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Published: March 6th 2020
Kapalua Beach Trail
Stunning views all along the trailWhat else can go wrong? I accidenally published this blog entry withut the photo captions. Sigh. The rest of the tet is the same.
The saga continues… I was in considerable pain from the left hip down to my ankle. Barb and Dianne drove me to the ER at Maui Memorial Hospital where I got to hurry up and wait for someone to talk to. The triage nurse was hilarious. After asking all the important questions he turned with a serious look on his face and asked if I had considered that it might just be "old man's disease". I'm pretty sure he knew his audience and wouldn't have said that to just anyone. They did x-ray my hip area and assured me that wasn’t a problem (I was concerned after my fall a few years go). Six hours later I was drugged up and sent home with enough drugs to get me back to Canada. This was Friday night. Our flight was the red-eye on Wednesday. Joy. Five days.
For me, it was five days of mostly lying on the floor. I did manage to have a few joint dinners with Barb and Bob as well as
A view from the resort
This was the view that we saw each day as we headed down for a beach walk or an ocean swim some card games if the pain stayed away. The biggest pain was not being able to score the card games on my computer because of the lost charge cord.
Dianne continues… Peter suggested that I add a few notes about things that I did for those remaining five days! Well, as he noted, there seemed to be several cappuccinos consumed by me when I was out with Barb and Bob. Barb and I went swimming in the ocean and the pool every day and that was wonderful. The water temperature in the ocean was perfect and the water so clean; a real pleasure. Barb, Bob and I managed several walks – to the local outdoor market, the grocery store, the coffee shop, garden areas and the Kapalua coastal trail. Barb and I went to an evening of hula performances by children of all ages; I loved their enthusiasm. Of course, I managed to also fit in laundry, meals, taking care of Peter and reading.
On the road again… Finally, it was Wednesday evening. We had a lovely going away dinner with Barb and Bob after which they drove us to the airport. Was another marathon trip
Relaxing
The gecko was relaxing on a banana leaf in the cards?
We paid for seats and bags as there was no way Dianne could handle all the stuff and give me the attention I deserved. We chose two aisle seats in the hope we would get seats with no one in the middle. Luckily, it worked. Being in a wheelchair gave us early boarding. Going through security was a breeze as we even had a pusher to help us navigate through the airport. Of course, I still had to stagger through security. One place had canes for people like me who had trouble walking.
I was dreading sitting for 5 hours but it went remarkably quickly. Once in Vancouver, WestJet was very supportive. One lady picked me up in a wheelchair at the jetway and took us up to the main level where we were handed off to another lady with a golf cart. She looked at our boarding passes and told us that our flight to Victoria and the one following had been cancelled because the pilot was sick! But she arranged for new boarding passes, as well was breakfast and lunch vouchers to help fill the gap before our afternoon flight. These golf carts
Banana plant
The banana plants have such amazing flowers. Note the gecko climbing up the stalk! are the way to travel through an airport. The only problem I had was that I was dressed for Hawaii and the golf cart was so fast the apparent wind was a trifle chilly. One cart took us to security and on the other side another one took us to domestic departures. Yet another person transferred me to a wheelchair and took us right to our gate.
Again, we pre boarded. When it came time to get off this much smaller plane, they brought out the ramp rather than the normal stairs to help me disembark. And, yes, there was another wheelchair to get us to baggage claim. Our son, Russell, was there to meet us with yet another wheelchair, one we could take home with us.
More hospitals… By this time it was after 3:00 pm and we headed for the Saanich Peninsula hospital. In the waiting room, one poor fellow was freezing and asked the staff for a blanket. I felt a little odd as I was still dressed for Hawaii but had to take my jacket off because I was too hot. Mind you, he had pneumonia.
They reviewed my problem
A humpback with twins
This metal sculpture at Whalers' Village depicts the rare occurence of a humpback whale with twins. They were sighted by Captain Scammon in 1874. and medication and said I would have to return in the morning as the CT scanner didn't work 24/7. Russ took us to their house for a sleepover. Jada gave me her favourite bear and blanket to help me feel better.
Russ took us back to San Pen for the CT scan which confirmed a herniated disk between the 3rd and 4th vertebrae. At last, I could prove I wasn't faking! Luckily, Russ didn't have to sit through the marathon wait in the ER. My sister, Jane, came by to drive us back to Russ and Heather's for another sleepover.
Because we had left the truck at the ferry terminal on Pender it was going to be difficult for Dianne to get the bags and the vehicle home. Our other son, Steve, came down from Cedar to drive us home and help Dianne with the unloading. We even got a card game in before he headed home the next day.
All’s well that ends well… Well, this was a holiday for the record books. Not quite what we had planned. But I must say, everyone involved was very helpful and their efforts were most appreciated.
Honokahua Burial Site
This large area surrounded by a hedge is closed to the public. It is the burial site of ancient Hawaiians. Barb, Bob, WestJet, San Pen hospital, Russ and Heather, Jane, Steve and anyone I missed: thank you so much for your help. And, no, I didn't forget Christine who came over for a few days to help her mother and cheer up her old dad. Of course, Dianne was a tower of support throughout this ordeal and continues to be as I move along the path to recovery. Grant, Laurianne and Andre came over one Saturday to help with some yard work, chainsawing, wood chopping, etc.
My current plan is to take her to the Point No Point resort on Vancouver Island for a few days at the end of March to make up for the down time on Maui. Hopefully there will not be a repeat of our Maui adventure and our good times are
ToBeContinued.
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