June 1, 2006
Location: Rio Dulce, Guatemala
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0

We received an email from our friends Randy and Sheri aboard s/v Procyon. We had met them while we were cruising and they were in the same marina as we were last summer. They left Guatemala last October and sailed to Panama, through the Panama Canal, to the Galapagos Islands and then on to the South Pacific. The following two emails from them are reminders that it’s not always smooth sailing.

The following email was received while Randy and Sheri were in the Galapagos Islands;

“Hi,
Obviously we were having too much fun and life is always about balance, right?  After we arrived in the Galapagos Randy started feeling not really well. After a couple of days of self medicating we went to the hospital here (very third world type place) and they gave him some stronger meds and sent us home. The next morning he was worse so we went back to the emergency room. They admitted him and started giving him IV's. At that point I called DAN (it is an insurance policy, not just for divers but anyone who travels overseas) and told them we might need to be medically evacuated to a better facility. The doctors here thought they had it under control and Randy started feeling a little better so they would not give the authorization to DAN, however the process had been started. By the next morning Randy was feeling much worse again. He could not even move he was in so much stomach pain and he was all bloated. At that point I took the doctor with me to the phone place and we called DAN to proceed with the evacuation. DAN made all the arrangements for a plane, with 2 doctors, 2 assistants and crew to pick us up. They were in contact with the doctors at the emergency room in the capital city of Quito all the way. This was not an easy trip for poor Randy. It took an hour ambulance drive, a short ferry, then another 20 minute ambulance drive to get to the airport. Then a 3 hour flight to Quito. DAN had made all the arrangements to get us admitted immediately to the best hospital in the country. With in 30 minutes of our arriving Randy was tested, X-rayed and in surgery. It was very scary, the admitting Doctor was not very encouraging and the first diagnosis was Acute Abdomen. I was terrified that his appendix had burst. The surgeon was excellent, had trained and practiced in Dallas, TX for 20 years. Turned out it was a perforated ulcer and his poor abdomen was full of stomach acid and bile. The doctor fixed up the 3mm hole and cleaned up his insides. 5 days later we were released and then spent 4 days in a hotel making sure that everything was still okay. We got the final okay from the doctor yesterday and flew back to Procyon today.
Randy is doing very well. His stomach is back to normal and the other side effects are going away slowly. He lost over 15 pounds so we have to get him back to normal weight. He is on a restricted diet for the time being, including no beer so as you can imagine he really wants things to get back to normal!!!! He is also sporting a new scar stretching from his rib cage down past his belly button.  My sister said it will make him look more like a pirate.
Being in a country that you can not communicate easily (my Spanish is barely okay for ordering and shopping, definitely not up to medical vocabulary), in the middle of no where is not the place to have a medical emergency. Thank goodness we were here though and not in the middle of the South Pacific. DAN was amazing, they set everything up for us and all that transportation did not cost us a cent. Not bad for $ 44 a year. We strongly recommend any of you out there cruising, if you do not have it, get it. Also our friends in the anchorage with us we so helpful, they took care of Procyon when we had to leave her and gave us great support. I spent lots of time on the cell phone with family too!!!
At this point we are waiting for the 6 week recovery time to go by, then we will decide if we keep heading across this year or hold off and wait for next year. We will keep you all posted.
Thank you all that I have been in touch with for your support. It helped a lot. This very stressful time is behind us now and we are very happy to be back on Procyon.
Randy and Sheri
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands “

Here’s a second email we received from them after they arrived in the South Pacific....

“Hi everyone,
We are at anchor in the bay at Nuka Hiva, Marquesas.  We made the crossing in 21 days and a few hours. Saying it that way makes it sound so normal. It most definitely was not a normal trip. The first 10 days were great. We had good winds and were making very good time, had only put 16 hours on the engine and were averaging 150 mile days. Then Randy woke up in the middle night not feeling well. Light headed and sick to his stomach. In the morning when the SSB net came on I did a priority traffic and got a hold of Tom on Quantum Leap who was a doctor and also making the crossing. He gave me a list of things on check every two hours and we tried to get Randy feeling better. Tom did a great job of working with me every 4 hours or so, checking on Randy and trying to get the nausea to stop. After about the 5th day dehydration became an issue an along with the fact that Randy was getting so thin and weak. So all the boats that had been helping me (Aqua Magic and Wind Bird) plus our wonderful, wonderful friends on Endangered Species and Wind Pony started working with doctors and people in the Marquesas to try and find a ship to evacuate Randy to. They found one (a 600 foot container ship) and we met up with them one evening and got Randy transferred. We were so lucky, this ship takes a few passengers and one of the passengers just happened to be a doctor. She got Randy started on IV's right away and stabilized. He was off to Tahiti. This left Procyon and I with around 800 miles to go to the Marquesas. Good thing that Randy was such a good teacher and had taught me how to run most things on the boat. Luckily there were 3 Norwegian boats that had been close to us when all this started. They came with us to the transfer, helped with moving Randy and gave me some fuel. Then Jan and Eva on Necessity took me under their care and stayed next to me for the next 3 days. This allowed me to get some sleep while they watched out for other boats. So even though I was alone on the boat I was not alone on the ocean. Endangered Species and Wind Pony loaded up Wind Pony with fuel (the wind had totally died and in order to get in I needed to motor since there was no way I could put up and down the spinnaker by myself) and came to rescue me. The three guys motored out for two and a half days. Then they transferred Rick onto Procyon while Dick and John stayed with Wind Pony. It was so nice to have help on the boat!!!!! Being on watch 24/7 leaves a lot to be desired. It took us 2 1/2 days to get back and when we got to the mouth of the harbor, Robin, Lynn and Randy met us in the dingy!!!! Randy had a blockage of the small intestine which worked it's way thru once he got off the moving sailboat and onto a more stable platform. It was so great to have him back and well!!!!
Mike, Liz, Ted and Jan, thank you so much for making Procyon such a great boat. I knew that Procyon could make it, I was the weak link! She did great and I was never in danger and with the total calm conditions, the trip went very quickly. I was a stressed out mess but the SSB net, Necessity, Endangered Species and Wind Pony kept me calmed down. Also once I knew Randy was well that made life much better. Poor Randy was totally stressed about me too as you can imagine.
Anyway, it is over and we are in paradise now. Really, really hope our health adventures are over!

Plan to spend a few weeks more in the Marquesas islands and then head down the Tuamotu's archipelago (400 miles from here) for a month or so then to Tahiti where we'll leave Procyon for a month while we fly home.

Randy and Sheri
Nuka Hiva, Marquesas”

I’m sure our mother’s are hoping that our adventures aren’t so full of excitement. We wish Randy and Sheri continued success on their sail around the world.

Copyright 2004, 2005, 2006 S/V Bruadair. No reproduction without written consent.