So, flew into Houston, stayed over there and the following day our group of 11 took a small bus (yes, I do ride the small bus) to Galveston. About 30 minutes after handing our luggage off, we were on the ship. I tell you what, the disembarkation and embarkation of a cruise ship is fascinating to me. About 4300 people getting off along with the close to 7, 000 pieces of luggage being put off and the same number of people and bags being put on. All people and bags going on are screened. All passengers check in, get their folio card (think credit card, room card, and the card that lets you get back on the ship at ports) have their pictures taken. Like I said, fascinating to me.
So all goes well. Red Frog beer, Muster drill, explore the ship, unpack the clothes, Red Frog beer, great dinner in the main dinning room. Then things went bad. My wife, son, and I had an adjoining cabin with my mom and daughter. My mom is 72 but healthy. My daughter came in and said Grandma had a bad stomach ache and wanted to know if we had any medicine. My daughter walked back into her cabin and came back saying Grandma had hit her head and was bleeding. I go in and she has a small 1 inch cut and seems a little dazed. She complains of her stomach but is not sure if she fainted or not. I ask my wife to call for a nurse to come and evaluate her. Complaints of stomach pain get worse. Then she throws up. Luckily, garbage can was close. So I am wondering, throwing up due to stomach or hit on head. Then my mom does some convulsions and passes out. She came back to quickly but is in a lot of pain. Nurse calls and asks if I can get my mom down to them. After repeating what was going on she says she will have a wheelchair sent so she can be taken down. I know things are bad but just tell her to do whatever because she needs to be seen immediately. Just as the wheelchair arrives, a nurse also comes in. At this point it has become clear that it is indeed critical because in no time a doctor and 2 other nurses are there. My mom was taken on a stretcher to the infirmary. Keep in mind, the cabins and corridors of a ship are not large and getting my mom out of the room (on a blanket, to the stretcher) was not easy.
When the stretcher team is called all crew on that deck are posted in the corridors. Or I assume that because in all there was about 10 or 12 people that were around the stretcher going down the hall and at every intersection there were cabin stewards or security making sure no one was in the way. Our cabin was at the back of the ship and we walked all the way to the front elevators, probably 700 feet and did not have one other passenger in the way. Obvious that this is something they practice.
Down in the infirmary I am filling out papers. The main worry from the ship is if this could be a gastro/intestinal (G/I) illness that could be contagious so I am trying to remember everything my mom has eaten in the last 24 hours. I can tell by all the commotion that things are not going too well. The decision was made to keep her in the infirmary overnight - something they try to avoid. Over night my mother is given 4 liters of IV fluids. The next afternoon she is allowed back to her cabin but is confined. That evening they readmit her and give more fluids.
Long story cut short. After 2 full days of being under doctors care, and being given 6 liters of fluids, the doctor gives her permission to leave her cabin. She could get off the boat (we had just arrived in Jamaica) but she advised her not to go on our excursion. My mom was heart broken but she and I knew that it would be best. So being the good son I am, I said see ya later and off I went. Seriously, I knew she was well enough to be on the ship and she would have felt terrible if she felt like she had ruined any part of the trip. Little does she realize how much beer time at the Red Frog Pub I lost during those 2 days!!!
So the ship has 2 doctors and 5 nurses, maybe 6. I was impressed with the staff. Great care. My mom was very close to having to be taken off the ship either to a Coast Guard boat or by helicopter. So while it was not a good start to the trip, it could have been much worse. The infirmary is on 0 deck, forward, port side. More information than I needed to learn on this trip.
While all the signs were of a G/I illness, there were other, more disturbing symptoms that did not fit with a normal G/I illness. Since being home my mom has been to her doctor and has more tests scheduled. Her doctor thinks he knows what the problem may be but is not sure. So it will be a little while before a diagnosis is made. We are still concerned but my mom does seem to be doing OK still.
Now to the good part. In Jamaica we took a shuttle to Dunn River Falls. It is beautiful but very crowded this day as there are 4 cruise ships in port. These falls flow directly into the ocean. Groups of about 25 people follow a guide up through the falls. The water felt refreshing from the humidity and heat. I have put pictures below.
After the falls, which was a hour and half trip each way, we stopped for a lunch of jerk chicken, beans, rice - typical Jamaican food. Very good. Just to give you an idea of how bad the economy is there, we had lunch for 4 people for less than 20 dollars - which is 1500 dollars Jamaican. Definitely (from what I could see) a country of a few haves and mostly have nots. Also not a place to go out on your own as a tourist. I have been told the concept of all-inclusive resorts started in Jamaica because they have beautiful beaches but tourists were afraid to leave the hotels.
Next stop - Grand Cayman
