Suspected methanol poisoning sufferer in Bali is airlifted to Russia | USAEMALL.com

Earlier this month, we published an exclusive interview with Victoria Argapova, the girlfriend of Andrei Borodin, a Russian tourist who was rushed to Bali’s BIMC private hospital last month with suspected methanol poisoning.

Methanol is a by-product produced in the distilling and brewing process. Commercial alcohol producers undergo rigorous safety checks and procedures to ensure no drop is left in their grog.

But the thousands of backyard distilleries that operate outside Indonesia’s regulatory environment do not, and the consequences can be lethal. According to the Centre for Indonesian Policy Studies, homemade arak – an indigenous Indonesian spirit – kills more than 120 people every year. When Andrei arrived at BIMC hospital on October 18, he was exhibiting some of the signs of methanol poisoning: photophobia, a painful form of light sensitivity, blurred vision and memory loss. He didn’t know who he was and the following day, he fell into a coma. “The doctors said they believed he had methanol poisoning because he was showing all the signs, but when we got the results of a methanol test a few days later, the result was negative,” Victoria said at the time. When we returned to check on Andrei this week, he was still in a coma, plugged into 20 or so machines, eyes wide shut.

Victoria was sitting on a yoga mat on the floor of his room, where she has dutifully sat, slept and eaten for the past month. The stress and worry have taken a toll; she has dark bags under her eyes while her skin is white and pasty. “Am I OK? When Andrei is OK, I will be OK,” she says.

The financial cost has also been astronomical. As of November 17, the hospital has billed her 1.4 billion IDR ($128,000), not including the cost of flying in a doctor from Russia to help figure out exactly what is ailing Andrei, given that every test the hospital has conducted has proven negative.

“We know for sure that it’s not an infection and he had no underlying health issues,” Victoria says. “The doctors here still believe it’s methanol poisoning. But in my opinion, that’s only because they have to come up with something.”

Andei has shown some signs of recovery: slight reactions in his fingers and toes. But the artificial respirator that is keeping him alive is also taking a toll; his lungs are weak and one has collapsed twice. This has led Victoria to make the very hard decision to fly Andrei home to Moscow, where private hospitals have access to tests and technology that are not available in Indonesia.

However, as private jets for medical evacuation are not available in Russia because they have all been sequestered for the invasion of Ukraine, he must be transported by a commercial airline, in a cabin set up in the back of a plane. The decision carries risk, but Victoria is determined to do whatever it takes to save him. “He’s a fighter, a real fighter,” she says. “That’s what’s keeping him alive.”