One fish, two fish, blue fish.....where's Brenda?

So we made the Gulf Stream crossing and docked our boat quite expertly if we say so ourselves. We have to brag about our good dockings, because other times it ain't so pretty. Everything is coming up roses. Then the next morning Brenda decides to point out two beautiful blue fish swimming near our dock to Don and I. In her excitement she quickly tries to take the stairs to the lower dock level. The only problem was there were no steps. Ouch! One very sore left arm and wrist are the result.

We iced her arm down and wrapped it up in an Ace Bandage. The next day she was still too sore to use the arm, so we pulled out an arm sling from our first aid kit. This seems to help a little as she toughs it out for two days of exploring Bimini. The cruising community offers all kinds of help and advice including where to seek medical assistance. Well, in Bimini there is a local clinic that does have an x-ray machine, but they don't know how to use it. We go to see the doctor there anyway and come away feeling pretty good about the diagnosis. No major damage. A sprain or maybe a minor crack in a small bone.

The next morning Brenda is still not really improving which means we really need to get professional medical advice including an x-ray. Most of the locals said we would have to fly back to the U.S. Finally we found out that Cat Cay provided volunteer doctors for transient boaters. They even had an x-ray machine. One couple, Dieter and Maya made numerous calls arranging the clinic visit and transportation to the island.

On Friday we hopped aboard Orlando's power boat for the 11 mile ride to the private Cat Cay club. We arrived about noon and knocked on the volunteer doctor's residence door. After several minutes a disheveled young lady answered the door in flip flops, shorts and a wrinkled t-shirt. "Hi, I am the doctor on call." she announced. As we entered the clinic the young doctor explained that she had never done an x-ray before, so bear with her. She looked over the colored picture cheat sheet explaining the machine's operation as she chatted with us. Her husband then walked in dressed just like her except he had a nice cool drink in his hand. Well this is going to be a first. Two doctors in flip flops, shorts, t-shirts and one carrying a drink. Welcome to the islands mon.

The two doctors reviewed the quick start guide to x-ray machine operations and then announced they were ready to give it a go. They stood around the corner of the x-ray booth and pushed the button. "Did anything flash?" they asked. Brenda replies, "No, but it did beep." Believe it or not they did actually produce 3 good x-rays in the end. The bad news - one broken arm just above the wrist. The good news - no surgery needed. The two doctors worked together and after two tries ended up getting Brenda set up with a hard splint.

We will need to change our itinerary now as we need to get to Nassau to find a doctor who can properly cast Brenda's arm. Our buddy boat readily agreed to our change of plans and we hope to get to Nassau by March 25th to make the arrangements. The boat ride back to our marina in South Bimini was really bouncy and the captain's boat started overheating a couple of times as we crossed. It sure was good to get back to Wrinkles.

The adventure continues.

 

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