JULY 2010
03 July
Is this Ironic or What
The evening we anchored on terra firma mainland Europe for the first time was another milestone in our meandering, but the skipper did not need a sleepless night to celebrate the event, but thats what he got !!.
''WARNING''
Readers should stop now if, like most of us, you find other peoples medical stories tedious.
If that has not dissuaded you then......
It has been said that when hearing of others misfortune.....
50% of people don't care, or worse are pleased to learn of the misfortune
49% listen and profess to caring, but in reality are just being polite
1% really do care... without the details
If you are still reading you have had every opportunity to bail out, so you must be either family, true friend, sailing soulmate or have a penchant for 'schadenfreude'.
This story is included in our blog - 'our record of our voyaging' - because it has had a major impact on our cruising plans and effectively puts us a year behind sched.
03 July
Skiathos headed for Rathes
After day sailing from the island of Skiathos in the Northern Sporades group of islands we entered the Evia Channel separating Evia Island from mainland Greece. On dusk we reached our selected anchorage for the night, off the town of Rahes on the northern mainland side of the channel. Our first anchorage on mainland Europe !!
We sat down to dinner with the prospect of spending the next 2 / 3 days sailing down the channel from north to south to reach Cape Sounion before making a decision on our passage plan thereafter.
Little did we know then that we would not pass Cape Sounion with a concrete passage plan for over another 2 months...not 2 days. And that eventual passage plan would see us sailing in the wrong direction !!
Pain Presents
Throughout the day sailing from Skiathos, Skipper has a niggling pain first presenting in the left buttock like pulled muscle tissue or possibly a chill in the kidney type pain, but eliminated the kidney when no bladder disorder. That evening when the pain started moving south he retired for the night to self-diagnose on-line with Bing and Google, concluding he had strained himself humping 2 x 30kg water jerry jugs at a time at Skiathos 01 July, recalling one bigger than normal step down onto a dock as the cause (according to B. acting as a 30yr old in a 59yr old frame)
04 July
Dr Bing-Google
On waking this morning pain was more acute and now centered on the hip area and dramatically worse when moving around. So acting on the previous evenings on-line self diagnostic research decides to go with the recommended 'complete rest' option taking control of the queen size bunk in the aft cabin wreathing in the mid-summer heat with B banished to the fore cabin.
Spends the next 5 days resting with pain reduced when horizontal but instantly acute when hobbling to dining table or ablutions which is rather essential.
06 July
Motoring South
B in command P semi-comatose, we motor down the Evia Channel to the ancient town of Khalkis where for centuries bridges have spanned the narrowest part of the channel where huge tides flow through a 70 metre gap requiring vessels to transit once a day when a small slack tide occurs and the vehicular bridge joining the town is raised. With P dosed up on painkillers we went through at about midnight with a dozen other vessels, yachts, motor boats and a quite large coastal ship.
The townsfolk were out in force looking at the spectacle even at that hour, so it’s clearly a local attraction even for them. There was a full moon and many of the townsfolk spied WiFi the wonder cat sitting on deck totally bewildered by the interruption to her nights sleep. We don't normally have crowds looking down on us from above into our floating home so with mountain bikes on deck and other cruising kit we must have looked like a floating menagerie compared with the pristine charter yachts. Were they laughing at us? Or just being friendly?
We anchor in the large open tidal basin on the south side of the bridge, like a sort of hospital ship with not hundreds of patients but just one increasingly grumpy beached whale like skipper prostate on his bunk for the next 3 weeks unable to move without great remonstrations.
B was required to hold ship and everything else together including a ships cat that was now showing signs that she felt ignored and questioning why her regular walks ahore had been curtailed and why the skipper was now hogging all attention ? Thereafter to keep the peace whenever B had a spare moment she started taking WiFi ashore for walks and the world of WiFi settled.
During those forays ashore B noticed that the towns small marina might just be able to take Musketelle....at a pinch, because it was mostly inhabited by local boats of the smaller pedigree. However there can be issues with being tied to the land....... like vermin that can wreak havoc. An experience our friend David, aka 'Sahula of the Sudan' on 'SY Sahula' had a visiting rat turn his life inside out for a month or three back in Alanya 2009. Nevertheless Barbara sussed out a couple of options on a new marina finger that she thought were ok so we have this as an option if and when required. In the meantime all was as well as it could be on Musketelle the hospital ship at anchor out in the basin with cooling breeze wafting through the hatches.
10 July
Initial Diagnosis
With no signs of improvement P hobbles ashore to make taxi tracks to Khalkis Hospital and is directed to radiology for some x-rays. Overstressed duty doc quickly examines patient, looks at the x-rays and declares Osteoarthritis!! Prescribes a few pills, suggests a walking stick, avoid steps (very difficult on a yacht), and get used to the pain!!
This diagnosis obviously stopped us in our tracks as you can imagine.
13 July
Second Opinion
B finds another doctor for a second opinion. He assesses the problem as tendon and nerve tissue damage in the buttock area and prescribes more pills suggesting complete rest and improvement within 5 days.
17 July
Ride in Greek Ambo
Things are getting worse, with pain now excruciating, radiating down the leg into the thigh and calf muscle and shin, so B goes ashore to find an Orthopaedic specialist. He decides a 'Boat Call' is necessary and immediately comes to Musketelle which we had moved the day before into the tiny Khalkis Marina that B had sussed out the previous week. He examines and looks at the x-rays. Then insists I be evacuated by the ambos who came in numbers and strap me onto a banana board stretcher and hump me up through the main hatchway on to the aft deck then lower me down onto the dock and into an ambulance to the same hospital.
Exhibit 'A'
10 x-rays later and diagnosis by a collection 5 doctors I was feeling like 'exhibit item A' and entertainment for them. A jab to release tension in the affected area and manipulation of the hip and leg and they also now conclude tissue damage as opposed to a hip problem. But I could tell they were guessing. They prescribe another selection of pills, suggest I forfeit the walking stick to buy crutches and rest, but attempt to exercise with the crutches and come back 25 July.
25 July
Out for the Strike
So come 25 July back we go, albeit without any exercises under the belt as just too painful and can you guess the hospital doctors are on strike and to come back in another 3 days. At this point we decided to move towards Athens with the prospect of doctors with better command of English and hopefully an MRI scan.
