Ashley King remembers the taste of a sweet, fruity cocktail, served in a reusable water bottle on a vibrant Bali night. She was 19, backpacking with friends, and the drink seemed harmless enough. Little did she know, that single beverage would steal her sight and forever alter the course of her life.
Just two days later, thousands of miles away in Christchurch, New Zealand, a terrifying darkness began to descend. After a connecting flight through Australia, King awoke to a world strangely dimmed, the midday sun offering little illumination. What started as a feeling of being “out of it” quickly spiraled into a desperate struggle for breath, a chilling echo of a childhood asthma attack.
The hostel staff rushed her to a clinic, then a hospital, as her vision rapidly deteriorated. Soon, everything went black. King was left with only 2% of her eyesight, a devastating reality she faced while doctors frantically worked to save her life. Blood tests revealed the culprit: a dangerous level of methanol poisoning.
The treatment was as shocking as the cause. Doctors fought the poison with poison, essentially inducing intoxication to prevent the methanol from further damaging her system. “The drunker I got, the more I could breathe and the more I could see,” King recalls, a surreal and terrifying paradox.
She learned her mother was already on a plane to be with her as she was wheeled into intensive care, prepared for a blood exchange. King was incredibly fortunate to survive, but the damage was done. Her optic nerves were dying, and the prognosis was grim.
Returning to Calgary after a month of tests and uncertainty, King faced a frustrating lack of answers. Specialists offered little hope, and she was simply prescribed antidepressants. The window for effective intervention had closed, a painful lesson learned too late. Early detection and treatment, she discovered, are crucial, but once the damage occurs, it’s often irreversible.
For years, King felt isolated, struggling to find others who had endured the same ordeal. A recent report by 60 Minutes Australia detailing methanol poisonings among backpackers in Laos sparked a realization: she wasn’t alone. This discovery fueled a determination to prevent others from suffering her fate.
King launched a petition, now boasting over 27,000 signatures, demanding increased awareness and preventative measures. She’s calling for airport safety reforms, airline announcements, and educational programs to inform travelers about the risks of methanol poisoning in vulnerable destinations.
The Canadian government has since added warnings about methanol poisoning in Bali, a change that didn’t exist when King travelled. Social media has also played a vital role, connecting her with countless others who have been affected.
King’s personal story, previously shared in a self-penned play titled *Static: A Party Girl’s Memoir*, and a limited podcast, is now a powerful call to action. She understands the scale of her requests is significant, but remains hopeful that her campaign can make a tangible difference, protecting future travelers from the silent threat lurking in seemingly innocent cocktails.
While she’s had a promising meeting with WestJet, responses from Air Canada and government officials remain pending. King’s unwavering dedication underscores a simple, yet profound message: awareness is the first line of defense against a preventable tragedy.
