In
1991 my father, Scott had been selected to represent Australia in a five day
International Polo Tournament held in Malaysia. The horses that they had been
given by the Malaysian Royal Family were very ‘green’. Scott’s horse, Snoopy
was the worst. He bucked and fidgeted before every game and watching Scott hold
on for his dear life through these times became a source of amusement amongst
the team.
 |
| Scott and the team at the Opening Ceremony. Scott is the man closest on the white horse. He was given a much calmer horse for this occasion. |
 | |||
| Before the game. My father is the third man from the left, on his horse Snoopy. |
It
was Day 3 of the Tournament and Scott knew that something was off. The first
match of the day against Malaysia started and Scott was surprised at how calm
Snoopy was. It was just after halftime and the Australians were winning by only
a few points. Scott was galloping after the ball when Snoopy slipped, throwing
Scott to the ground. When Scott attempted to stand he knew that there was
something very wrong with his shoulder. While the team chased Snoopy around the
field, attempting to catch him, Libby and the team manager, Angus sprinted to
Scott. Twenty minutes later they were in an ambulance on their way to the
General Hospital. Scott’s shoulder went from bad to worse as they sat in the
traffic. All he could concentrate on was the pulsating pain proceeding in his
right shoulder.
 |
| Scott and Snoppy chasing the ball. |
 |
| Scott and Snoopy moments before the accident. Scott is third from the right. |
An
hour and a half later they arrived at the hospital and by this time Scott was
in extreme pain. The hospital however was full to overflowing and everyone was
getting extremely frustrated by the lack of communication due to the language
barrier. Eventually they made contact with an English-speaking doctor who
hastily moved them through the filthy network of wards. The corridors were
lined with injured people. One person in line was on a trolley with all his
toes missing from a motorbike accident. The grubby hospitals walls were covered
with grime and filth, there were stray cats stalking around the wards and lying
on patients’ beds. It was obvious that the Malaysian standards were quite
different to that in Australia.
While
they sat, waiting for Scott's X-Rays to return, they saw a very large uniformed
security team pacing the wards with loaded machine guns making the three of
them feel extremely uncomfortable. Eventually they found out that they were
guarding a sick prisoner. Some of the guards were outside joking around with
their guns, when one guard accidentally shot another. Everyone began to run
around madly, dragging him into Scott's ward and onto the bed beside him. Thankfully,
only a few seconds later Scott's X-Rays returned showing a broken collarbone and
Scott was strapped up only a few moments later. As the three of them left they
felt an enormous sense of relief, and began to truly appreciate Australia’s
health care system.
