A little background of how my day went before the accident.
It was the 9th day of our honeymoon trip in Europe and the 5th day in Iceland. We are on our halfway mark of our south eastern coast road trip and we are on the return direction back to Reykjavik. As a typical newly-wed, we travelled all the all the way from Singapore to Sweden to Iceland for our honeymoon, never expecting such an accident could happen.
We started the day after checking out from our guesthouse in Hofn (apotek guesthouse) , not having much of an itniary, only knowing that we will head to Skaftafell national park and staying at Nupar for the night. Along the way, we stopped at Jokulsarlon again and stopping at other beatufiul phototaking spots along the way. Very typical of a iceland road trip.
At Skaftafell national park, we decided on 2 spots to go, one is Skaftafellsjökull and the other is Svartifoss. Based on the visitor information provided at the park, these two routes are an easy walk and can be completed within an hour each Skaftafellsjökull is a magnificient glacier and we managed to visit it with ease, despite the strong winds.
There were some uphill climb for the route to Svartifoss, but not too tiring and the weather was good, bright though a little cloudy. We even felt warm and started to sweat a little from the walk. Snow and ice which are beside the paved roads are starting to melt. We managed to catch a glimpse of the waterfall and it was beautiful. On hindsight, when i looked at these photos now, i felt a little eerie. Probably psychological.
The accident, time around 1445
Melted snow and ice are starting to cover the paved roads to the waterfall and there is a downhill walk. As it was slippery, we decided to head back and not to go too close to the waterfall. After approximately 10-20 steps after we made the decision, I slipped and fell. I could not actually recall how i landed but it was very painful on my arm. I was lying body flat on the ground but my head could turn. I looked at my left arm, it looks out of place and very far away from my body. I started shouting "my arm, my arm". My husband, who was behind me rushed forward with a worried look. People around us came to us too. A nice lady suggested to immobilise my arm as i could have broken my arm or shoulder. I could not tell where i broke it, but only knew that my arm felt loose and extremely painful and heavy. As i could not get up on my own, given the slippery ice/snow, the nice lady and my husband helped me up. and she started to wrap and immobilise my arm with my husband's and my scarves. The people around us suggested that we call the visitor centre for help and the nice lady even helped me walk to the paved path. I walked slowly towards the visitor centre direction. however there is about 1km of downhill road to walk and it was very painful to be walking. My husband managed to contact the visitor centre and they told us they will be coming up to help us. About 10 minutes later, Lydia and her partner from the rescue team from the visitor centre arrived and wrapped me again to stablise my arm. We made our way down a little more to reach the road where the rescue team 's car is parked. It was difficult boarding the car, as it was high but i managed to. The bumpy road down to the visitor centre did no good for my pain too.
At the visitor centre, Lydia called the ambulance and gave me ice to ice my arm. We waited for about 1 hour for the ambulance to arrive. During the wait, Lydia was very kind and ensured that we are comfortable. We chatted about Iceland and I know more about Iceland education system. Lydia told us that the nearest clinic is about 40mintues drive away, hence the wait. The ambulance finally came at about 1615. the Paramedics observed me and we walked to the ambulance. It was a difficult climb up the ambulance and getting down onto the collapsible stretcher. the paramedic unwrapped the scarves on my arm and observe a little and called the doctor. The doctor advised painkiller and a trip to the hospital. The paramedics had to inject me with morphine as painkiller but as i was in layers of clothes, he wanted to cut my clothes. I was all ready for him to cut, but he insisted that i took off my outerwear. Probably he was afraid that it is too expensive so I took it off with great pain and he cut the remaining 3 layer of my clothing to inject the morphine. He seems nervous, trembling a little. i wonder why. We were all ready to set off to the hospital, which is about 3hours ride away at Selfoss. Given that we have a rented car, my husband could not follow and had to drive to the hospital.
On the ambulance, my arm was rested on my lap and the paramedic held on to my side of my arm. It was really a bumpy ride and was very painful whenever the amublance went passed the bumpy parts of the road. As i could not see the weather outside, i was worried about the safety of my husband. Iceland is known for unpredictable weather and i was afraid it might be snowing or raining and it will be dangerous for my husband. i prayed a little in the ambulance, checking on my watch constantly. I was sleepy, probably due to the drugs, but i refused to sleep as i felt unsettled.
The paramedic tried to spell my name in order to fill up the hospital form, but we had some language barrier and he couldn't spell my name, but luckily i am a right hander so i could actually write.
After 3 hours, i arrived at the hospital at Selfoss. The paramedics pushed me to the hospital but I have to climb out of the stretcher to change to the hospital bed. i waited for my turn and for my husband to arrive. A&E does not seem busy except for one other patient. A nurse came to introduce herself then she left. A doctor came to introduce himself and left again. Waited and waited. Doctor finally returned and touched my arm at various places to test for my pain. Finally, at about 8, they sent me to xray. It was a painful walk to the xray The radiographer told me i have broken my humerus and showed me my xray. My bone looks displaced. Back at the A&E, waited for the doctor and nurses and my husband again. Finally, they all came at about 830. Was so glad to see them. Doctor said that he consulted the orthopedics at Rekyjavik and they suggested no surgery is required. My husband who had my passport with me dealt with my registration and payment and the doctor instructed the nurses to do a cast for me. The nurses cut my sleeves and followed the guide to cast my arm.
The cast was warm and it actually felt comfortable. A collar and cuff was also provided. The doctor told us to head to the orthopedic when we are back in Singapore.
As it was late, around 930pm ,we could not go back to our original accommodation for the night, which is about 200km away. We found ourselves at Selfoss Hostel. a 5 minutes drive from the hospital. We had a quick dinner of instant cup noodles and head out to look for aurora. The Australian reception at the hostel told us to catch the aurora and suggested us to take a 5 minutes drive out of town. It was a clear day and we saw the aurora quite effortlessly. It was bright and green, however i did not get out of the car to view it as it was too cold for me. i could not wear my jacket. it was extremely cold for me with my sweater and thermal wear being cut off too.
Washing up at the hostel was difficult too. Just wiped myself with wipes and did not even bother to change my clothes. Lying down onto the bed was extremely difficult too. My husband had to hold me and slowly put me down. I slept with my hand resting at my pelvic as that was the most comfortable position and for the first time in my life, i think i did not twist or turn while sleeping.
What an epic and unforgettable day of our honeymoon.
