On Saturday afternoon I got a call that a motor boat bringing tourists over to the beach had hit a little kayuko (dugout canoe) just outside the marina. Those affected had been fished out of the water and were down on the marina dock—could I please go down? There were 2 young women, one pacing on the dock and the other seated in a chair holding her right shoulder and whimpering. She was being capably evaluated by another Mary, who lives on a boat called Twilight, in the marina. Mary was an emergency medical technician running with ambulance crews in New York City for over twenty years. She had a sling on the young woman and was discussing options for evaluation (boat to next island, then probably a ferry to the mainland hospital). I stayed in the background, since one rule of first aid is”too many cooks spoil the broth.” And in a situation like this experience and credentials decide who the cook is. Then a tall thin man arrived in a dinghy (from his boat further out) -- “I am a retired orthopedic surgeon and I would be happy to check her out.” He was very calm, took over the evaluation and 5 minutes later pronounced in no uncertain terms, “ I am sure that you have no broken bones. If something was broken there would be far more swelling. Take some Tylenol and rest for several days and then you’ll be fine.” I was a little surprised at the black/white nature of that statement, as was one other gentleman nearby, who was muttering under his breath about x-ray vision. Of course, one characteristic of most surgeons is the ability to make quick decisions and the willingness to do so, which not all of us have and can be a very good thing sometimes. And unless they are god, sometimes they will be wrong. In the circumstance on the dock there was no reason to make a scene-- easier to just quietly tell the patient that if their arm continues to bother them / is getting worse rather than better it would be wise to go to a hospital. Long story short- we learned that the next day she did go the hospital and there was a broken bone that required surgery and a pin. Hmmm. We all make mistakes. Lucky this one didn't cause major harm- just postponed needed care.
An aside on the identity of these young women in their early twenties-- they are sisters, came from Argentina by themselves, and live in Old Bank, the small town on the other end of this island. They make a living by selling jewelry on the beach. Steve and I fondly call them gypsies, as “their people” are not from here, they have long dreadlocks and evidently live on a shoestring (a very short one). The day after the accident, the less injured sister was out in another kayuko and there were several snorkelers in the water around her. They were trying to recover their jewelry—all was lost when the boat crashed in the side of their kayuko and they were pitched into the water. By the way, a picture of the kayuko will be hung at the dock and some new buoys with verbiage to the effect of "watch the ____ where you are going and slow down" will be installed. The boat driver was unlicensed and will lose his boat.
An update--Several weeks ago I told you about the fire at the neighboring indigenous village. Last week I told you about the fundraiser at the marina, where over $2K was raised to help the 45 residents affected by the fire. This week the issue is how to really help them. The marina people talked about just dividing the money up and giving the cash to each individual or to the parents of affected children. The thought was that they would spend the money to replace the items lost in the fire--- bedding, clothing, and cooking equipment, etc. and giving it to them was much simpler than trying to micromanage the money. There were many who were adamant that they should have the freedom to do as they wished with the money. Then the conversation in the marina turned to "what ifs"… what if the women and children don’t get any of the money, what if the money is used for alcohol, or even just for a bunch of fun? (heck- you know how some of us can tend to view that). Since they don’t have bank accounts, what if they decided to save some cash for a bigger purchase- how would they do that? Clearly we needed more information. So yesterday several of us went to the village and met with the elder there, Pedro Santo. We heard more details of what was lost—a generator, a boat motor, 3 cooking stoves and propane tanks, in addition to the other items we knew about. He told us about their plan to rebuild the houses and total lack of resources to do that. We asked he and his daughter to compile a list of building materials they need, we will get the list today and then we can see how we can help, between the marina and resort. I have a feeling the people in the marina will decide to buy building materials and stoves rather than hand over wads of cash. Will keep you posted.
Enough stories of drama and woe. My current exciting project is reading a book called “Tropical Nature.” Or maybe I should say this IS drama, but of a different kind. It is about the tropical rainforest-about surprisingly weak soil, symbiosis between fungi and trees, foraging in the canopy, light gaps created when giant trees fall, and about epiphytes, those tangled ferns, mosses, orchids, bromeliads, vines and cacti that live suspended in other plants, and what some would say makes a jungle a jungle. I am taking notes, learning lots of big words and bigger ideas and will be doing some major jungle walking to see the living demonstration of what I am learning. I hope to condense my experience into something written for people to use on a self-guided hike through the rainforest. And I want to get the first version done in the next 8 days, so better get cracking!
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| See that lump to the left? a sloth hanging out |
 Robert and Norma (brother and sister in law) with us at the beach bar this week  |
| riding our new trail |
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