:44.125 after midnight, so there was the three of us staying 0:08:44.165 --> 0:08:47.565 in a private room, and the male friend. I'm not 0:08:47.565 --> 0:08:49.045 going to mention his name because I don't think he 0:08:49.085 --> 0:08:51.965 really wants to be mentioned, but he is somebody that 0:08:52.005 --> 0:08:54.525 we both known for about ten years, and he met 0:08:54.565 --> 0:08:56.605 Simone at secondary school. 0:08:56.965 --> 0:08:58.725 Did you wake up when they came back. 0:08:59.645 --> 0:09:01.245 No, I think I was just truly out for the 0:09:01.285 --> 0:09:02.925 can I just I just passed out. 0:09:03.485 --> 0:09:07.285 So at what point did you realize that you were unwell? 0:09:08.405 --> 0:09:11.725 You had activity these planned the next day, So. 0:09:11.645 --> 0:09:14.045 We woke up the following morning, I think at about 0:09:14.565 --> 0:09:17.445 eight am, and we had this tour sort of half 0:09:17.445 --> 0:09:20.285 an hour later, so we were sort of trying to 0:09:20.285 --> 0:09:23.645 get everything ready and leave. But I just remember kind 0:09:23.645 --> 0:09:26.285 of coming down the steps from the hostel room and thinking, oh, 0:09:26.285 --> 0:09:30.605 I don't feel very steady here, and just generally feeling 0:09:31.205 --> 0:09:33.845 a bit confused and not really knowing what was going on. 0:09:34.445 --> 0:09:38.645 Absolutely no hunger whatsoever, which is quite unusual. 0:09:39.645 --> 0:09:42.925 Yeah, because normally, if it's a straightforward hangover, you're like, 0:09:43.165 --> 0:09:43.805 get me something. 0:09:43.965 --> 0:09:49.485 Very sy yeah. Yeah, and both of you were the same, Yeah. 0:09:49.405 --> 0:09:52.365 Very similar. I mean our male friend was similar at 0:09:52.365 --> 0:09:54.285 that point too. I think we all just agreed that 0:09:54.325 --> 0:09:57.165 something wasn't right, but we had no idea what it was, 0:09:57.245 --> 0:10:00.205 and because our cognitions didn't seem to be functioning either, 0:10:00.885 --> 0:10:02.645 we would never have come to the conclusion at the 0:10:02.685 --> 0:10:06.005 time that it was anything other than a hangover, because 0:10:06.045 --> 0:10:07.885 that was the only thing that sort of fitted with 0:10:07.925 --> 0:10:10.165 what we'd done, and we all wait diferent food. We 0:10:10.245 --> 0:10:13.045 definitely couldn't have put it down to food poisoning, so 0:10:13.285 --> 0:10:15.245 that was the only conclusion we came to at the time. 0:10:16.005 --> 0:10:19.325 And then obviously when we went to this tour, nothing 0:10:19.605 --> 0:10:22.485 really improved where it would have done. Really for a hangover, 0:10:22.645 --> 0:10:24.685 after you've had something to drink, had something to eat, 0:10:24.725 --> 0:10:28.245 you'd expect to feel that little bit better. But during 0:10:28.285 --> 0:10:32.205 that Blue Lagoon experience, Simone and I just had to 0:10:32.205 --> 0:10:35.005 sit down and we didn't want to swim, And again 0:10:35.085 --> 0:10:38.645 that's quite unusual for us because we're quite energetic. Especially 0:10:38.685 --> 0:10:40.685 when you're hungover. You just want to be in water, 0:10:40.805 --> 0:10:44.405 don't you, But no, not interested. And also our male 0:10:44.445 --> 0:10:46.805 friend at the time must have been feeling a little 0:10:46.845 --> 0:10:49.045 bit better because he was able to swim at that point, 0:10:49.805 --> 0:10:51.885 So that was all a little bit of a blur. 0:10:52.005 --> 0:10:54.325 But we actually took some pictures whilst we were there, 0:10:54.405 --> 0:10:56.605 because there were a couple of tourists that came up 0:10:56.645 --> 0:10:59.125 to us and said, can we have a picture with you, which, 0:10:59.605 --> 0:11:01.685 you know, we took a picture with them, and that 0:11:01.805 --> 0:11:06.125 is the last picture I have of Simone, and then 0:11:06.285 --> 0:11:09.605 we went on to do this kayaking experience shortly after that. 0:11:10.965 --> 0:11:13.885 Was that still at the Blue Lagoon. No, it was 0:11:13.925 --> 0:11:14.965 a different location. 0:11:15.205 --> 0:11:18.125 It was exactly where we'd done the tubing the day before, 0:11:19.165 --> 0:11:21.245 but because we felt that it might be nice just 0:11:21.245 --> 0:11:23.645 to sort of go at our own pace kayaking, that's 0:11:23.685 --> 0:11:24.565 what we chose to do. 0:11:25.685 --> 0:11:26.685 Except when we got. 0:11:26.485 --> 0:11:30.205 There, Simone and I couldn't actually sit up to do 0:11:30.245 --> 0:11:33.165 the kayaking, So instead of being able to use your core, 0:11:33.285 --> 0:11:36.045 sit up straight and paddle, we just had to lay 0:11:36.085 --> 0:11:38.805 flat on the backs of the kayaks and let the 0:11:38.845 --> 0:11:42.165 people that were so basically running the tour they had 0:11:42.165 --> 0:11:44.365 to get on our kayaks and actually paddle for us. 0:11:45.045 --> 0:11:47.765 So again, that should have been a big red flag. 0:11:48.205 --> 0:11:49.965 And I think at the time I was thinking this 0:11:50.045 --> 0:11:52.845 is this is quite odd, but again, because my brain 0:11:52.965 --> 0:11:55.805 wasn't functioning, I just thought, oh, this is you know, 0:11:55.885 --> 0:11:59.005 a really severe hangover. You know, I just didn't seem 0:11:59.085 --> 0:12:01.685 to have the lateral thinking of oh, could this be 0:12:01.725 --> 0:12:02.485 methanol poison? 0:12:02.525 --> 0:12:04.205 Could this be something else? 0:12:04.445 --> 0:12:07.765 It It just seemed to be an easy conclusion for 0:12:07.845 --> 0:12:10.445 me to come to. And I've saw Simone sort of 0:12:10.485 --> 0:12:13.405 being sick off of her kayak with our male friend 0:12:13.485 --> 0:12:17.445 on it, and I'm thinking, oh, she doesn't really do 0:12:17.485 --> 0:12:20.365 that unless it's motion sickness, and I'm thinking it's really 0:12:20.445 --> 0:12:24.125 motion sickness because we're so slow on these things. But anyway, 0:12:24.565 --> 0:12:28.685 that was the first time that she'd actually vomited. And 0:12:28.725 --> 0:12:32.645 then that experience, I was literally just looking up at 0:12:32.685 --> 0:12:35.085 the sky waiting for the whole thing to end because 0:12:35.125 --> 0:12:37.565 it was just pointless, you know, we weren't enjoying it. 0:12:38.085 --> 0:12:40.845 And we got back to the hostel after that when 0:12:40.885 --> 0:12:43.485 it had finished, and we were literally just waiting around 0:12:43.485 --> 0:12:45.525 to get on our bus to VNTI Anne, which was 0:12:45.525 --> 0:12:47.925 the next place that we needed to be, and that's 0:12:48.125 --> 0:12:50.885 where we were staying in our hostel the following well 0:12:50.885 --> 0:12:53.005 that night, but obviously we didn't end up getting there. 0:12:53.445 --> 0:12:57.445 But yeah, back at the hostel, Simone actually asked me, 0:12:57.565 --> 0:13:00.605 can you order me some food? And I'm thinking, oh, wow, 0:13:00.685 --> 0:13:03.365 you actually feel like eating, so again, I wasn't too 0:13:03.365 --> 0:13:05.285 worried about her at that point, so I'm thinking, what's 0:13:05.325 --> 0:13:07.405 good that you want to eat, because I've got no interest. 0:13:08.045 --> 0:13:10.885 So I ordered the food for her. She ate probably 0:13:10.925 --> 0:13:14.485 half of it, and then probably an hour later, we 0:13:14.485 --> 0:13:18.125 were just chilling by this pool at Nana backpacker by 0:13:18.285 --> 0:13:20.325 on these sun loungers, and then we needed to get 0:13:20.365 --> 0:13:23.405 on this bus. So probably around two o'clock we got 0:13:23.405 --> 0:13:26.405 on the bus. I just literally passed out right at 0:13:26.445 --> 0:13:30.125 the back of the bus. So I was knackered, and yeah, 0:13:30.325 --> 0:13:32.485 just so fatigued that I just couldn't stay away to 0:13:32.765 --> 0:13:34.085 talk to them. So I just sat at the back 0:13:34.085 --> 0:13:36.685 of the bus and they sat at the front. And 0:13:36.725 --> 0:13:39.445 then around an hour through that journey, probably at three 0:13:39.525 --> 0:13:43.685 half us three, my male friend called out to me, Biff, 0:13:43.725 --> 0:13:45.325 which is what someone used to call me, can you 0:13:45.365 --> 0:13:46.045 get off the bus. 0:13:46.165 --> 0:13:47.965 Simon's being sick vomiting. 0:13:48.565 --> 0:13:51.965 So I got off, checked on her, and then I fainted, 0:13:52.485 --> 0:13:56.805 and again, you know, in my head, I'm thinking, oh, 0:13:56.805 --> 0:13:59.525 that's a bit strange, but again I didn't seem to 0:13:59.565 --> 0:14:03.245 be able to understand that was quite severe in addition 0:14:03.285 --> 0:14:07.645 to the other symptoms, so you know, and I'm also thinking, oh, 0:14:07.685 --> 0:14:10.845 that can't have been a seizure, because I'm known I 0:14:10.885 --> 0:14:14.125 have epilepsy. So I was thinking, oh god, it's not that, 0:14:14.165 --> 0:14:16.045 because that would have been horrific, you know, that would 0:14:16.045 --> 0:14:18.685 have been trick ending. So the fact that I'd managed 0:14:18.685 --> 0:14:20.965 to literally just jump up after this faint and think, 0:14:21.085 --> 0:14:23.205 oh I kind of been a seizure because I'd still 0:14:23.245 --> 0:14:25.445 be out of it. We just got back on the bus, 0:14:25.485 --> 0:14:27.725 and no one around us on this bus seemed to 0:14:27.725 --> 0:14:30.685 take really any interest. No one said, you, guys, okay, 0:14:30.885 --> 0:14:34.245 I just saw you faint, You're okay. Nothing, So again, 0:14:34.285 --> 0:14:35.965 I suppose I just thought, oh, well, it can't be that. 0:14:36.005 --> 0:14:39.925 Bad, yes, because you're reading the cues from the people 0:14:40.005 --> 0:14:43.645 around you, and the people around you probably just assumed 0:14:43.645 --> 0:14:47.085 that you were two girls who had a large night. Yeah, 0:14:47.125 --> 0:14:50.245 and you were suffering the effects of a hangover. Had 0:14:50.285 --> 0:14:53.205 they pulled the bus over because Simone was so seek 0:14:53.245 --> 0:14:54.205 at that time. 0:14:54.125 --> 0:14:56.125 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:14:56.165 --> 0:14:59.205 And then our male friend said to the driver, I 0:14:59.205 --> 0:15:00.965 think we're going to need to drop us to a hospital, 0:15:01.045 --> 0:15:04.445 which they were prepared to do luckily, but unfortunately we 0:15:04.485 --> 0:15:08.445 went to a public hospital in Vieni Anne, who they 0:15:08.445 --> 0:15:11.885 were just pretty to be honest. So when we got there, 0:15:12.485 --> 0:15:15.845 I ended up just waiting outside with Simone because again 0:15:16.005 --> 0:15:19.005 we didn't understand severity of what was going on. So 0:15:19.085 --> 0:15:21.325 our male friend went in and we just watched him 0:15:21.325 --> 0:15:24.685 go in, and we waited outside just to sort of rest. 0:15:24.925 --> 0:15:27.245 There was some I think there's some benches or something 0:15:27.285 --> 0:15:29.285 that we could sit on, so we were just sitting there, 0:15:30.085 --> 0:15:31.725 and then after about an hour of doing that, I 0:15:31.765 --> 0:15:34.245 said to Simone, I think I'm going to have to 0:15:34.285 --> 0:15:36.725 go in because I'm not really feeling any better and 0:15:36.765 --> 0:15:39.125 I want to see what's happened with our other friend. 0:15:39.365 --> 0:15:40.085 So I went in. 0:15:40.285 --> 0:15:41.085 Had he gone in? 0:15:41.405 --> 0:15:44.285 Was he he was going in sort of to advocate 0:15:44.325 --> 0:15:47.005 for you, to say, I'm with these two girls who 0:15:47.005 --> 0:15:47.845 are unwill. 0:15:47.565 --> 0:15:51.325 And particularly he felt unwell and that's why he went in. 0:15:51.485 --> 0:15:53.965 But for us, we I think if I'd thought there 0:15:54.005 --> 0:15:56.445 was something seriously wrong, I would have gone in, But 0:15:56.525 --> 0:15:59.045 because again I'm just thinking, oh, it's a hangover, and 0:15:59.085 --> 0:16:00.645 I think this is the trouble. When we see these 0:16:00.645 --> 0:16:03.005 other cases, people just rest it off and they think 0:16:03.005 --> 0:16:04.485 that it's going to be fine and they're just laying 0:16:04.525 --> 0:16:06.965 in bed and then it all just goes wrong and 0:16:07.005 --> 0:16:10.525 they don't actually realize the severity what's going on. So, 0:16:10.645 --> 0:16:13.565 you know, the two Danish girls that are being sick, 0:16:13.725 --> 0:16:16.005 blood and the messaging, and I'm being sick, you know, 0:16:16.445 --> 0:16:19.245 large coming up. Surely that would be a red flag 0:16:19.285 --> 0:16:23.165 if you were feeling normal, But because you'd ingested this stuff, 0:16:23.285 --> 0:16:24.565 your brain just doesn't work. 0:16:25.045 --> 0:16:26.285 I didn't realize that. 0:16:27.165 --> 0:16:30.085 One of the side effects of mythanol poisoning is that 0:16:30.165 --> 0:16:34.125 it has this cognitive effect on you, so that you 0:16:34.685 --> 0:16:36.925 don't think clearly. Yeah. 0:16:36.965 --> 0:16:39.645 And this is why I've had to kind of give 0:16:39.685 --> 0:16:44.005 myself a bit of a bit of slack because at 0:16:44.005 --> 0:16:47.765 the time I was poisoned too, and I didn't pick 0:16:47.845 --> 0:16:51.845 up on what was going on. And I think having 0:16:51.885 --> 0:16:54.405 sort of spoken to my mum after the event as well, 0:16:54.445 --> 0:16:57.165 you know, my apparently when I rang her after the event, 0:16:57.245 --> 0:17:00.125 my eyes were moving properly and my speech was slow, 0:17:00.285 --> 0:17:03.805 and clearly it wasn't just me, you know, other people 0:17:03.845 --> 0:17:06.965 could see it. It wasn't just like you know, I 0:17:07.005 --> 0:17:09.765 thought my brain wasn't working. She could see it wasn't working. So, 0:17:11.365 --> 0:17:13.765 you know, at least I don't have to blame myself 0:17:13.765 --> 0:17:15.765 in that, you know, my brain was working perfectly, and 0:17:15.805 --> 0:17:19.645 my friends still died. You know, I think in this situation, 0:17:20.725 --> 0:17:24.565 we were all screwed basically. And also with Simone, you know, 0:17:25.045 --> 0:17:27.405 she chose not to go into that public hospital as well, 0:17:27.645 --> 0:17:29.965 and I did try and encourage her in there, but 0:17:30.085 --> 0:17:31.645 she just wasn't having it. And she was one of 0:17:31.725 --> 0:17:34.845 those strong willed people who, you know, you couldn't tell 0:17:34.845 --> 0:17:37.565 her to not do something or to do something. She 0:17:37.565 --> 0:17:40.725 would have to make that decision herself. She's a very 0:17:40.725 --> 0:17:41.725 strong willed person. 0:17:42.245 --> 0:17:48.325 And also she was a lawyer, So just knowing generally. 0:17:47.925 --> 0:17:52.725 The personality type that become lawyers, they do tend to 0:17:52.765 --> 0:17:55.205 be people who are very certain of themselves. 0:17:56.045 --> 0:17:58.045 Yes, and I think she wouldn't have thought that it 0:17:58.085 --> 0:18:01.645 was anything bad going on because similarly to me, she 0:18:01.765 --> 0:18:03.885 probably thought it was just a hangover, because I think 0:18:03.925 --> 0:18:06.525 she said to her other friend, this is a really 0:18:06.565 --> 0:18:09.725 severe hangover. This was earlier in the day, so she 0:18:09.765 --> 0:18:12.765 obviously hadn't come to the conclusion it was anything worse, 0:18:12.885 --> 0:18:16.285 and she had no idea about methanol poisoning either. So anyway, 0:18:16.645 --> 0:18:18.725 we sat outside this hospital for a while. 0:18:18.805 --> 0:18:19.525 I then went in. 0:18:20.325 --> 0:18:21.925 As soon as I got in, I said to them, 0:18:22.005 --> 0:18:24.685 look what is this, And they were like, well, we 0:18:24.725 --> 0:18:28.485 think it's food poisoning. I said, too rather friendly, it 0:18:28.525 --> 0:18:30.845 can't be that, because we all have different diets. 0:18:30.925 --> 0:18:32.205 It can't possibly be that. 0:18:32.365 --> 0:18:35.645 I wasn't vomiting, I hadn't had diarrhe I hadn't even 0:18:35.645 --> 0:18:38.565 got stomach pain. So they just kept going on with 0:18:38.645 --> 0:18:41.805 that diagnosis, really, and until somemone came in, that was 0:18:41.845 --> 0:18:45.525 still their diagnosis, and they took me up to an 0:18:45.605 --> 0:18:48.205 ivy drip, which I was very reluctant to do. I 0:18:48.205 --> 0:18:50.965 didn't really want them sticking needles in my hand without 0:18:51.005 --> 0:18:53.205 knowing what it was that was actually going on. But 0:18:53.685 --> 0:18:56.245 because our male friend had had success with feeling better, 0:18:56.325 --> 0:18:58.045 I thought, all right, well I'll just continue on the 0:18:58.045 --> 0:19:00.805 same treatment plan that you've started on. I think they 0:19:00.845 --> 0:19:03.525 also gave me some anti sickness stuff later as well, 0:19:03.565 --> 0:19:05.805 but at that time I didn't feel that bad. 0:19:06.125 --> 0:19:09.805 What was the situation at the hospital, what, what was 0:19:09.885 --> 0:19:12.365 the makeup of it was? I imagine it was quite 0:19:12.365 --> 0:19:15.645 a humble DIYer. Yeah it was, yeah. 0:19:15.485 --> 0:19:17.205 Right world, Yeah so it was. 0:19:17.405 --> 0:19:20.045 When you went in, it was one big ward, obviously 0:19:20.045 --> 0:19:23.045 really overcrowded. There was just a separate room which was 0:19:23.125 --> 0:19:26.445 used as their sort of version of ICU. Not many doctors, 0:19:27.085 --> 0:19:30.485 very few nursing stuff sort of available, And I remember 0:19:30.485 --> 0:19:32.365 actually going to the toilet in there at one point 0:19:32.565 --> 0:19:35.445 and there was no pound wash, there was there was 0:19:35.485 --> 0:19:38.445 no toilet paper. I actually ripped my canula out to 0:19:38.565 --> 0:19:40.685 use the toilet. That was basically what we were, what 0:19:40.685 --> 0:19:43.845 we're talking about. I imagine the care for other people 0:19:44.005 --> 0:19:46.205 wasn't great. If we were told that we had food poisoning, 0:19:46.205 --> 0:19:48.525 then I'm sure there were probably other misdiagnoses going on 0:19:48.565 --> 0:19:52.085 there too, But anyway, I eventually got myself in there, 0:19:52.285 --> 0:19:54.405 That's what they said, and then I waited probably another 0:19:54.445 --> 0:19:58.285 hour before Simone eventually came in and she walked in. 0:19:58.405 --> 0:20:00.165 She's still talking again. 0:20:00.205 --> 0:20:02.045 I'm thinking, well, you're pretty much the same as me, 0:20:02.125 --> 0:20:04.365 except that you've been vomiting, which is obviously a bit 0:20:04.405 --> 0:20:04.925 more severe. 0:20:05.645 --> 0:20:07.845 So they put her in a bed, which wasn't really 0:20:07.965 --> 0:20:08.725 part of the ward. 0:20:08.845 --> 0:20:11.085 It seemed like the hospital was so overcrowded that she'd 0:20:11.085 --> 0:20:14.165 sort of gone on like a gurney type I don't know, 0:20:14.245 --> 0:20:17.685 like a stretchery type thing, you know, those wheelie beds, 0:20:18.405 --> 0:20:20.885