Before we went on the ill-fated snorkel cruise where I broke my ankle, we had to sign liability waivers, stating that if we were injured or killed we wouldn't sue the Pacific Whale Foundation. I signed it. And would sign it again.
(When I loaded my tote bag the night before though, something told me to add my insurance card to the pocket with my license and debit card. Good thing I heeded that still, small voice.)
Anyway, when I fell and was obviously injured, the crew was very nice and solicitous, with just a touch of "I told you so" in their attitudes. Yes, the captain had warned everyone about how rough the crossing would be and encouraged us to stay seated inside. But given a choice between standing out front where I could see the approaching waves or trapped inside with all the seasick folks, I'd still take my chances outside.
They got ice for me and offered to skip the second snorkel site and return me to the dock and call an ambulance. I opted to go on to the snorkel location because I didn't want a literal boat-load of people mad at me for cutting short their expedition. Although there were probably more seasick people who would have thanked me for cutting short their misery.
The next day, after we knew the ankle was broken, David called the Pacific Whale Foundation, just to give them an update and let them know what was going on. He left a message that he was calling about the injury the day before and he was promised a return call.
A call that never came. I know the call wasn't returned because they were expecting threats of a lawsuit or other bad news.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We knew the risks when we chose to stand up front. We signed the waiver. We're not people who think someone else is always to blame for anything bad that happens. We've even been called nice people. David simply thought someone might like to know how I was doing.
That's what he gets for thinking, I guess. How sad.
---------------
Today I prayed for: Taryn, Clayton, Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, Kim, and Lisa.
Currently reading: Salvation in Death by JD Robb
Last movie: Facing the Giants
Last meal: grilled ckn, rice, beans, and tortilla at a going away lunch for David. He starts his new assignment Wednesday.
3/30/09
3/25/09
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
The Good:
I got a hard cast on yesterday. The swelling in my ankle is down. We got a good look at it in between the splint and the cast.
The Bad:
It's not a weight-bearing cast. I was really, really hoping for a walking cast. I'm all registered and paid and planning to attend the Mt. Hermon Christian Writer's conference which begins next week, April 3. A walking cast would have made getting around the conference grounds much easier. So, I'm looking for a backpack that I can wear to carry my stuff around since I need both arms for the crutches.
The Ugly:
The foot shows off several shades of purple, blue, yellow, and even a tinge of green. The purple has spread down to my toes. And so it goes.
------
Today I prayed for: Liz Curtis Higgs, Taryn, Nancy, Kim
Currently reading: I'm between books (how did that happen??) I just finished Death's Half Acre by Margaret Maron. Next up... maybe a JD Robb...
Last movie: The Bucket List
Last meal: Chicken soft tacos made with marinated and grilled chicken. YUM!
I got a hard cast on yesterday. The swelling in my ankle is down. We got a good look at it in between the splint and the cast.
The Bad:
It's not a weight-bearing cast. I was really, really hoping for a walking cast. I'm all registered and paid and planning to attend the Mt. Hermon Christian Writer's conference which begins next week, April 3. A walking cast would have made getting around the conference grounds much easier. So, I'm looking for a backpack that I can wear to carry my stuff around since I need both arms for the crutches.
The Ugly:
The foot shows off several shades of purple, blue, yellow, and even a tinge of green. The purple has spread down to my toes. And so it goes.
------
Today I prayed for: Liz Curtis Higgs, Taryn, Nancy, Kim
Currently reading: I'm between books (how did that happen??) I just finished Death's Half Acre by Margaret Maron. Next up... maybe a JD Robb...
Last movie: The Bucket List
Last meal: Chicken soft tacos made with marinated and grilled chicken. YUM!
3/20/09
The True Story
Yes, it's true. Our perfect vacation ended on a not-so-perfect note. Here's what I wrote a friend:
We had a wonderful 2 weeks in Maui! It was a great vacation.
Until we decided to do a snorkeling cruise to Lanai on our last day. We'd had several days of beautiful, calm weather and of course that day, Thursday March 12th, we woke up to wind and a little rain. We headed out anyway and once we arrived at Lanai we were in a little cove and it was calm and nice. We had a good time, saw some beautiful fish. Then we headed back across the channel to Maui, to a second snorkel spot. The wind had kicked up and the water was sooo rough. The crew said it was the roughest crossing this season and if they'd known how bad it was going to be, we wouldn't have gone to Lanai to begin with.
Pretty much everyone was either hanging on the back puking, or hanging on up front riding/surfing. There were 8-10 foot swells. I was up front and having fun. I never felt unsafe, the catamaran was very stable. But we hit a double wave and I went up and the boat went down, then the second wave pushed the boat up and I didn't have my feet replanted from the first wave and I fell on the inside of my right ankle. I heard/felt a pop and I knew it was broken. The crew helped me to sit (in the midst of all the bucking and hanging on - major thanks to them) and gave me ice packs. 4 Advil and a couple of Mai Tais later, I could walk enough to hobble off the boat.
We went to the hospital in Wailuku. Since I could walk, I thought maybe it wasn't broken, but I was right in my first impression. The tendons stretched and when they snapped back into place, they broke off the tips of the bones on both the inside and outside of the ankle. The Maui ER doctor gave me a splint and a rx for Percocet. We had a red eye flight Friday night that was awful, crowded and lots of turbulence, so we didn't sleep much. They did move us to economy+ so we had a few more inches of leg room and I was able to put my foot up on David's lap for part of the time. We stayed in Altadena with friends Saturday and drove home Sunday.
I saw the orthopedist here on Tuesday and she did more xrays and says I don't need surgery (yea!). But it was still too swollen for a cast, so I have another splint and will return on Tuesday, hopefully for a walking cast. It's feeling much better.
Probably too much better, because I'm starting to put weight on it (a big no-no, so tell me to STOP that right now!) instead of using only the crutches. David said yesterday my color was back and I look better, too. The biggest hassle I think will be no driving. Today is David's first day back to work and so far it's been fine.
Next up: What I'm learning from this.
Currently reading: Love Mercy by Earlene Fowler
Last movie: Still don't remember... David watched Flash of Genius on the plane to Maui.
Praying for: Amber, Katie, Joyce, Will, Liam Neeson and family.
We had a wonderful 2 weeks in Maui! It was a great vacation.
Until we decided to do a snorkeling cruise to Lanai on our last day. We'd had several days of beautiful, calm weather and of course that day, Thursday March 12th, we woke up to wind and a little rain. We headed out anyway and once we arrived at Lanai we were in a little cove and it was calm and nice. We had a good time, saw some beautiful fish. Then we headed back across the channel to Maui, to a second snorkel spot. The wind had kicked up and the water was sooo rough. The crew said it was the roughest crossing this season and if they'd known how bad it was going to be, we wouldn't have gone to Lanai to begin with.
Pretty much everyone was either hanging on the back puking, or hanging on up front riding/surfing. There were 8-10 foot swells. I was up front and having fun. I never felt unsafe, the catamaran was very stable. But we hit a double wave and I went up and the boat went down, then the second wave pushed the boat up and I didn't have my feet replanted from the first wave and I fell on the inside of my right ankle. I heard/felt a pop and I knew it was broken. The crew helped me to sit (in the midst of all the bucking and hanging on - major thanks to them) and gave me ice packs. 4 Advil and a couple of Mai Tais later, I could walk enough to hobble off the boat.
We went to the hospital in Wailuku. Since I could walk, I thought maybe it wasn't broken, but I was right in my first impression. The tendons stretched and when they snapped back into place, they broke off the tips of the bones on both the inside and outside of the ankle. The Maui ER doctor gave me a splint and a rx for Percocet. We had a red eye flight Friday night that was awful, crowded and lots of turbulence, so we didn't sleep much. They did move us to economy+ so we had a few more inches of leg room and I was able to put my foot up on David's lap for part of the time. We stayed in Altadena with friends Saturday and drove home Sunday.
I saw the orthopedist here on Tuesday and she did more xrays and says I don't need surgery (yea!). But it was still too swollen for a cast, so I have another splint and will return on Tuesday, hopefully for a walking cast. It's feeling much better.
Probably too much better, because I'm starting to put weight on it (a big no-no, so tell me to STOP that right now!) instead of using only the crutches. David said yesterday my color was back and I look better, too. The biggest hassle I think will be no driving. Today is David's first day back to work and so far it's been fine.
Next up: What I'm learning from this.
Currently reading: Love Mercy by Earlene Fowler
Last movie: Still don't remember... David watched Flash of Genius on the plane to Maui.
Praying for: Amber, Katie, Joyce, Will, Liam Neeson and family.
3/11/09
Just Another Day in Paradise...
Post number two from vacation! I wasn't sure I'd get even one in so this is great!
We've had a lovely time and I haven't been homesick hardly at all. As I get older, I seem to tolerate longer periods away from home than I used to. Or maybe it's that my kids are older and don't need me as much. Used to be a week was my limit, ten days was really pushing it. And we only did a trip that long without kids once or twice.
Four years ago we did 12 days here. This one is 16 nights away from home, although only 13 are in Hawaii.
I do miss my girls and my dogs, but we've been so busy that I've been occupied and not dwelling on them. I don't really miss the cat. Which is weird since we get along fine. She's really pretty demanding when she wants affection. She likes to cuddle. On my chest while she kneads with her claws. Then a dog will move suddenly or the phone will ring and she'll peel out, leaving scratches on my neckline. I like wearing my scoop neck Ts and the only accessory is my new whale tail necklace.
Today's agenda is relaxing, maybe a walk to the beach. Tomorrow, snorkeling and dolphin and whale watching around Lanai.
Today I'm praying for: Will, Evelyn, Kate.
Currently reading: The Brethren by John Grisham
Last meal: bacon, frittata, papaya, mango, and coffee
Last movie seen: Can't remember...
We've had a lovely time and I haven't been homesick hardly at all. As I get older, I seem to tolerate longer periods away from home than I used to. Or maybe it's that my kids are older and don't need me as much. Used to be a week was my limit, ten days was really pushing it. And we only did a trip that long without kids once or twice.
Four years ago we did 12 days here. This one is 16 nights away from home, although only 13 are in Hawaii.
I do miss my girls and my dogs, but we've been so busy that I've been occupied and not dwelling on them. I don't really miss the cat. Which is weird since we get along fine. She's really pretty demanding when she wants affection. She likes to cuddle. On my chest while she kneads with her claws. Then a dog will move suddenly or the phone will ring and she'll peel out, leaving scratches on my neckline. I like wearing my scoop neck Ts and the only accessory is my new whale tail necklace.
Today's agenda is relaxing, maybe a walk to the beach. Tomorrow, snorkeling and dolphin and whale watching around Lanai.
Today I'm praying for: Will, Evelyn, Kate.
Currently reading: The Brethren by John Grisham
Last meal: bacon, frittata, papaya, mango, and coffee
Last movie seen: Can't remember...
3/6/09
Hair We Go
I've been in Maui almost a week. There have been some stiff trade winds, a few sprinkles of rain, and much humidity. And I'm pretty happy with how the hair has withstood it all.
I've got a few pictures but I'm not sure I can upload them to my laptop. If I have a minute later, I'll give it a shot.
We're having a wonderful time. It's hard to believe tomorrow will be a week that we've been here and that we have less than a week to go.
We've relaxed, been massaged, shopped, and lei-ed. The only real tourist thing we've done is the luau last night - The Feast at Lele.
It was fabulous! If you get the chance, this is the luau to attend. http://www.feastatlele.com/
Today we had a wonderful breakfast at the 5 Palms restaurant in the Mana Kai resort in Kihei. http://www.fivepalmsrestaurant.com/Home.html
The men are having a putting contest on the green here at Maui Hill. http://www.resortquesthawaii.com/hawaii/propertyOverview.do?propertyGroupId=25570
Tonight: a dinner/sunset/whale watching cruise. http://www.pacificwhale.org/mauiecocruises/cruise.php?id=1&f=100&
I have no expectations of my hair surviving the cruise in decent shape. I'll stick a flower behind my ear and call it good.
I've got a few pictures but I'm not sure I can upload them to my laptop. If I have a minute later, I'll give it a shot.
We're having a wonderful time. It's hard to believe tomorrow will be a week that we've been here and that we have less than a week to go.
We've relaxed, been massaged, shopped, and lei-ed. The only real tourist thing we've done is the luau last night - The Feast at Lele.
It was fabulous! If you get the chance, this is the luau to attend. http://www.feastatlele.com/
Today we had a wonderful breakfast at the 5 Palms restaurant in the Mana Kai resort in Kihei. http://www.fivepalmsrestaurant.com/Home.html
The men are having a putting contest on the green here at Maui Hill. http://www.resortquesthawaii.com/hawaii/propertyOverview.do?propertyGroupId=25570
Tonight: a dinner/sunset/whale watching cruise. http://www.pacificwhale.org/mauiecocruises/cruise.php?id=1&f=100&
I have no expectations of my hair surviving the cruise in decent shape. I'll stick a flower behind my ear and call it good.
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