Transcript
CHANTELLE KINCY: Hey there, welcome to Go Far Girl. Today on Go Far Girl, I'm joined with Alexandra. She's an adventure junkie, travel photographer, and a full-time mermaid. Known for capturing the wildest corners of the world with a camera in one hand and a tail in the other, Alexandra dives headfirst into epic experiences to inspire other others to chase magic and memories.
CHANTELLE KINCY: But today, she is here to talk about a completely different kind of story, which is a medical emergency that she had abroad, tested her resilience, left her realizing she's capable of so much more than she ever imagined.
CHANTELLE KINCY: So Alexandra, welcome. I'm so happy to see you.
Alexandra: Thank you so much for having me. It's so fun to be on this show.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I was so stoked. And it's like kind of like going to be a weird subject, right? We're like oh it's a medical emergency. I'm so excited to talk about this.
Alexandra: true. Oh yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: But I because like not everything is perfect and rosy all the time.
Alexandra: it's very true
CHANTELLE KINCY: And sometimes these experiences are the ones that were like, yeah, I did that.
Alexandra: who
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like, plus, like, I think it's good for people to know that like, it's not all Instagram worthy, right?
Alexandra: oh yeah
CHANTELLE KINCY: Sometimes like, it just sucks. Yeah.
Alexandra: Oh yeah, we we we we have to be authentic. Cause I do have a lot of really cool stories that I'm like, yes, I did this and I checked this off my bucket list. But man, they're like, they're like, tell me a real story when you were just like scared and didn't know what to do.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: And I was like, I'm go about to, I'm about to hit you with this story. And every time they're like, wait, what?
CHANTELLE KINCY: Bring it. All right. So backstory, where were you?
Alexandra: Bring it on.
Alexandra: Okay, so I was in Vietnam and I actually decided, because I moved to England when I was 18 and spent all of my university years there. And then afterwards, after I was done with uni, i was like, oh, I'm going to go backpacking.
Alexandra: So i I was on the road for a long time. Like it was like six or seven months that I was just traveling straight, like in and out of hostels, out of backpacks.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Okay. Yeah.
Alexandra: And I was in Vietnam and I was doing a dive. And I was traveling with a group, but I wasn't traveling with anybody. Like I was just by myself and nobody wanted to go diving with me. And I was like, whatever, that's fine. I'll go by myself.
Alexandra: So I went diving and I had a piercing in my ear. I had two piercings and it was kind of like in the upper side of my ear.
CHANTELLE KINCY: okay yeah
Alexandra: And I think I just jumped out of the boat. If nobody's divers here, you kind of like grab your, you know, grab your mask and just kind of step off the boat kind of thing. And I think I just knocked it, like knocked my earring.
Alexandra: And it was like a year and a half after I had gotten this piercing. Like it was not new.
CHANTELLE KINCY: So it wasn't like fresh. You weren't thinking about it like constantly.
Alexandra: Right. Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Yeah. Like I could kind of feel that I knocked it a little bit. But anyway, I digress. So I had a great dive and kind of a mini adventure within the story is I lost my buddy.
Alexandra: So like halfway through, I just I like was looking at this clownfish and I was like, oh, my gosh, this clownfish is so cute. And then I looked up and everyone was gone. like I was just like by myself so i was like okay remember your training Alex here we go so like stayed down there for whatever you know like a minute or two and then you know surfaced um I call it like the they were like a safety sausage where it like blows up so it's like a rescue me kind of thing and I just sat there for like a good solid like 40 minutes to an hour and I was like this is how I die like I just don't
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh my gosh.
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah Even when you came to surface, you couldn't see anybody? Like...
Alexandra: No, like the boat.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Yeah, like we were basically, um there was a huge rock that was right in the middle. And that's what we were diving around.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: And the boat had gone the other way and I was flowing the other way. So it took them a long time to actually get back to me. And I was just sitting there. I was like, huh, okay, this is cool.
Alexandra: And I think what happened is there was like sea lice, like little tiny things that were like biting me as I was in the water. And I think it just got in my ear and it just infected it so so that
CHANTELLE KINCY: I'm visualizing.
Alexandra: oh
CHANTELLE KINCY: Don't love the story already, but...
Alexandra: oh Oh, man. And I was doing great. Like, I was fine. And they they apologized. a like They were like, sorry, we went the other side of the rock. We're just going to, like, take you to this pristine Vietnamese beach and give you all this really good Vietnamese food. So I was happy. I was fine.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I mean, for sure. That's a win, right? Like, yeah.
Alexandra: Oh, yeah. was like, this week still ended well. Like, I'm happy about it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Little did I know what was just brewing in my ear. Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Could you feel ah like you knew you hit your earring, but then could you feel anything like while you were in the water? Like, did you immediately know this is something's weird with this? Or was it like, okay, so a couple days.
Alexandra: No, no, I didn't notice it at all. Yeah. And then the next morning I woke up and I was like, something's wrong. Like it's, I can't, but I still like tried to go, I tried to clean it really well. And then I ended up like talking to the person who pierced it and was like, I don't know what to do. She was like, oh just do this. And i was like, girl, I'm not in America right now. Like I am so far away.
Alexandra: i don't know what to do. ah So then what happened was i I tried to take it out in the airport because I was going to Ho Chi Minh and it wasn't coming out.
Alexandra: and There was like some people who saw me crying in the bathroom and they were like, we'll go get help. And they were like, go to an ER right away as soon as you land, which is but what you want to be told when you're traveling abroad, like you're 20 years old traveling abroad.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Right. Exactly.
Alexandra: that's That's exactly the words you want to hear is go to an yeah ER.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And you're about to get on a flight. It's not like you're going to go do it right that second. So then the whole time I'm like, oh my gosh, the pressure. What about this?
Alexandra: Oh yeah, I'm like seriously sitting here just like overthinking everything that's happening.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Do you speak any Vietnamese?
Alexandra: Oh, no, no. I wish I could.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Okay.
Alexandra: I wish I could.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: But, um you know, other than the basics that I did know um just from traveling.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. Okay.
Alexandra: um So then I got there and apparently all of their doctors take like a day off each week and then they're just like on call. So this was not like a medical emergency. Like but my life wasn't in danger. So they were like, deal with it.
Alexandra: I was like, OK, sounds good. um
CHANTELLE KINCY: Well, it's a mental health crisis, so yes it is an emergency.
Alexandra: I know, I was like, I don't what to do here. like I'm like in like the Ho Chi Minh tunnels, just like crying. Everyone's like, what's wrong? I was like, I'm just in so much pain. Like, don't know what's going on.
Alexandra: um And it was really funny because I did find a ah local hospital and they told me that I needed to be hospitalized and put on an antibiotic drip for like two weeks. And I was like, surely not.
Alexandra: I was like, what do I even do?
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like, this is really escalating from this isn't an emergency to hang on for two weeks.
Alexandra: Right, right, right.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like...
Alexandra: So I'm like trying to talk to my doctors back in the US. I'm trying, oh yeah, it was just this whole thing. So by the time I actually did get medical attention, super gross, but ah my ear had gone over the earring.
Alexandra: So yeah, like it had just like swollen so much that the it just like enveloped the earring. So gross.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I can imagine how painful that pressure was too.
Alexandra: Oh my gosh, so painful.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like you couldn't lay down or do anything because that, I mean, it's terrible.
Alexandra: Yeah, yeah. And I'm like in a, in like a coed hostel.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And it was like, perfect, perfect.
Alexandra: So like, it's not like I'm in a, yeah, yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Did you meet lots of mates?
Alexandra: i
CHANTELLE KINCY: Did you meet like, like Hey,
Alexandra: Everyone's like, what is wrong with your ear?
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah what's wrong with the girl with the ear?
Alexandra: And I'm like, don't look at it. Just don't look at it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Okay.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Was it oozing too, or was it just like, because sometimes it it's gross when it oozes, but at least it relieves some of that pressure, right?
Alexandra: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Or was it really just like building up in there?
Alexandra: Kind of. It was just really just so red and so just, it's just angry. had an angry ear.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Oh, it was, yeah, just so painful. And then, so we did x-rays because they were like, maybe the back of the earring fell off. No, it just my it was just underneath my ear. So they they told me, they were like, we're going to have to surgically remove it, which is the second greatest thing that you want to hear when traveling as a 20-year-old solo female traveler in Vietnam.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh my gosh. Bring it.
Alexandra: ah Okay, so here's, are you ready for the dicey part?
CHANTELLE KINCY: bring it
Alexandra: Okay, here we go.
CHANTELLE KINCY: but for
Alexandra: ah Hold on to the wheel. Let's go. So i go in there and I'm like, great, it'll be fine. They'll like put some numbing agent on it. They'll cut it off five minutes.
Alexandra: Instead, a nurse came in and she held down, like put her forearm on my head and just like held me down to the table and they just cut it out. Just no anesthesia, nothing.
Alexandra: And I just like sat there and screamed for like 45 minutes.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I am going to cry right now. oh my God.
Alexandra: it was so painful and so scary. And they ah my family makes fun of me for this still to this day, but um they would, they were like, like obviously like cutting the earring out of me and and they were like screaming Vietnamese at each other. And I had no clue what they were saying. And then every once in a while they would just like look at me and they would go,
Alexandra: you pushed through a pain! You so strong! and I would just be like, like, I'm just, like, sobbing.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh my gosh.
Alexandra: So every time my family's like, you pushed through pain! You so strong!
Alexandra: Uh...
CHANTELLE KINCY: oh my gosh
Alexandra: ah So then um she, she like grabs my earring and like, obviously it's done. And she like shows it to me, like the bloodied earring. And she's like, look. And I'm like, and then I was like, i was like, where's the other one? And she's like, the other one's not infected. And I was like, get it out of my ear.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Take it out.
Alexandra: right now, take it out, I'm never doing this again. And then she starts cutting the other one. And I was like, girl, it's not infected. just Just unscrew the back. And she was like, no, no, no. no So then it was another 45 minutes for her to cut the other earring out of me.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh my goodness.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Why was there no anesthetic? Like, I understand you're not in the U.S., but you're not like in like the outback with just like Aboriginal medicine either. Like you're still in a city.
Alexandra: Right, well, now and then um but my little nurse friend leaves that was holding me down there. And I was like, where is she going? And she was like, oh, she's gonna go get some anesthesia for the sutures.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Stop it.
Alexandra: And I actually like like was so close to madness by this point. And I was like, why wasn't that used? She gave me some medical explanation, but I was like, i don't care, don't care, it's fine.
Alexandra: So she came back, but she she cut open my ear enough where I needed stitches on that upper portion of my my ear
CHANTELLE KINCY: And then gave you anesthesia to suture
Alexandra: And I was like, at this point, I can't even feel my ear. Like, it's gone. I don't even know if I have an ear anymore. and then I asked her and i was like, I'm in some serious amount of pain here.
Alexandra: Can you give me something? And she was like, oh my gosh, yes, girl, I got you. And she gave me a Tylenol, like an acetabedophen.
CHANTELLE KINCY: it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And how did that help? but
Alexandra: ah oh it helped so much. Not really.
CHANTELLE KINCY: You may as well have like had a Skittle or something. Obviously. I'm all in.
Alexandra: So that if if you want to keep hearing about how this story develops, um ah yeah, so, um the oh because it keeps getting crazier.
CHANTELLE KINCY: obviously i'm all in
Alexandra: Well, not as crazy, but it just keeps going. and So um after that, i at the day after, I spent 16 hours on a bus crossing into Cambodia. So that's what I did the day after.
Alexandra: i was just like a walking ball of stress at this point. And as i said, I'm 20. And so I'm calling my mom and I'm like, I have never been tested this hard. Like, Like, don't know what to do.
Alexandra: And um when she wrapped my ear, it is actually funny because, you know, I stopped at a couple of locations. So there's just these pictures of me, these beautiful Vietnamese locations, like going on boats. And I just have like a huge ear bandage
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh, and then you probably couldn't dive anymore either, huh?
Alexandra: Oh yeah, no, I couldn't get it wet for three months after this happened.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Like not even like in the shower. I was like, and she's like, you're going home soon, right? And I was like, no, I'm still going to be i'm still goingnna be traveling in three months.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Wasn't the plan.
Alexandra: So there you go. but ah But anyway, so um she didn't use the nonstick gauze. So it just had like dried to my ear. So it took like these two men like an hour to like cut it out.
Alexandra: but like the gauze out of my ear and so at this point i'm I'm just freaking out I call my mom and I'm like I this is just like the worst thing that's ever happened to me like I don't know what to do and she finally got me calmed down and I went back in my roommate that I was sharing a room with is puking her guts out because she ate something weird and no joke I'm sitting there and a cockroach crawls across my bed
CHANTELLE KINCY: Nope.
Alexandra: And I was like, nope. So then I called my mom back and I was like, mom, mom, fly me home.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Nope.
Alexandra: And she, you know, those like Snapchat filters where it's like a, you know, it like superimposes your face onto things.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Alexandra: So she superimposed her face onto a hot dog and she sent it to me and said, don't be a wiener.
Alexandra: She's like, that's the only thing I can think of telling you right now.
CHANTELLE KINCY: what
CHANTELLE KINCY: Did you laugh or did you cry?
Alexandra: I did, honestly, I was like, that's kind of what I needed. Just tough love and humor. That's, that's totally what I needed. Oh,
CHANTELLE KINCY: You're like, okay, rebound. But you had to also just be like emotionally exhausted too.
Alexandra: yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like, and cause you know, like when you get, like you go through something like that and then once it's like kind of done, you just crash and, but you can't, you still got to be on a bus and you've still got to be like on alert and you've still got to like be in public places and doing all these things.
Alexandra: oh yeah
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like when did you like come down? Like London in three months or like...
Alexandra: I feel like I just did Like it was just, and it was also hard. Cause like, like a few days after it happened, I went to really, really sad, but very moving was ah like the, think it's S 21 prison and like the killing fields in Cambodia. Yeah.
Alexandra: And it was so hard for me to be there. And it was kind of recent. So I got to talk to some of the survivors. It was, as I said, such an amazing experience, but it was so hard for me, you know, not to like compare anything of what I went through to what they went through.
Alexandra: But I was like, I get it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Right.
Alexandra: Like I get like being held down and like having something hurt.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: You know, so it was just it was such an interesting experience for me to be able to like have just like a slight 0.2% of what they went through.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: i kind of understood.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. know Yeah.
Alexandra: Yeah, it was very hard for me to be there. But very beautiful, very reflective.
CHANTELLE KINCY: When it was so, it was so recent and you were still feeling that pain and that emotion too. So it just like was kind of in your face. Oh my goodness.
Alexandra: Yeah, yeah, it was it was very crazy. So i did I did get the sutures out in Cambodia and they like they dropped me off and they like didn't have sterile tools.
Alexandra: So they ended up having to like bike down to the village to like get the sterile tools to take the stitches out. And I, like, made friends with the nurse. Like, he was super nice. And he spoke really he spoke really good English. So I kind of became friends with him.
Alexandra: And after a while, he was like, do you want a snack from my village? And I was like, heck yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Always yes.
Alexandra: Let's do it. And he he gave me a tarantula.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh.
Alexandra: And at that point, I was like, this has to be a joke. Like, like i where are the camera crews? Like, this just keeps...
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. Thought we were friends, dude. I was kind of looking for something. Yeah.
Alexandra: No, they love us. That's what they eat. and i And I just ate a tarantula in the hospital. Just right there.
Alexandra: He's probably like, watch this. This is going funniest joke ever.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Look what I get the American to do.
Alexandra: like i'm going to get the American to eat a spider in this hospital. That's what she needs right now.
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah I'm going to tell her it's a gift so she can't say no.
CHANTELLE KINCY: um Okay, so how was that prepared? Was it like fried? or was it like still hairy?
Alexandra: I'm not sure.
CHANTELLE KINCY: What was happening with the trench?
Alexandra: I didn't ask.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like on a stick?
Alexandra: No, it was just like a little, trickch it kind of tasted like beef jerky a little bit. Just like like, like it wasn't terrible. I didn't eat it all. I just ate enough to, you know, like be respectful.
Alexandra: But yeah, it was just, it was just such a funny, i was like, yeah, sure.
CHANTELLE KINCY: You like at this point it is what it is. Like, sure. Give me the damn spider.
Alexandra: You know. Yeah, I was like, you know what? I'll eat anything at this point. Whatever. It's fine. and
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh my gosh. All right. So any like lasting scars or did you get repierced? How's the ear?
Alexandra: Oh, oh man. it's So it's not as bad. I think it could have been a lot worse for sure.
CHANTELLE KINCY: right
Alexandra: And I think that it was funny because when I came back to the US, I went to like an actual, you know, like I went to one like my doctor and, and, um you know, like the nurses in there, like triaging and taking the story, you know how they do in a doctor's office.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: And I was like, you want the long version? You want the short version? And he goes, I want the short version, obviously. And then I start going, he's like, I'm going stop you right there.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Wait, give it all to me.
Alexandra: do you do Do you mind if if you just come out here and tell this? Because like, like I'm going to hear it. I'm like, they're going to hear it anyway. And they're all going to read this, but we all need the long version of this story. So I went out there and told my story. And yeah, he said that um it's always just going to be like kind of hypersensitive. I do have like two little dots there, but it's nothing, it's nothing terrible. But there are some lasting scars from, a from these two earrings.
CHANTELLE KINCY: You know he tells people about you, though. They're like, oh, I'm headed to Asia.
Alexandra: Oh, sure. Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And he's like, oh, I had a patient once who, like, but they're like, oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah.
Alexandra: Right. And I told him, I was always like, you can tell whoever you want because this is a weird one. And he's like, I have never heard of this before or just any, like, like that is so traumatizing.
CHANTELLE KINCY: good
Alexandra: i was like, I know. Isn't that crazy?
CHANTELLE KINCY: Because i worked in where I worked in a dental office before I started doing travel full-time, and there are certain patient stories that we tell everybody.
Alexandra: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: because They're just like, what? But like no one knows who they are or anything.
Alexandra: Right.
CHANTELLE KINCY: and
Alexandra: We're still HIPAA compliant, but, you know.
CHANTELLE KINCY: But there's certain stories that like everybody tells, and so I know you're one of them.
Alexandra: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Oh, oh, I know. And that's why he was like, he was like, these nurses, everybody on this floor is going to hear this story. So you might as well tell it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I can hear it from you. I love that you can laugh about it now though. Like in the moment when you're sitting there like biting your tongue and like clinging for life as they're cutting your ear open. I'm sure you weren't like, you know, one day is going be my favorite story and I'm to go go on a podcast and tell everybody.
Alexandra: Right. You have be like something.
CHANTELLE KINCY: and
Alexandra: My pain will be used for entertainment later. That is what I'm here for.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I know I'm only laughing because you are like if you were still crying I would be slightly more sympathetic right
Alexandra: Oh, no, no, no. I have to laugh about it. You know, that's what taught me. You just you just got to laugh about it. Let it go. and there it is.
CHANTELLE KINCY: see
Alexandra: It is kind of funny. And I do feel bad for like my poor parents and my best friend who had to, you know, it was like 3 a.m. m there and I'm just calling them and I'm like, they didn't use anesthesia.
CHANTELLE KINCY: may
Alexandra: And they're just sitting there going, No.
CHANTELLE KINCY: and You can't do anything either as a parent, like nothing even remotely the same.
Alexandra: no
CHANTELLE KINCY: But when my middle son went to college for the first time, he would call me really upset in the middle of the night. He would be like, football's hard. Like my classes are hard. I hate everybody here, blah, blah, blah, blah. blah And then he would be upset.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And I would kind of like, okay, you just got to get through it. Everybody's feeling the same way. no everyone's having a great time, but me. And I'm like, no, no, no, it's okay. And so then I would stay up for like hours. I'd be like, oh my gosh, he's so, he's so unhappy.
Alexandra: Just worrying. Yeah,
CHANTELLE KINCY: He's so this. And I don't know, did I make the right choice by saying like, he had choices to where to play football. Maybe he shouldn't have gone to this one, like that ah all these things. And I would just be up all night. And then I would cry because I'd be like such a piece of crap mom.
CHANTELLE KINCY: So the next day I would text him.
Alexandra: but you can't do anything, you know?
CHANTELLE KINCY: I'm like,
Alexandra: Like, what can you do?
CHANTELLE KINCY: But you can't help, right? And I would text him the next day.
Alexandra: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I'd be like, how are you doing? He's like, great, why? And I was like, oh, okay. So you're good. It'd be like, he just needed to vent. And then he was fine.
Alexandra: Right.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like as a mom, I'd be like, should I fly down there? Like, what should I do? Like, should I send them a present? Should I like put money on his Venmo? Like, what should I do? And he's like, what are you talking about? was fine.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I'm just going class, you know?
Alexandra: you didn't you you didn't You didn't turn yourself into a hot dog and say, don't be a wiener?
CHANTELLE KINCY: No, no. Now, when I knew there were drinking stories and he sent me this one one day and his whole leg and left side of his body was like ru road rash.
Alexandra: Oh.
CHANTELLE KINCY: He's like, oh, I fell last night. I'm like, did you fall last night, Nate?
Alexandra: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: You know? And then he's like, yeah. I'm like, did you fall at the frat house? And then he'd be like, um and then all the jokes because I don't care.
Alexandra: laughter
CHANTELLE KINCY: But like... Like make stupid choices, win stupid prizes. i don't care.
Alexandra: with stupid prizes.
CHANTELLE KINCY: That's on you. Okay.
Alexandra: I love that. You know, I'll, I'll tell you a story that'll make you feel a little bit better as a mom so that you don't say, Oh, at least that's not my kid.
CHANTELLE KINCY: okay
Alexandra: Uh, on the same trip, you know, as I said, I was gone for quite a while and I was in Thailand previous to this whole incident. And I kind of, um, I just fell like I've just, I just fell off a curb, you know, and I, um, I kind of skinned my knee and we were going,
Alexandra: into lao laos you know and we were doing this like pub crawl on the river um so it's like you get in an inner tube and then they like throw you a rope and you just go to pubs all along the river and then you just tube to the next one but anyway
CHANTELLE KINCY: Okay. Water and alcohol. Good choices. Good choices.
Alexandra: Yep. Oh, yeah. It's such a bad idea.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Probably hot and humid already.
Alexandra: But um oh, oh, yeah. Yeah, no, this is not a great idea.
CHANTELLE KINCY: no
Alexandra: But um they told me that I had to put like a bag over my injury just because like the water wasn't clean. And I ran into another guy with a bag over his leg in the same place. And I was like, oh, my gosh, dude, what'd you do? I fell off a curb because I'm clumsy.
Alexandra: This dude, he's Australian. Let's just preface that. So they're all Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. Indeed.
Alexandra: Him and his buddies got drunk and they went to this like archery range right next door. And he bet his friend that he couldn't shoot an apple off of his head and he shot it through his leg.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. See, I raised three boys, so I already knew where this story was going.
Alexandra: this sounds This sounds really, you're like, oh, this is familiar.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: This happened last Tuesday.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Wait, is his name? No, just kidding.
Alexandra: He's like, don't tell my mother. And I just did on a live podcast.
CHANTELLE KINCY: it
CHANTELLE KINCY: And your grandma's going to hear it too.
CHANTELLE KINCY: um Interesting. Yeah. They're so weird boys, not Australians, boys. Like i don't get it, but yeah. So I was always that kind of mom that would just be like, you going or you going to die?
CHANTELLE KINCY: like but like emotional trauma that would break me like physical trauma i'm like so is the bone in or is it out but like if you're like my feelings are hurt i mean oh my gosh what am i gonna do yeah
Alexandra: rub Rub some dirt in it.
Alexandra: Right.
Alexandra: But it just made me like his attitude was so amazing towards it that I was like, I feel like I need to go to Australia and find a husband.
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah yeah
Alexandra: Like, I want your level of calm during this situation.
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah
Alexandra: Like, it was so just like commendable.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And then you're also like wanting to unwrap your leg because you just fell off a curb and like don't have a cool story or like you have to make something better.
Alexandra: I was like, wow.
Alexandra: No.
CHANTELLE KINCY: like you
Alexandra: Oh, yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: but
Alexandra: No, mine was not cool at all. It was not like that. Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: ah That's amazing.
CHANTELLE KINCY: um What kind of things were you telling yourself back to the ear? Yeah.
Alexandra: Oh, yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like what got you through like your mom? Like, I know she helped, but like, how were you like, I want to go home. I mean, I know you thought it, you had to have been like, screw all of this whole trip, this whole country.
Alexandra: Oh, yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I don't want to do it. um But then like you didn't. So what,
Alexandra: I think it was just that I had so much left to do ah you know like on my trip. I mean, I still had like yeah Australia and Fiji and New Zealand, and I was like going over to Hawaii. So i was like, okay, I just need to suck it up and just ride it out. And I think I just kind of realized that you know this was happening to me and it sucked. It kind of felt like one of those dreams that you have where like everything's going wrong and then you wake up and you're like, oh, that was just a dream, that makes sense.
Alexandra: But it's just I would wake up and I'd be like, nope, that actually happened.
CHANTELLE KINCY: like Nope, still hurts.
Alexandra: Cool. Still hurts. Awesome. But, you know, just like honestly just kind of writing it out just being like, it sucks. I can't do anything about it. All I can do is just, you know, do my best just to try to heal it and still have a good time and live life.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: So that's kind of what what got me through it, too.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Even though it definitely put a damper on your plans because I know you wanted to be in the water. I know you wanted to, you know.
Alexandra: Yeah, I did. ah did break that um promise to my doctor like three times and and how I did, I tried to like MacGyver my entire side of my head with like band-aids.
Alexandra: Like I had like band-aids like coming all down my face and like all around because I was just trying so hard to keep, oh my gosh, I know.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Because like three months seems excessive. Like I'll give you like six weeks ish, but three months is like a long time.
Alexandra: Right, three months. Yeah. So I think that's so that's another thing that I was very, you know, grateful for this experience is I was like walking around these waterfalls and like doing and, you know, diving down and stuff with like these huge things and people would stare at me and I'd be like, i don't care.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Like, I just don't care. Like you can stare at me. It's not going to make me need like your magically heal. but Yeah, it's not contagious.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. It's not contagious. Go away.
Alexandra: Don't worry about it I'm just trying to survive out here, okay?
CHANTELLE KINCY: But now you can laugh about it. And now when little things happen to you, you can be like, oh I just missed a train. That's nothing because I've had my ears sliced open with no anesthetic.
Alexandra: Oh, yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: in the So like, this is no big deal. Like probably nothing is really that big of a deal at this point. Right. You're like, yeah, it's an inconvenience.
Alexandra: Yeah, that's...
CHANTELLE KINCY: It's just, you know,
Alexandra: Yeah, that's definitely something that I have like reflected on a lot with like the lessons that I've learned where i was like, okay, you know, something crazy happened. I dealt with it. You know, I didn't lose my ear.
Alexandra: I was, the you know, my life wasn't in danger or something and I just dealt with it. And that brings so much confidence, you know, where you're like, oh my gosh, like i did all of that by myself.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Heck yeah.
Alexandra: I mean, you know I might have cried to my mom, but I was the one who dealt with insurance. I was the one who, you know even when I was in so much pain and you know so it was really like a confidence booster.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: And it is like, you know I'm like, oh, things can happen while we travel. It's just not going to be that level.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: And if I can handle that, I can handle anything.
CHANTELLE KINCY: No.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And your mom can talk to you all you want. She wants, but she wasn't there. She wasn't there. You were the only one there. You weren't with a big group of friends. Like you had to suck it up really and just do it. And so that's so bad-ass.
Alexandra: Thank you.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like you were 20. You were just like, yeah, let's do it. That's so I mean, I'm not happy that happened to you, but it's very empowering and it is kind of cool that you did it. So in hindsight.
Alexandra: Yeah, and you just you never know with with travel, truly, you know, and you just never know where you are. I actually had not not as much of a health scare, but like kind of something similar happened like two months previous.
Alexandra: I was in India and it was just so hot and I think I had cracked heels and I was walking around all these temples without any shoes because they don't allow shoes in most of the temples.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. geez.
Alexandra: So I actually got cellulitis in my foot and had to take like this train to Agra.
CHANTELLE KINCY: um geez
Alexandra: and where Yeah, but anyway, so I got there and was like, please help me. And all of the doctors were on strike. So I never got any medical attention from it. And I had to, um I was um prepping for medical school at this point in my life.
Alexandra: So I just like read a bunch of books. like a scientific journals and just self-diagnosed by myself and got and got like black market antibiotics like had like I just like grabbed someone was like okay where can I get these and they're like okay down that shop but it's a little seedy I'll go with you and I was like oh my gosh so I think at this point my parents were like we don't even want to hear from you until it's over like just tell us it worked out fine
CHANTELLE KINCY: I
CHANTELLE KINCY: ah but
CHANTELLE KINCY: i was just going to say, but you didn't tell your mom that part, right? Because that's the kind of stuff that sends us.
Alexandra: Oh, yeah, no, she she was like, oh, just don't tell. And i was like, what do you want me to do? Not take him at all? And she's like, well, no, I just like want to make sure they're legit. And i was like, how do I tell? i don't know.
CHANTELLE KINCY: What do you want me to do?
Alexandra: what do you want me to do?
CHANTELLE KINCY: Get out my little drug test kit and scientifically examine the contents?
Alexandra: I don't have a lot of options here.
Alexandra: Luckily, I did have two nurses that were traveling with me and they um like looked up all the ingredients. So so they kind of like looked it over and they were like, okay, well, if it is it's everything that it says it is, it should be fine.
CHANTELLE KINCY: If it wasn't made right here on this corner, then you're probably fine.
Alexandra: Right?
Alexandra: Oh my gosh. So, you know, it's just, it's just these stories that really like, obviously they're not great and you wish they don't happen to you, but you know, I'm just like, you know what?
CHANTELLE KINCY: at you surviving.
Alexandra: Bring it on. Anything that happens during travel, bring it on.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I know. Isn't it funny too? I feel like I'm so like a different person when I travel. Like at home, ah you would do something totally different. Like this wouldn't be a funny story. would like, oh, my freaking ear got infected and now I got to do this. and
Alexandra: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And I would just be so grumpy about the whole thing. But now like when it happens somewhere else, you're like, oh my gosh, sure this so this one time I was like, it's just like a totally different, guess that's why we should just travel full time so that we're happier about everything. don't know.
Alexandra: I know it definitely does put it in perspective for sure.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: You know, cause yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like i had to get like an IV in Naples and all this antibiotics. And I spent the whole day like hooked up to IVs to like, you know, like feel better.
Alexandra: Oh my gosh.
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah, Then like the next day I just went out and had pizza and like, was I would have milked that for a week. if I was like, good look at the bruise.
Alexandra: Look at the bruise.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh, I still tolerate.
Alexandra: When you're traveling, you're like, oh, no, no, no.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I couldn't even get to eat.
Alexandra: Get me out of here.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. You know, I'm just like, like, so we've got five more minutes of this, right?
Alexandra: I don't want to be here.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Cause I got something to do like go do in a minute.
Alexandra: like, yeah, man, if this is the US, like people pay for that. To just lay there with an IV. I used to be an EMT, so I know.
CHANTELLE KINCY: um I was just sitting in there like listening to music. was like, did it, did it.
Alexandra: least you got pizza afterwards. Like that's a pretty, that's a pretty good trade-off.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Right? I'm Naples. Hello.
Alexandra: Oh, yeah, like the best pizza in the world.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like, come on. So, okay, we can't end this podcast without knowing how you became a mermaid.
Alexandra: Oh, yes.
CHANTELLE KINCY: that is brilliant.
Alexandra: of oh so It's kind of a different... So um after I was done with this, I kind of realized that I was like a very like adventurous soul. You know, that was kind of who I am. But I ignored all of it. I ignored all the signs, everything. And I actually went to medical school in Hungary for a while.
Alexandra: And then just kind of sat there and was like, what am I doing? Like, i just I just want to... you know help people adventure and help people travel and you know maybe put their mind a little bit at ease.
Alexandra: you know If you are a female solo traveler, fact that I did that, you can too. There's nothing special about me. You can do it too.
CHANTELLE KINCY: i
Alexandra: you know So just, ah yeah. So I quit. i sold everything. I moved into an RV. And I just think, ah well, first of my parents got married underwater.
Alexandra: So I've always just kind of been like a mermaid.
CHANTELLE KINCY: You were born into it, yeah.
Alexandra: ah Yeah. and you know, they're they're free and they're fun and they're adventurous. And, you know, so that's kind of, um you know, it just made sense. It was very authentically me.
CHANTELLE KINCY: That's so cool.
Alexandra: I definitely get a lot of looks in public. So it it definitely has forced me to step out of my comfort zone even further.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Heck with it. um And you only went to medical school so you could treat yourself when you travel without having to stop and chill.
Alexandra: know.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I just want to help my community.
Alexandra: Right.
CHANTELLE KINCY: My trauma has taught me to never deal with this again.
Alexandra: Yeah. like, doctors are on strike. Doctors taking a day off. I'll be the doctor. Fine.
Alexandra: ah True.
CHANTELLE KINCY: of my trauma has taught me to never deal with this again
Alexandra: i will be my own doctor. Thank you.
CHANTELLE KINCY: but
CHANTELLE KINCY: I love it. So right now you're in the U S is that where you are for a while now, or do you have any other abroad plans or are you just cruising around?
Alexandra: Yeah, just kind of cruising around the US. I am going back to Europe. I'm going to Italy in September. So very excited about that, going back over there.
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah
Alexandra: Maybe I'll go to Naples, go get a pizza, go get an IV.
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah Yeah, they're very good at it. You'll feel very good. Do you have a home base at all? Or are you really just nomading it right now?
Alexandra: um So a lot of my family does live in Colorado. So that's kind of like the home base, but ah yeah we're not here very often.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Okay.
Alexandra: so
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Yeah, it's fun.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Oh, good for you. Very cool. Thanks for sharing your story. That was a lot of fun. I know it wasn't fun at the moment, but it was a lot of fun to hear about. And I think it's such a good example of just like, it's not always great, but it is always worth it.
Alexandra: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And
Alexandra: And I'm so sorry. if I mean, I know it's a very intense story, but I think it's a, I do like telling it to people because I'm like, don't be afraid. It's fine. I mean, like that was a, yeah, like that, that was pretty bad situation, but like I'm alive here right now and I did it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: what's the worst that could happen?
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: So don't, don't worry about it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah.
Alexandra: Just do it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. I'm not always like you. I'm always like, if I could do it, you could do it. People are like, Oh, I wish I could do that.
Alexandra: Yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I'm like, I am a mess. Like if I could do any of these things, everybody can do it.
Alexandra: Right, that's what I was like, i'm not I'm nothing special.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Like,
Alexandra: If I can do it, so can you.
CHANTELLE KINCY: No. Yeah, just go. so very cool. Thank you so much for hanging out with us and telling us that story. I sure appreciate it. Tell everyone where they can follow your adventures.
CHANTELLE KINCY: I'm going to put the links down in the description for people so they can find you, but go ahead and just tell us where we can follow all of your mermaid adventures.
Alexandra: Yeah, so I'm called the Bucketless Mermaid and on pretty much all social media, I'm at the Bucketless Mermaid or you can just Google the Bucketless Mermaid.
CHANTELLE KINCY: So cool.
Alexandra: Easy, easy peasy.
CHANTELLE KINCY: And you have a cheat sheet for photography. Is that right? Is that what we're linking?
Alexandra: Yeah, yeah, I do.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Yeah. So I'll put that in there. It's always good because you travel and you see all these amazing places and things. And then sometimes you look at your photos, you're like, hmm, that's not what I was hoping for.
CHANTELLE KINCY: So everyone, that's why you've learned the hard way.
Alexandra: And I've done it. That's why i did that cheat sheet. Because, ah yeah, I made the cheat sheet for myself and then was like, ah everyone else might as well just benefit ah from this for free.
CHANTELLE KINCY: That's the thing.
CHANTELLE KINCY: yeah.
CHANTELLE KINCY: <unk>
Alexandra: So...
CHANTELLE KINCY: So definitely go and grab that because it always helps. You can always learn something new and your memories and scrapbooks will thank you for having less lame photos.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Is there selfie tips in there? Because my selfies. Woo.
Alexandra: Honestly, I have not mastered the selfie game. i And I should, like, I feel like I'm born in the generation where like selfies were were like definitely a thing. And I just, I can't do it. I can't do it.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Because my boys will be like, why are you holding it like that? Why are you doing it like that? And they can do it for me. And then they're just like, ugh.
Alexandra: Like I'm trying my best, okay.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Or like, they'll be like, take a picture. And then I'll get like a list of instructions. Don't turn it this way. Don't zoom it in. Don't use portrait. I'm like, I just touched it.
Alexandra: You're like, it's fine.
CHANTELLE KINCY: <unk> like They literally hand it to me like a surgical instrument. They're like hold it just like this.
Alexandra: Just right here.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Don't even move. Like, I'll move to you. Just I'll adjust myself. I'm like, okay.
Alexandra: Hey, they know what they want and they're not afraid to go after that. And I respect that.
CHANTELLE KINCY: So nine times out of 10, I just turn it to a forward or back facing camera and take my own picture instead of theirs anyways. So jokes on you.
Alexandra: Yeah, I'm gonna take a picture of myself, not you. So, haha.
CHANTELLE KINCY: right. Well, thanks for hanging out. We'll talk to you soon.
Alexandra: Bye guys.
CHANTELLE KINCY: Bye.
