Toxic cocktail sparks govt warning
October 12, 2011 - 2:49PM
AAP
The plight of a nurse who suffered brain damage after drinking a toxic cocktail is a warning to travellers to watch what they eat and drink and to take out insurance, NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner says.
Newcastle woman Jamie Johnston has spent the past three weeks in intensive care after ordering a jug of arak - a rice wine drink - on her final night on the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok.
The batch was contaminated with methanol, a toxic chemical often used as an anti-freeze or in paint, leaving the 25-year-old with brain scarring and kidney failure.
Ms Johnston doesn't have travel insurance and her mother has reportedly paid $45,000 to have her flown back to Darwin.
Ms Skinner said authorities were now working to have Ms Johnston airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, where she works as a nurse.
Ms Johnston's experience was a reminder to others to be careful when travelling overseas, she said.
"Be careful of what you eat, what you drink, and if you get sick seek immediate medical help, and above all take out travel insurance," Ms Skinner told reporters in Sydney
"Travel insurance costs nothing when you consider the cost of bringing a patient back home.
"I love Bali, I go to Bali. You've just got to be so careful."
© 2011 AAP
from: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/aussie-nurse-brain-damaged-by-bali-drink-20111012-1ljll.html