sv evi

I remember in the Peace Corps we got a book called “Where There is No Doctor” which had advice on various medical ailments and how to treat them when there is no doctor in your village. We don’t have that book on board, but we are often in places with no doctor, where the nearest doctor is several days sail away.

One of the hats I wear on SV evi is being the chief medical officer — having the medical kit stocked so that whatever malady may befall us, we will be able to remedy it. And also attending to various medical problems. (I took an EMT class in my early 20’s for my ranger days, but it’s been awhile and I am certainly NOT a doctor!) In the past few months, I diagnosed myself with Athlete’s Foot (itchy red skin between my toes) and started applying Lamisil cream. When we were in Tual, the Athlete’s Foot spread to my toenail, which became infected and pussy and quite painful. So I took a course of general antibiotics, as well as oral Lamisil pills for 30 days. It worked.

Next Jade had a paronychia on her big toe — an ingrown toenail had caused the skin around the toe to become inflamed and red and painful. For this one I consulted Dr. Susie Beesley, an Anchorage, AK -based pediatrician whom I met in Cuenca years ago, and who agreed to be my consulting doctor while on this trip. She recommended soaking in Epsom salts a few times a day, then applying Bactriban antibiotic ointment and coaxing the buried nail corner out by gently rolling the nail bed after soaking it. And if that didn’t work…antibiotics. Luckily, it did work.

Next Luz had a UTI. She complained that it hurt to pee, and then that there was blood when she wiped after peeing. I did a UTI test on the urine and it came back positive, then I consulted Dr. Susie for the correct antibiotic dose. She’s on the last day of the antibiotics now, and is doing fine.

However, this part of the cruising lifestyle is stressful! I don’t like being in such remote places and having to worry about what’s wrong with my kids.

Before we left New Zealand, I emailed Dr. Susie. I told her that one of my worst fears about cruising is for one of my kids to get super sick while we are out at sea. What if an appendix bursts? What if …

She wrote back:

Yes. I hear you. You are going to have to sit with your fear and radically accept that there is a non-zero chance that something awful could happen. It is very unlikely and you are going to be as prepared and resourced as possible. Your fear is normal and you are not going to be able to get it to completely disappear. However, I think you can get to a point (and you probably are already there) where your fear does not hold you or your family back. When I had my first baby, a friend told me that becoming a mom is like learning how to watch your heart walking around outside of your body. And it is totally true. And the truth is that even if you were still in Seattle with Seattle Children’s Hospital down the road, you would not be able to protect your kids from something awful happening. So, yes, the fear is real, and yes, I think you should go ahead with your adventurous plan with confidence. 

Which I thought was very good advice! I’m so lucky to have Dr. Susie advising me on our medical maladies.