2002 Charter Stories
BREAK
18 August 2002
Sitting sipping beer watching the sinking sun light up the green jungle. Deafening silence in our ringing ears after we turn the generators off for the first time in ages. Must put that into the arvo sunset routine. It’s about now that the birds spark up with an array of calls and cackles that precede the ensuing dusk. Small silver fish splash around the still bay. Beyond the island’s peak, the afternoon southerly begins to settle down. Not far from here, surfers are enjoying some of the best waves on the planet. It feels good to be giving the old girl a spruce-up. She has done us proud the last 4 months. Our talks turn forward to what it will be like to go back to Sydney. Will our loved ones have changed? Probably. Will they notice a change in us? Yes.
“the hallmark of a special journey is one in which you return changed, no matter how subtlety”…Robert Louie Stevenson.
8 August 2002 – MY SICK/HOSPITAL STORY – exerts from a letter home to my mum and dad
By Belinda
Well, its me again with the vomiting virus….or what ever it is. Elvis reckons it is the 2 minutes (Indonesian style) noodles. Who knows. I have been sick again – this is day two. As John said, ‘you are trying to loose weight and some devil bug is helping’. Correct, but I rather watch what I eat, rather than watch it twice.
It must be something I am eating. They say that the noodles here can have weevils in them???? But, why is it that no one else gets sick. Not sure why, but this time round it all happened with a bang…..thought it could have been my appendix???????
I am starting to realise that our medical kit is 100% necessary. As far as it goes, so far we have had what we needed, but my god, we really are alone out here. Yesterday when my stomach seized up and the vomiting began….I felt like my stomach was going to explode (in particular the right lower side). Anyhow, John starting reading up on the pain I was going through, and since I didn’t have bowel problems started to panic thinking it was my appendix. The pain eased as soon as the food was passed for the second time…..but as he said we need to be prepared for the worst. Bit scary sometimes being miles from anywhere and relying on books to diagnose the problems.
Oh, well, guess I won’t be having food for the next day at least.
9 August
Well, it is day three….4pm in the afternoon, and it was calm enough for me to wash my hair and have a shower. Still quiet ill. John is pumping me full of tablets and getting bossy regarding me drinking water. Yesterday it was impossible to keep liquids down, and today as long as I don’t push more than a mouthful every so often I am winning. I figure tomorrow I should be able to hold down a bit of food – fingers crossed. My belly is sore from all the vomiting. Feels like I have pulled my muscles out? Still really sore on my right lower side. John reckons it has something to do with my appendix.
All I want right now (and this is me reverting to being a total child) is to be home.
10 August
Well, no better today. John has made the decision to take me in to port. He has been on the phone to his uncle in Sydney who is a doctor and he advised medical help. No food for four days….feeling very tired.
I will speak to you when I get in. I am so sorry this did not turn into the epic letter that you (or I for that matter) wanted.
Love Me
12 August
So I am out of hospital – THANK YOU GOD.
There is no doubt that I was, and to an extent still totally terrified of being put under the knife in Padang. I am hoping with some relaxing I will soon be able to say that there is no more pain. I have manage toast today, and
Last night John’s friend Albert (who I think I have spoken about a couple of times) made me chicken soup and brought it to the hospital, I had about 5 spoon fulls which was better than nothing after 5 days.
Hospital wasn’t that bad I guess. I was clearly the most exciting patient they have had for a while, and hence there were doctors and nurses coming into my “A” Grade room just to look and poke me. In fact, I will even go as far as to say that they gave me the best blood test ever. Not sure if it was the nurse being extra careful or John making some joke that distracted my thoughts. I am not at all big on needles as you know, and after not eating for so long thought for sure I would pass out. But with John saying something about how short I looked on the Indonesian hospital bed I didn’t feel a thing.
I am terribly emotional, tired, and I guess you could say I am a scared white female in a foreign land…..my mind is all hazy after lack of food I think. I am happy to be back on the boat, and I am well and out of hospital and will
Be taking it a little easy for the next few days.
Naturally me being me have a whole lot more to say. I could tell you about the mozzies at the hospital, the dead person wheeled past me in emergency, the results from my blood test only taking 15 minutes, the Indonesian
Television shows that I couldn’t understand, all the fellow boat captains discussing that perhaps between them they should do the surgery if need be, my crew (particularly Elvis) letting me know in their own way they were happy I was back on the boat, the level of panic through the boats up here as to where I should go, Byron who is still up here telling me that he would be happy if need be to sit with me for a week in hospital, and the list from the past two days goes on and on. But, I think I should wait until I return home…then the memories will have changed – exaggerated perhaps and then they will be a lot funnier.