From Seoul Holiday To Emergency Surgery Back Home: S’pore Man’s ‘Mosquito Bite’ Turns Into Serious Infection

“That was when I knew this wasn’t something we should continue waiting out,” she said.

The couple eventually headed to an emergency room in Korea. Communication with the doctors proved difficult, and they had to rely on the Papago translation app.

After examining Shawn, the doctors delivered news that immediately changed the mood of the trip.

They wanted to admit him for one to two weeks.

“There was pus and they explained they’d have to clean the wound. Hearing ‘one to two weeks’ was when everything became very real,” Germaine said.

The doctors were prepared to admit Shawn immediately, but also told the couple that after cleaning the wound, they could choose to fly home for further treatment.

“We did consider staying because we didn’t know if Shawn could wait another 12 to 18 hours. But our family, doctors and support system are all in Singapore. So, we booked the earliest Singapore Airlines flight we could get,” she shared.

There were only two Business Class seats left, and by then, Shawn could no longer walk comfortably.

Despite everything, the couple tried to stay positive.

“We were still laughing and joking that this would be one for the memories,” Germaine recalled.

But underneath the jokes was genuine fear.

“My heart just sank seeing Shawn unable to even sit or walk properly. In that moment, I just wanted my husband to be okay,” she said.

Germaine also recalled an act of kindness on the flight that she says she won’t forget.

Their seats weren’t together, but the Singapore Airlines cabin chief managed to find another passenger willing to swap seats so the couple could sit beside each other.

“We managed to thank him before getting off the plane. He simply smiled and said, ‘No worries at all,” she recalled.

The moment they landed, Germaine contacted a family friend who is a doctor to ask where they should take Shawn.

Their flight touched down at 2pm. By 4.30pm, Shawn had been admitted to Mount Alvernia Hospital.

At 7.30pm, he went into emergency surgery to remove the infection.

An infectious disease specialist subsequently prescribed a different antibiotic to treat it. Germaine says they are still awaiting laboratory results to confirm that the infection has been completely cleared.

According to Germaine, the specialist later told them he was glad they had chosen to return to Singapore.

“We are glad too. Being in another country, they might not even have had this particular antibiotic,” she said.

For Germaine, the hardest part wasn’t pushing her husband through the airport in a wheelchair. It was waiting outside the operating theatre.

“The operating theatre is so cold and sterile, and seeing Shawn being wheeled out looking so cold and weak, I couldn’t do anything except wait for him to wake up,” she said.

That was when something clicked for her.

“We spend so much of our lives chasing the next holiday, the next project and the next milestone. But when someone you love is suddenly lying in a hospital bed, you don’t ask for another achievement, you just want your ordinary life back,” she reflected.

Shawn has since been discharged and is recovering at home, though he is still unable to walk normally.

The experience hasn’t put the couple off travelling, but Germaine says it has changed how they look at their health — and life.

“We will definitely take health more seriously. And we won’t dismiss something just because it looks small,” she said.

More importantly, the ordeal reminded them not to put off the things that matter.

“There will always be another meeting, another project and another milestone. But time with the people you love isn’t something you should keep saving for later,” she added.