Sudden Death

Was watching National Geographic the other day, a program called Sudden Death. In this program, Thailand’s North East was much talked about. Some decades ago in Singapore, fit and healthy Thai construction workers started dying for no apparent reasons in their sleep. The hospitals in Singapore traced and found that these sudden death victims came from E-San (North East) Thailand. In E-San itself, the folks there encounter many of these unexplained cases, people dying for no apparent reasons in their sleep. In Thailand anything un-explainable to that which can be proven scientifically means paranormal. Easy way to understand the world.

Sudden Death is a genetically passed down defect mainly in men, the heart goes into an erratic quivering rhythm so that no bloods gets pump around. Then, everything dies. The only way to save the victim is to jump start the heart by using a heart defibrillator. Sudden Death in the farmer’s terms means a visit from a female ghost in their sleep. She takes the men’s soul away. The only way to prevent one from becoming a victim, dress as woman in their sleep.

National Geographic highlighted medical intervention can help. The person needs to be tested first for heart murmurs or something. If this symptom is present, it means the entire family tree could be affected and surgery for an implant should be carried out to prevent Sudden Death for those tested positive. Cost… USD $20,000 (THB $700,000).

How in the world is a farmer earning an average THB $6,000 per month suppose to afford that? They don’t. They just die when the time comes. Have a standby heart defibrillator? Cannot afford. Maybe they can jump start their heart with a car battery when it happens. Improvise whatever. It is so different the life of many here compared to Singapore. We live sheltered in a small place, every imaginable amenity is near. We have a medical problem, our insurance would have covered it. Singapore is a place where every man and woman is a piece of walking insurance policy. In other words, we have money and money diverts death (other then being run over by SBS bus). Thailand, everything left to fate, born rich and one is lucky, born poor and life is cheap. Knowing the impending death, they would accept. Knowing an impeding death a Singaporean however, we have the luxury to engage all kinds of money incurring solutions to divert. We have a choice, they don’t. A big world of difference, a life we can never imagine how to live.