Day Two: We All Fall Down

Day Two

Mr. Iguana says "Watch your step!"

Well today was exciting to say the LEAST! No, I didn't snorkel or cliff dive or sail around Cruz Bay. But I DID have a good long stay at a hospital! Don't worry, it was not for me. But let me start at the beginning...

The day before I got here, Joan and Dad came over to St. John to get settled in the house. When Joan went to go into the house she slipped on wet tile outside and landed flat on her right knee. For the first day it didn't hurt her too bad, but started forming a nasty bruise. However, by the time I arrived, she was obviously in some pain. We took it easy on day one, but by that night the pain really took hold. And by the time I woke up yesterday it became very clear that she needed to seek out medical help. So we set off to the local clinic on St. John as there is no hospital on this island.

After almost five hours in the clinic and three X-rays, they requested she boat over to St. Thomas and go directly to the emergency room in case she had a broken or dislocated knee cap. So off we went! We took the Suzuki back onto a car ferry (called Captain Vick) and headed back to Red Hook. When we got back to St. Thomas, three of the large Carnival cruise ships had docked, so the island was teaming with tourists. When we finally got up to the hospital it was almost 3:00p.m.

The ER was something to behold. The administration was just sitting around, shooting the shit, paying no mind to the people in obvious discomfort in the waiting area. They had one intake nurse doing triage as well as inputting patients into the system. She was a sweet blonde gal from Buffalo, NY. We found that many of the nursing staff were traveling nurses from the states. A few hours later, they finally got Joan to Trauma 2. Even still we had hours to wait before any treatment could take place. They wanted to take new X-rays and have an ortho doc come in to see her (he never did)...

During our wait we met some of the BEST staff of doctors and nurses I have ever met, in one of the worst run facilities I've been privy to. From Dr. Flowers, a sweet ER doc from St. Croix, to Evelyn the charge nurse from West Chester, NY, to June, a twenty-something nurse who came over from the states after a few cold winters in Wyoming. Around 10:00p.m. Joan got a diagnosis of an obvious contusion from the fall and a soft tissue infection. Thankfully her blood work was good and they caught it before the infection spread too drastically. So another doctor from St. Thomas who studied in Boston and then returned got her on an antibiotic drip and pain meds. She should be fine, but rather sore for the next few days.

Another fun tidbit... sometime during the day, I dropped my purse on the clinic floor and cracked the LCD on my NEW digital camera. The expensive one. It still works, but I can only see out of the corner of the screen... and not well. YAY! But it's fine. I'll get it fixed at home, and in the meantime I fully intend on continuing to use it! Hmph! :) I'm just as accident prone with technology as Joan is with her person. <3 Well back to the story. After fussing at us all day to leave her to get food, dad and I finally capitulated and set into town while Joan awaited results. We set back to downtown Charlotte Amalie and went to Shipwreck Bar and Steakhouse for some burgers. And by burgers I mean they were probably the size of my head. :) It had been over 12 hours since we ate breakfast so dad and I devoured our "Shipwreck Supreme" in record time. It was either the best burger in existence or I was just starving. Either way, it hit the spot. For the food lovers out there, it was a huge angus beef patty, cheddar, mushrooms, onion, bacon, lettuce, toms and pickles with fries and some onion rings. Plus coffee that could probably serve as fuel for an SR-71. It was STRONG. :)

So, by the time we got done at the hospital it was far too late to catch a car ferry back to St. John. And it started to storm. Thus we called around to local hotels and decided to stay on the island for the night in the clothes we were wearing. So after getting soaked in a torrential downpour, we settled into a small but cozy hotel room at Bluebeard's Castle. The view at night from our room up a hill was amazing. The pictures don't do any justice. :)

We got up around 6:00a.m. this morning to catch a car ferry back to St. John. Before setting off, we grabbed an early breakfast at Delly Deck by the cruise ship ports, which were now void of the massive skyscraper-like liners. At the docks on Red Hook we got on the biggest, fastest and newest ferry, "Mister B" and off we went. So here I am, a shower and a change of clothes later, on Day Three and back at St. John. Joan is doing well, just in some pain and taking a nap. Dad is on the porch checking out Great Cruz Bay with a Dominican cigar in hand. I think I'll join him. <3 I'll post again tonight after today's adventures :)

Cheers and less spills,
Meg