Our last night at Playa Amor, Ken became ill during dinner. The next morning he complained of chills and complained that he had not slept well. I suggested that we stay over another day in Playa Amor but he was ready to go. We had been on the road no more than three hours when Ken asked Bill (Bill and Diane were the “lead” coach) to stop at the next opportunity. They were quick to respond and proved to be our “rock of Gibralter” then and throughout our siege. For Ken to acknowledge that he needed to stop, we knew he was sick. Ken is not one to admit frailty.
As I gave Ken medicine, I saw that he was shaking badly. I took his temperature and it was 101.9. Bill and Diane agreed that he should go to a Doctor. Diane had seen a hospital sign on the road a short ways back so we decided to take him there. Bill stayed with the coaches while Diane accompanied me to the hospital emergency room where tests were run and IVs started. Food poisoning was the diagnosis. They gave him four prescriptions and discharged him.
We drove on to the next town, had the prescriptions filled and stopped for the night. The next morning Wednesday, he was not much better but thought he was well enough to drive the approximately 1 and ½ hours to Mazatlan. By the time we arrived Mazatlan, he had reached his tolerance level and once we were parked, he went immediately to bed. By Saturday he showed little improvement. We called a local Dr. Who came to the RV. He determined that the medicine prescribed in the emergency room was not strong enough and prescribed a shot each day for five days with three stronger prescriptions. Since I do not give shots, Rosita, the manager of the RV Park came each day and shot him. The highlight of his illness was having Rosita come each day to give him his shot. Rosita is a lovely lady who is extremely competent, pleasant and a great representative for Mexican hospitality. Ken seemed to get a little better each day and on Wednesday accompanied me to the store. Thursday we had lunch out and on Friday did a drive about and lunch. We thought he was making good progress. Saturday morning he went with a local painter to pick up some matt for a picture that he wanted painted of a Mexican landscape. When he returned, he said he didn’t feel well and lay down for a nap. When he woke up, he blacked out momentarily as he was getting up. I told him we were going to the emergency room and Bill came over to drive us. Ken insisted that we wait a few minutes and Bill said he would return in 30 minutes. While we waited, Ken tried to get up again and fainted. I rushed to get Bill to help me and Diane to called an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics immediately started an IV and transported him to the hospital just five minutes from the RV park. In the emergency room, his blood count was 8.5 and his blood pressure 55/30. They could not get a vein from which to insert an IV or take blood. Finally, they went into the main artery in the neck. He was bleeding internally but they were unsure from where. They admitted him to ICU and advised me that he needed blood which was type O negative and hard to find.
The next morning his blood count was down to 5 and still, no blood. In the meantime, the Doctor was concerned about his kidneys because they were not functioning properly, the Doctor thought perhaps because of the low blood pressure and extended period dehydration. Word was put out at the RV Park that we had a desperate need for type O negative blood. Diane and others were tested but none were of the right type. After talking with the Dr. on Sunday morning I called Terri and asked her to call our emergency medical air transport insurer to initiate a request for possible medical evacuation. By mid afternoon on Sunday, I was alarmed that we had not been able to locate any donors with suitable blood type. Ken’s blood count was falling and his blood pressure was alarmingly low. The intern on duty tried to reassure me that blood would be available on Monday, but I was more than pessimistic.
As I was preparing to leave the hospital on Sunday evening, Ken developed extreme nausea and begin hemorrhaging. With that development they immediately diagnosed his condition as a bleeding ulcer, rushed him to emergency and endoscopitically cloterized the bleeding ulcer. Fortunately, one of the nurses in emergency was O negative and gave a pint of blood which may have saved his life. I later learned that during the surgery his blood count dropped to 3.3. On Monday a 2nd pint of blood was donated by another nurse who attended him in ICU. Those two donors may have saved his life.
On Monday, our Medical Air Services Association arranged to have Ken air lifted to McAllen, Texas on Tuesday morning. I was permitted to travel with him along with the nurse and paramedic that MASA flew in to accompany him to McAllen. The hospital was expecting him, an ambulance awaited us at the airport and Ken was admitted to the Rio Grand Regional Hospital ICU, given another four prints of blood. He was in ICU until Thursday and released from the hospital on Wednesday, March 22.
Our friends Bruce and Gwelda Haselman drove from Albuquerque New Mexico to McAllen and drove us back to Cottonwood, Arizona where we were reunited with our RV. Due to Ken’s extended illness, Ken’s brother Don had decided to fly into Mazatlan to travel back with us in the RV. When Ken was admitted to the hospital, our insurer approved his flight in a day early and okay him to drive the RV back to the States. We left Cottonwood Saturday, March 25 and arrived home Sunday, March 26, three months from the date of our departure, December 26.
This experience has given us a renewed awareness of the value of family and friends. During our trip and during our crises, we were blessed with wonderful traveling companions who were so very kind in their support and concern. We never felt alone and we knew they would not abandon us. A better or finer group of traveling companions would be hard to find.
A special thanks to our daughter, Terri, who coordinated the arrangements with our insurer, Medical Air Services Association; to Ken’s brother, Don, who was there for us and safely returned our coach to the US and to our friends and wagon masters, Diane and Bill Herbert whose compassion and understanding never wavered. We will never forget the generosity of our friends, Bruce and Gwelda Haselman who dropped everything and drove from Albuquerque to McAllen Texas and delivered us safely to Cottonwood, Arizona.
Bruce and Gwelda and their family are not just friends, they are extended family. We hope that we can be there for them should a similar occasion develop and they need us. Words are insufficient to acknowledge the kindness of those who helped us and kept us in their thoughts and prayers. As inadequate as the words may be, we thank you all. We feel blessed by both our family and our family of friends.
