SV Dawn

Thursday July 21

Taiohae Bay, Nuku-Hiva

Hello Friends and Family,

By the end of last week I thought I had little of interest to report. That is with the exception of the incredible generosity of the people of Nuku-Hive and French Polynesia.

My days on Thursday and Friday were filled with trips to the laundry, grocery shopping and a trip to a pharmacy to pick up what is an over the counter medication in the States that I was running low on.

Unfortunately some to these resources are inconveniently located for someone on foot. The pharmacy is several miles from the “old wharf” where I land my dinghy and it is up a steep hill. While walking to the pharmacy I encountered a woman walking in the same direction, Bonjour madame parley-vous anglais? Her reply, “yes I should I am a high school English teacher!”

She directed me to the pharmacy and then offered to drive me back to the pier. The pharmacy was only allowed to sell me 1/4 the dose and for 1 week of the medication I needed without a prescription. The pharmacist suggested I visit the hospital, locally all medical care is delivered through the hospital. I made a plan to visit on Monday.

A little while later the very nice English teacher arrived with her husband and son and chauffeured me around town allowing me to make several stops to pick up laundry and milk while they waited for me. Long distance hikers call folks like these trail angels, what do you think “yachties” should call them?

Saturday I spent reconfiguring the boat to it’s more normal arrangement and attempting to bring some order back to my environment. Sunday I worked on the inverter and was able to get it working, the quirky device that it is.

Sunday afternoon I became violently ill with the typical travelers symptoms but much worse than I have experienced in the past. I also developed a severe pain in my lower leg and was unable to put weight on it. My thoughtful doctor in Oregon had prescribed a course of a mild antibiotic for use in a situation like this, I started taking it on Monday and began to recover on Tuesday however my lower leg became red and more swollen. Wednesday (July 27th) I realized that I needed medical attention and was able to get myself to the wharf with some difficulty due to the rough weather conditions and my limited mobility. My agent Kevin has an office within a hundred feet of the wharf and took me right to the hospital, and he assisted me with all of the registration and intake questions at the hospital, another example of the thoughtful nature of the people here.

Very shortly I was taken to a room and given an EKG. My 20 something European nurse with numerous native tattoos and piercings chided me for not having a list of my medications that could be give to her without me needing to communicate, this would have been a problem in an emergency. Point well taken, I am inputting them into my phone.

A few minutes later my tall, slender and suave doctor with an appropriately coiffed salt and pepper mane arrived. A brief review of my medical history and drugs list and then the exam. He explained that I had an “erysipelas” infection and that the antibiotic that I had started taking a couple of days before would not be effective in treating this infection.

He then wrote out in longhand and in duplicate a page long list of instructions and prescriptions. I think these notes serve as the

visit record as well. He very carefully reviewed everything with me as his English skills were modest and wanted to be sure that I understood how to take the 4 drugs he had prescribed for me and where to get them. There was no urgency on his part to get to his next patient, it was a very relaxed interchange.

I noticed that he was wearing a new pair of Sperry Top Siders, and asked if he was a sailor? But of course! he replied and he was the owner of a 43’ Aluminum cutter rigged sailboat. He went on to tell me about his additional Solent Stay and bow sprit. An aside a Solent stay is just aft of the forestay much closer to it than a staysail stay, it takes a particular technique to use this rigging setup and they are very uncommon in the Americas. What then commenced was a very detailed discussion of self steering gear and my experiences with my Monitor wind vane. It was necessary for me to review all of my boat pictures to give him the best views of the gear. Of course he was interested in my voyage from Mexico to his Island but nothing compared to self steering gear. Heads up Suzy at Scanmar you have a potential customer on Nuku-Hiva!

After the visit I was shown the way out of the exam area and given a slip to give to the cashier. Up to this point there hadn’t been any discussion of money or insurance or even ability to pay for care by the staff at the hospital. The cashier asked me if I was able to pay the bill today, this struck me as so odd if I had said no being a transient would they just let me sail away? Of course I offered to pay the bill on the spot and was told the charges were = to US$25.15, if you are not an American you won’t understand that this is so shockingly insignificant that it borders on the unbelievable. In the States we would not have been surprised at a $1000 bill after a 6 hour wait for care in an ER. However as I have been exposed to other countries medical systems over the last few years I am seeing how deeply flawed the US system of care has become. My entire experience at the hospital was efficient, quick, low tech, personal and thoughtful and most remarkably

inexpensive. It is a shame that the US has gone so far down a wrong path, US doctors fears of not making money in a single payer system are unfounded given that my Dr is sailing a three quarter of a million dollar yacht in the best sailing grounds in the world! This should be US Dr’s aspiration not nemesis. The amount of effort and energy our system puts into the money aspect of care delivery is a tragic waste.

Kevin took me to the pharmacy several miles from the hospital and I left there with a shopping bag full of drugs. The cost was US $100 and I felt this was reasonable, later examining the drugs I saw that they were all made in France, very well packaged with Braille on all of the packaging. I also noticed that the instructions were in French ONLY no multilingual accommodation. I appreciated some of these aspects as I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the foreign sourcing of drugs sold in US.

Once we had returned to the port Kevin related how another cruiser had become ill on their boat with the same symptoms. That sailor chose to ignore the problem and became incapacitated on the floor of his boat and remained there for several days before he was evacuated with great difficulty. He spent a week in the hospital, fortunately I avoided that.

Sunday, I am much improved able to walk without difficulty and the swelling and redness has reduced. I am anxious to get on my way and would like to try to deal with the few repairs needed to do that ASAP.

Ben Lidner, S/V DAWN