Mr Murphy, Part 2

Tahiti    stinking hot and sunny

Our first glimpse of Tahiti showing the harbor and a very walkable downtown. 

We all know and have probably experienced Mr. Murphy and his law “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong and at the worst possible time”. 

Credit for this adage was given to Edward Murphy Jr in the late 1940’s following the disastrous results of a rocket sled test.  Murphy's original quote was the precautionary design advice that "If there are two or more ways to do something and one of those results in a catastrophe, then someone will do it that way."

This concept has been around for quite some time.  Here is another example I find compelling from Alfred Holt in 1877:“ It is found that anything that can go wrong at sea generally does go wrong sooner or later”. 

Barcelona was certainly an adventure to the Apple Store.   I hoped my misadventures were complete, but Mr. Murphy must be taking a cruise.  My pictures of Tahiti are limited to a couple of scenic shots from the boat.  To tell my Tahitian misadventures, I present yet another photo worth many words that I call Mr. Murphy, Part 2.  One of these is not like the other.

This somewhat explains the slowness in my postings although my ineptness and the strict internet rules don’t help.   I had mentioned the sea was quite rough at Easter Island with the tenders bobbing up and down with a good 4 ft difference.  I got on the tender to go to Easter Island on day 2.  There are at least 4 staff, 2 on the ship platform and 2 on the tender to assist everyone on and off the tender. I was on the tender just fine and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground on my left knee with my foot hyper-extended behind.  Aside from the initial shock, I truly got up thinking I had sprained my ankle.

I was not turning around and spent the rest of the day touring Easter Island.  This stop was the top of my list, and I wasn’t going to miss it.  The guide obtained a rather large bag of ice from a grocery store, so I was set for the day.

By the end of the day, my ankle wasn’t really swollen so I figured something else was going on.  After returning to the ship from another tender ride, I headed to the medical unit.  I have never been to a ship’s medical unit so at least that could be interesting.

I was there at the same time of 2 women who ended up with casts on their lower arms and a gentleman needing stitches from banging his leg on something in the tender. I don’t know the exact range of medical services a ship can provide but they certainly are the front-line diagnostic center.  Did you know every ship has a morgue (there have been whispers of 1 death)?  We have had 4 ‘medical evacuations’ where the ship has stopped and transferred patients to other coast guard like boats to bring them to shore for further treatment.  That only works being close to land/inhabited areas.  I don’t think there is a helipad on this ship if you are outside the range of those boats.  We forget that life goes on no matter where you are, and bad things happen all the time.

Anyway, the (by now) not so short story, is that I broke 2 bones in my left foot.  They put a cast on my foot, demanded I remain non-weight bearing (wheelchair) and in 6 days they would arrange a visit to an orthopedic surgeon in Tahiti to determine if I could continue the cruise.  If I needed surgery, I could either have it in Tahiti or fly home.  The doctor was not that positive and voted for surgery with a ticket home.  Oh great.  I finally had to ask Kristin to stop telling me how sorry she was.  That really never helps, and it is simply an unfortunate situation.  You all don’t need to start either ok? It is never the what (happened) but always the how(you respond)-right?

For 6 days I had to call reception (no standing in line for me Yay!) and a steward would come to my cabin with a wheelchair and take me wherever I needed to go.  Meals, daily check-in back in medical, I could have called just to have them take me outside on a deck somewhere.  It was somewhat comical as many of the stewards relegated to this kind of request really did not have many foreign language skills so trying to strike up a conversation with the few people I met daily, was comical. Those with english language abilities, I saw new baby videos, family pictures and learned about their homeland. Maybe they were happy to sit in a bar with me as I had my morning cappuccino and tell me about home. It was a strange 6 days that I hope to never repeat.

We arrived in Tahiti and there were 2 of us that needed a further ortho evaluation.  We were accompanied by an English speaking and Spanish speaking hostess to help us navigate the situation.  My English speaking hostess did not speak French, my ability is rudimentary, so she was ready with google translator in case it was needed.  Off in a taxi we went.

I thought it was interesting to see the Tahitian 'Urgences' area and both of us were in and out in 3 hours.  The result was the Ortho did not think I needed surgery.   He manually realigned the break of the 4th toe and prescribed a walking shoe that forces my weight on to my heel to avoid pressure on the ball of my foot.

Hospitals in Tahiti do not stock that walking shoe, so we had another adventure finding the Pharmacy or really a medical supply business to obtain it.  The ED physician (we all agreed he was very good looking) called the various companies to make sure they had the shoe in the proper size.

Off in another taxi and had quite a great time with a wonderful taxi driver.  The business was closed for lunch when we got there so she took us to a gathering of food trucks for lunch.  She waited while I purchased the shoe and we needed Dr Google to explain that the MD wanted the med supply company to remove the gauze and cast before fitting the shoe. 

Because we had plenty of time, she took us on a short tour of the downtown and we stopped at an artisan market once I said I was hoping to buy some Tahitian vanilla.

Not quite the Tahitian experience I wanted but it was the one I needed.  We all joked that you couldn't buy a tour like this.

I will spare you a picture of the walking shoe. Even I, who is clueless about fashion realizes that it is really ugly. But I'm not on a flight home and can walk - so not a problem. I have been asked what happened by all sorts of passengers and had to communicate with French, Italian and Spanish speaking folks. Saying tender, pointing to my foot and making a snapping gesture with my hands (snapping green beans anyone?) seems to be universal. I've also had them come up to me after they see me walking and are obviously happy for me. People notice more than you think. Or maybe they are super nosy? And I have had more hugs from the cruise staff then I imagined.

I did promise to take you along for the ride, right? 

This will explain some other things you might notice such as I will be skipping 2 ports that require a tender ride and my pictures might be more distance than I would like. But I am walking at glacial speed and continuing the trip—it could be worse!!

PSA – Please, before you travel outside of the US, know whether your insurance covers care received outside the US.  Or better yet, invest in travel insurance that includes medical evacuation coverage back to the US as most US insurances don’t cover that.  Unrelated to my situation, I was talking to a passenger from the US who was on a cruise in South America, his wife needed a week's stay in a SA hospital and had to be flown back to the US with medical attendants.  The cost was $250,000. 

And talk about never getting some time back. Tonight, we cross the international date line. I go to sleep on 2/23/24 and wake up on 2/25/24. I will never experience 2/24/24. If I wasn't confused enough about date and time already. And this lovely iphone has no idea where I am and wont update automatically. Once again reliance on technology, bites.

OK let's get back to more pictures and less words.

Au revoir