1/27/13
It is incredible how everything has worked out in this emergency situation - all thanks to the help of friends, family, acquaintances and the kindness of strangers.
Without Donna & Jerry on Bluejacket there at the beginning of this, I hate to think of how it may have turned out.
Jerry spent 10 days in the hospital in Nassau, Bahamas before being released. He had 12 bottles of pills that kept his heart stabilized for a return flight to Syracuse, NY. Our friend Ryan in VA took care of EVERYTHING - Jerry's flight to Syracuse, Kari's flight to Nassau, all documents needed for me to take over the boat and Kari to sign on as crew, advice/support, coordinating and relaying information to family and friends. Jerry spent one night aboard Persephone at anchor in Nassau before departing. When he arrived in Syracuse, NY Jerry's friend Greg had already talked to his own heart doctor and arranged for that doctor at St. Joseph's Heart Care Unit to see Jerry. Jerry went right from the plane to the hospital on Wednesday. On Thursday he had surgery. He had a stent put in. On Friday he was released from the hospital. Brian and Deb brought him home. On Saturday morning Deb and Jerry went to the mall and walked for an hour and a half. Incredible! I just shake my head in wonder to think how well this has all turned out - thanks to the help of so many generous, thoughtful, and capable people.
Kari and I left aboard Persephone from Nassau on Friday morning. Do you know the old sailing superstition that says never leave on a Friday? How about the one advising no women aboard - bad luck? Well, we proved them both wrong. Taking turns on watch for the 34 hours, Kari and I had a pleasant passage. When we left Nassau - too much wind and choppy seas. Then no wind. When we were about 50 miles from the FL coast the wind picked up again. The gulf stream tossed us around a bit but not too bad. We arrived at Lake Worth Saturday at 5 pm.
I now have the luxury of being able to pick up the phone and call someone as our phone works only in the states. I talked to Jerry and he sounds good. He has a doctor's appointment in 2 weeks. I will wait here in Lake Worth aboard Persephone for the results and then we'll decide what to do next. Jerry's hoping he will be able to return to Persephone and finish recuperating here in FL. We'll see what the doctor says. For now, I now he is in good hands with Deb and Brian taking care of him, surrounded by friends and family coming to visit. I will provide an update when I hear.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers throughout. I know you're there for me.
Karen
1/19/13
I am writing with news that has changed our sailing plans for this winter. Persephone is in Nassau, Bahamas while Jerry rests in the Princess Margaret Hospital after suffering a heart attack last Sunday. Dr. Frances, the heart specialist here, has Jerry on medications and will be stabilized for a flight back to Syracuse for further treatment. He's had ekg's, a cat scan, ultrasound, x-rays and plenty of attention to his needs. The angiogram is the next step and the doctor wants him back in the states for that test and any surgery that may follow. As usual, living on a boat out of the states complicates our situation for communicating with family and friends back home. I will try to keep you up to date as best I can though doing so requires going to an internet cafe here on shore.
As soon as Jerry is released and on his way home I will be sailing the boat back to FL. Our friends Ryan and Kari plan on flying to Nassau and coming aboard so I won't have to do this on my own. We'd like to take the boat to Oriental, NC.
The help and support we've received during this emergency has been thorough and compassionate to say the least.
Here's a synopsis of what happened:
We were anchored at Darby Island in the Exumas, which is the middle of nowhere. We were waiting for a good weather window to continue south but the strong southeasterly wind kept us at anchor for the week. Darby Island has a house on the top of the island and a marine research station near the anchorage. We met Erich Muehler, the director of the Darby Island Research Center, when he was looking for volunteers with a few projects on shore. We were having a wonderful time exploring, learning about harvesting coconuts, helping with projects on shore, getting together at the research station for music. On Sunday morning Jerry experienced severe chest pain again. He had mentioned a first episode the day before while he was out snorkeling on his own. He said he must have pulled a muscle in his shoulder and attributed the pains to that. (He now confesses that he probably was in denial but knew something was seriously wrong.) We went over to Donna and Jerry's boat to look through their Merck manual. I had a page of notes indicating symptoms, at what times, etc. Jerry took some aspirin and we went back to Persephone. Within minutes Donna came back to tell Jerry he was having a heart attack and we were going to seek help. Luckily, Erich on shore has a biomedical background and was able to come over, confirm what Donna and Jerry diagnosed, talk with Jerry, and bring oxygen. He had offered to take us to the nearest town (45 min away) in his boat though the likelihood that there was even a doctor around was slim. That's when Erich met with David, one of the owners of the island who was staying at the house on the hill. David offered to fly us to Nassau in his plane where there is a hospital. Within 45 min. we were at the hospital and Jerry had been admitted. He stayed in the ICU for a few days and is now in the "male ward" building strength and having medicine adjusted to be fit for travel, hopefully this week.
I found a hotel to stay here in Nassua the first night but started walking the docks the next day. I found a couple we had met years before in the Bahamas, Stuart and Marilyn aboard Union Jack. I told them what was going on and they found me a boat to stay on for the next two nights. At that point I knew I'd need to fly back to Darby Island and bring Persephone the 95 miles back to Nassau. Erich drove his boat with Donna & Jerry, and another sailor to the airport on Farmer's Cay to meet me. Jerry and Donna insisted that Jerry Luh would sail back to Nassau with me. And that's what we did - about 20 hours from Darby Island overnight to Nassau. I had to say goodbye to Jerry this morning as he headed back to the airport and back to Bluejacket and Donna. It was so nice to have him here to help out, talk to, give advice. Jerry and Donna are truly lifesavers who have done everything they possibly could to help us through this difficult time. Donna is the one who told Jerry he was going to the hospital, no questions about it. He got tired of arguing with her and gave up. Good thing.
For those of you who want to help in some way you can make a donation to The Darby Island Research Center. Contact Erich at evmresearch@gmail.com. Erich went above and beyond his call of duty to help out during and after the crisis. This morning he's the one going to pick up Jerry Luh at the airport. Internet service is not the same at Darby as it is in the US so he may need time to respond if you write.
I will stop typing and send this on before heading to the hospital for visiting hours.
Karen
