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| Sounds good to me. |
If you've been following along, you know that we decided to spent the holidays on the boat in Petersburg, Alaska, while enjoying new friends, and the Norwegian festivities. Previously I had shipped all of my Christmas presents to our Wrangell address, so we decided I should fly to Wrangell, pick up mail, packages, bring back a few boat parts, and fly back to Petersburg with the loot. The trip would only be a couple of days. Best laid plans......
In Wrangell, where I was staying, I had gone through several months of mail, loaded it into a rubbermaid tub, and was going down a flight of stairs to carry it out to my car. I misjudged the number of stairs, and took a tumble. I won't make you recoil from the gory details, but it was a bad fall. I called 911, had an ambulance ride to the hospital, where it was determined that their limited staff couldn't handle the multiple bone breaks, and a Medivac flight on a Lear Jet was arranged to take me to Anchorage. If you're a boater, cruiser, or world traveler, DAN Boater (Divers Alert Network, Travel and Emergency Medical Services) is worth it! They will get you to medical care world-wide.
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| Medivac Lear Jet, as they were wheeling me on the stretcher through the hanger. |
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| Inside the jet, the view from the stretcher. |
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| The view out the window, very pretty. I wasn't in pain, good drugs. |
The short ending is: I had surgery to repair the 4 breaks in my tibia, and fibula. They inserted a rod, and pins, and I am not allowed to put my weight on it for at least 6-8 weeks, or more. (TBD) I'm using a walker, and a wheelchair to get around. I also can't get on and off of Denali Rose. I've been released from the hospital, and I'm staying at my brother and family's home in Anchorage while Bill is still in Petersburg with the boat, and the cats. We're missing each other, but it's the circumstances we have.
We're researching our options for renting ground floor housing in a place that also has Physical Therapy for the next 2-4 months. Who knows where... stay tuned.
As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.
[Here is the next post about this incident...]
As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.
[Here is the next post about this incident...]
I'm so sorry this happened, Donna, but so glad you had good medical care quickly. Who knows what will come of living 'on the ground' for a couple of months while you heal? I'm curious why you needed to use DAN to get to care, though. Your health insurance would not cover moving you? Or high deductible? I guess I never considered the circumstances of having to use DAN when in the US. Very glad you had that!
ReplyDeleteEveryone in Southeast Alaska has some kind of flight medivac insurance. We have just basic medical care, and in some communities, you have to leave just to have a baby. I do have health insurance through the State of AK, (retired emp), could have probably used either one. We just choose to use DAN, and it has worked out great. They are also standing by to return me, when the time arrives. Pretty cool.
DeleteOh no!! I'm so sorry about what happened. How awful. Hope you have a speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteThanks, speedy will not be in my vocabulary for awhile. I have also decided to throw things down stairs, and retrieve them when I get there from now on.
DeleteSorry to learn about your mishap. We have been advised to get DAN or another Medivac service but then never followed through. In your case, I am sure having the service was a great relief both financially but more importantly having one number to call when in need.
ReplyDeleteI am glad your injuries are on the mend. Enjoy the holidays from a new perspective.
Thank you for your kind words. I hope your holidays are wonderful also!
DeleteSome items that I don't want to be without: PLB, SAT phone, and Medivac insurance. Interesting discussion on Facebook Sailing and Cruising, about how DAN was medical insurance, they were saying buyer beware. I had to post about how I just used them, and they have never said that, it is only Medivac insurance, and worth it.