Mama said there’d be days like this

We have plenty to write about from the last two weeks and some great photos to share. But in the moment I want to tell you about how real life still happens even when you live on a boat, and how much we rely on our community of other cruisers and the people whose villages and towns we visit along the way.

Yesterday we motored about 16 miles to complete the lovely but long and mostly windless journey along the north shore of Flores Island. Several of our overnight anchorages were scheduled stops in previous years of the rally but this year none are on the itinerary. Even our next destination isn’t really a rally stop, but rather Labuanbajo, the tourism gateway to Komodo National Park, giving us a fairly generous break in the schedule so we can each plan our own way to explore and enjoy the UNESCO World Heritage site. Jack and I were really looking forward to meeting up with the other boats, restocking in a real supermarket, maybe eating out a couple of nights before we ventured to the land of the Komodo dragons.

We arrived at the anchorage about 10:30am and Jack lay down for a quick nap. Two hours later he was still sleeping in the cockpit, unusual for him, an experienced catnapper. We’d both been eager to get into town so I woke him, then woke him again a half hour later. He couldn’t seem to come fully to consciousness and as I pressed him to get up, it became clear he was foggy and not comprehending what I was saying. Then he tried to go to the bathroom and couldn’t get his legs under him and stumbled down the steps. My normally alert and surefooted husband was confused and unable to control his body. I was terrified.

It took some doing but I got him back into the cockpit but as I pressed him to tell me what was going on he remained unresponsive, unable to put words together. I waved our friend Mark over when I saw him pass by in his dinghy. “We have a problem,” I said. Mark came aboard and immediately saw the condition Jack was in. He asked if we have a blood pressure monitor. Of course, why didn’t I think of that? But our monitor is on its last legs and while it seemed to be working properly, the readout was illegible, even with fresh batteries.

Mark left to get his own monitor and came back a few minutes later with Craig from another boat, who brought a monitor and an oxygen sensor. Jack’s O2 level was fine but we couldn’t get a BP readout on Jack. And both Craig and Mark agreed that Jack needed to get to a medical professional ASAP. While Mark set about working on logistics, he and Craig suggested it might be worthwhile consulting Dr. Sandra on another boat. A few minutes later Sandra came aboard and proceeded to do a routine neurological evaluation. She didn’t think Jack had had a stroke, but of course couldn’t rule it out, and thought perhaps his symptoms were the result of an apparent high fever from a two-week-old injury to his knee that looked to be infected. She also urged us to get him to a hospital right away to be sure and to get the appropriate meds to treat it.

Once that decision was made our circle of sailor friends shifted into high gear. While I gathered passports, insurance info and cash, the others arranged transport from a local hotel, rallied more help to get Jack safely ashore in a dinghy and me ashore in another. Susan was designated our point person and communications link and came with us in the taxi.

Within about 20 minutes we arrived at the hospital and a nurse listened to the onset of symptoms and took Jack’s bp and pulse (both normal) and his temperature (high.) We had a bit of a wait before a doctor came and he was immediately concerned with the look of Jack’s knee and ordered both blood work and an X-ray. While we waited for those the nurse started an IV of saline, electrolytes and paracetamol for the fever.

An hour later the IV and air conditioning had brought down the fever to almost normal and Jack was once again able to respond to questions, although it was a while longer before he could recall his own birthdate.

Susan was good company, keeping us both distracted and entertained, as well as keeping the boater community back at the anchorage informed by phone about Jack’s condition. Eventually the doctor came back, and as far as I could discern from his excellent but accented English Jack’s infection has affected his knee bones and we’d be going home with a fistful of various meds to treat the infection, reduce the fever, alleviate the pain and support his immune system. Total cost for everything was 2,640,000 Rupiah, or about $185 US, well below our insurance deductible.

It was difficult to find a taxi to take the three of us back to the waterfront until an HR employee at the end of his shift offered his own car and driver to transport us. When we got back to the hotel, the manager who had arranged the original taxi and helped Jack to the car made sure we knew he was at our service for whatever we may need. We are so grateful to the complete strangers who stepped up without hesitation to help.

We realized Jack hadn’t eaten since breakfast, adding low blood sugar to his woes, so we quickly ordered food at the hotel bar, but three bites into his burger Jack developed violent hiccups that he couldn’t shake and we wrapped up our food and rallied the transport teams to get Jack and me home to Escape Velocity.

Back onboard Jack continued to hiccup for hours as we tried every remedy in the book. Finally they stopped but then his fever spiked again, higher than before. I was afraid I’d have to get him back to the hospital at 3 am. I spent about an hour sponging him down to cool him off and that brought the fever down, but then the hiccups started again. This went on all night until, completely exhausted, Jack finally fell asleep and the hiccups stopped.

This morning I waited as long as I could before waking him to eat a few bites so he could take the next round of meds. And wouldn’t you know, the hiccups came back. Curses!

It’s now 10:30am. The hiccups are gone again, at least for now. The doctor from the other boat just stopped by to check on Jack. She’s a rehab physician from the Netherlands and we know another Dutch rehab doctor, Monique, whom we met along with her neurologist husband Pieter in Panama back in 2014. Monique and Pieter were at Isabela in the Galapagos when we limped back after our dismasting and were part of the Schulz Cocooning Team that soothed and comforted us in those first weeks of emotional trauma. As fate would have it, they know each other! So twice in our sailing adventures Dutch rehab doctors came to our rescue. What are the odds? They are both special people.

Jack is asleep now. We’re hoping a few days of the antibiotics will show improvement and Jack is taking the doctors’ advice to rest and recuperate. I feel like we dodged what could have been a very serious bullet. My job now is to figure out how to repay the generosity and kindness of so many people who pitched in when we needed it most and continue to offer help. The world is truly a beautiful place.

12 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

12 Responses to Mama said there’d be days like this

  1. Wow!! What a scare! Good work, Marce, and all the others

  2. Mike McCollough

    Thinking good thoughts for Jack, hope he is well by now

  3. John Halbrook

    Sounds very scary, Marce. Glad to read the last paragraph.

  4. Marce, I read this post with my heart in my throat. I could only begin to imagine the fright you had. How wonderful that so many friends were available to help and that you were in a place with good medical care. I so admire you and Jack for the way you handle emergencies and for daring to live your dream. I hope this incident doesn’t put you too far behind schedule, but I know you’re well aware of the importance of making certain the infection is entirely gone before venturing far from access to medical care. Give Jack my best wishes for health and continued good humor. I love and miss you both, and read all your blogs with avid interest.
    Elenora

  5. Diane Sanderbeck

    Sending love and blessings from across the miles. Get well soon, Jack. From a long time reader.

  6. Hi Marce,
    Sending our thoughts and prayers from Florida. Take good care of Jack and you’ll soon be back on your way to more great adventures.
    Best,
    Jason
    Breathe, Manta 40 #49

  7. Wishing Jack a speedy recovery and Marce a time to ‘time out’ a bit.
    With love from Fiji and SAU BAY FIJI RETREAT

  8. Pat Tilson

    Wow! Kudos to you for your organized brain and thoughts of wellness for Jack!

  9. Greg

    Will keep you in our prayers. Please update when you can. We enjoy your adventure very much

  10. Jane DiCola

    Scary! You did good Marce – keeping your head & rallying the troops. The value of a tribe never more clear… All blessings for a great recovery for Jack; and a settling into the “being” place. Heightens one’s appreciation for it ALL… healers, the Sangha, and perfect strangers – meant to find you and you, them; and our inate ability to align with the energy required to shift & shape all those moving parts… all blessings to Jack and to you❤️

  11. Harold S Rosenberg

    hope Jack is feeling better now.A terrifying experience,tell him I send my best to him. I am an infrequent reader of your adventures .I must say you are an excellent writer. Previously I taught high school developmental reading and used many short stories,which i dutifully read.With your permission I would have used your latest installment.Kept me on the edge of my seat and had a happy ending.Hope he is well now tell him hello from our new home in aiken s c ,Peace Harold .

  12. Deb

    Yikes…hope everything is going well with Jack’s recovery. Infections are so dangerous.

We love to hear from you!