Our first introduction to Apollo

We were picked up at the airport by a driver from our hotel. He had been waiting 3 hours for us w/ a sign held high with our names on it. Last time I was in India, the rickashaw ride from the airport was the most intensely memorable thing possible as an introduction to India. This time, I had air-con., a clean car, a porter for my luggage and slept most of the way -- weird!

hotel at night

The insurance company had also booked our accommodation at a 5 star hotel in the heart of Chennai. It was one of the nicest hotels in the city, so I felt quite glam walking into the lobby that first morning. Fresh squeezed juice as a welcome drink accompanied the check-in process, a lobby full of fresh flowers and natural light and a whole host of doorman, porters, lobby attendants, concierge, desk staff and finally room attendants ushered us along from car to room. WAS I REALLY IN INDIA???

Lobby of the hotel

We both took hot showers in the marble shower and enjoyed fresh robes and hot tea before we climbed into the bed to sleep for awhile before having our first appointment at the hospital.

We had a driver arranged for us the first day to allow us to "get used to" India and make our way around. (the rest of the time I used public rickashaws) However, as soon as I had a nap, I was ready for India-full force. The sights, smells, traffic, sounds, people, activity -- sensory overload -- is right up my alley. I love this country and was so glad to be there!

We were taken to the Apollo hospital and dropped off in the middle of the masses of people to make our way to our consultation appointment. Pat, with her arm in a backslab and sling, did not like the crowds or the hot weather. We did our best, but the first day was a big culture shock for her.

The orthopedist, Dr. Reddy, was expecting us. This man had trained in the UK and France, so he was quite the "modern" India man. His English was impeccable and quickly put Pat at ease (somehow she felt better: bc he could speak English well, he was a trustworthy surgeon in her mind). However, his whole entourage of staff, attendants, residents, and nurses are who we interacted with the most were quite the team. We quickly learned there is a different person for every task: one to do the registration, one to do the vital signs, one to do the paying, one to do the dressing change, one to do the inspection, one to do the ordering, one to do the paperwork...you get the gist. English wasn't used near as often as body language during any of those interactions, so with the multitude of people -- not to mention being whisked from one area of the hospital to another for each task -- we were quite confused as to how this system worked.

I loved it! It was a hardcore lesson in India's hospital culture, but Pat wasn't so comfortable. I was glad to be there with her, if nothing else just to get her to laugh at the differences.

We were discharged that day with a new dressing and plans to return the next day for her admission. She would be there for one day prior to surgery for observation and pre-surgery tasks. Things got very interesting when I was told I must stay with her "as an attendant". No one could really tell me what an attendant actually did, but in Indian culture, extended family is so integral, I'm sure it seemed like a silly question. A family member must stay at all times to literally "attend" to the patient's needs. Makes sense. In the US we do our best to keep families out of the hospital (except in maternity ward), whereas in India, they ask them to stay -- just one person, otherwise the entire Indian family would camp out at the hospital. I liked this in theory (allows the nurses not to be bogged down with tasks that could easily be delegated to families, i.e. bathing, feeding, adjusting pillows, etc.), but the reality was I had a hotel to stay at. Should I really plan to sleep on the couch?

Lifestyle of the Rich & Famous, i.e. Not me.

As I often like to remind myself “life is not about the destination, it’s about the journey” and boy was it true on our journey to India! I should explain: I have always been on a budget and I am constantly trying to save a dollar when it comes to travel. In effect, I ONLY travel on the cheap … that is, unless an insurance company is arranging and paying for absolutely everything. As her “medical escort”, I, too, was ushered in to the wonderful world of plush – and Man! Was it nice.

Air Emirates often wins awards for “best of…” in the airline industry. We were arranged to fly with them from Mauritius to India. They are notorious for representing the over-the-top ridiculousness that is: Dubai. And, yes – the airline left no detail unattended to. Not only were we perfectly positioned in Business Class, but we also enjoyed fantastic bottles of champagne, canapés, Godiva chocolate, beautifully displayed meals on herringbone china complete with silver utensils, to-die-for food – and this was all within the first 4 hours! The stewardess ( a beautiful girl from Russia with her headpiece perfectly wrapped around her stunning face ) then literally ‘tucked’ us into bed. Our chairs slid all the way to almost horizontal. There was a special cushion added for comfort, 100% wool blankets for temperature control and bird sounds played over head in the starry sky. Yes, you read that correctly – the lights were dimmed and the ceiling turned into a twinkly sky! I was in heaven. Not only had I never, ever been comfortable on any flight I’d ever flown, but I was now not only comfortable, but VERY comfortable, full from champagne and dozing off to lullabies overhead. Plus, I used these stickers to indicate when I should be woken up. Nice! This was craziness! – or at least to me, in my budget traveler world, it was.

I had access to all the latest newspapers and magazines from around the world, my TV had over 100 new releases to choose from. I could listen to over 500 channels of music and I got my very own makeup bag full of goodies to take home with me. This truly was my real-live Sex and the City moment. (this airline is featured in the second movie)
Or as Pat leaned over and said: “This, my dear, is what you call geriatric nursing!”

We had a small wait in Mauritius (of which we got to happily enjoy the business class lounge at the airport), one stop-over in Dubai (only got to see the airport since it was 2 a.m.) and arrived into Chennai, happy, rested, clean and settled about 10 hours later.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...it's off to India we Go.

We had 6 days at sea between South Africa and Mauritius – plenty of time for the insurance companies and the medical teams to throw in every opinion possible as to what should happen to Pat’s arm...

The night of Desmond Tutu’s birthday party in South Africa was one to remember – for him and Pat. I was on call that night (carrying a beeper in a once-in-a-lifetime party was not fun) and was called away from the party when Pat came back to the ship. This older passenger had fallen off her bike while cycling through the wineries outside of Cape Town Her elbow and arm were swollen to about the size of a grapefruit, but she still had good range of motion and sensation. I did what anyone at Desmond Tutu’s birthday party would have done – sent her with instructions to Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate (we left out the compression) and quickly returned to the party. :)

The next day, with more swelling down, things weren't "right", so a last minute trip to the ER for X-rays was in store. There was the strong possibility that Pat and I would be staying in Cape Town to have her surgery and then fly to meet the ship in Mauritius in 6 days time.

Thankfully, the common sensical physician in the ER in Cape Town agreed that giving her some time to let all the swelling go down before having surgery on her olecranon (elbow) seemed a reasonable plan – especially since we had a ship that was frantically waiting on us!

In between Cape Town and Mauritius about 10 plans were discussed, but due to some very strong opinions towards the level of medical care in Mauritius by our Medical Director, Pat and I were booked on an Air Emirates flight the day we arrived into Mauritius headed straight to Chennai, India. The plan was for her to have surgery at a “high class” hospital and join the ship in one week’s time. Seemed like a decent plan, so off I went with Pat to India. We missed all of Mauritius except the drive to the airport. But, in exchange, we had an extra week into the wild and wonderful world of wacky ‘ole India!

Scattered

As travel often does, it has literally taken over my life. My reading, emails, working out, sleep and ... blog have taken a back seat to the present. I feel special knowing that many of you still 'check-in' and *harass* me via email for stories and updates.We arrive in Japan tomorrow and after our final country (!), I'll have 10 days until Hawaii to catch up.Lots of stories to tell, pictures to show and memories to reflect upon. It has been a crazy trip!