Jett in the ER
It didn’t take long, once we were off the ship and in the hospital, to figure out that our cruise was over. The doctor said that Jett would be admitted for a minimum of 3 days of treatment and possibly more. That meant that the earliest we could reboard the ship would be in Monte Carlo, Monaco, which would be a long trip and would possibly require a plane trip. Given that we were far from certain whether she would be fit enough to reboard – and because no one could tell us why the hemoglobin was so low – we decided to terminate the cruise and try to get back to the US ASAP for further tests.
Which meant that I had to go back to the ship, collect the luggage, close the ship account, take the luggage through customs and try to find a hotel. As it turns out, I didn’t have to get a hotel. The hospital – Perpetuo Socorro Cartegena – would let me stay in the room with Jett. They even provided meals for me (hospital food – my favorite). The most annoying thing was that I was permitted to bring only 2 cartons of cigarettes ashore, which meant that I had to donate 3 cartons. I gave 2 cartons to security people at the gate (I don’t quite understand how giving cigarettes to people on shore is different than bringing cigarettes ashore) and gave the third to people in the smoking area of the ship. Our loss is their gain.
Hotel Manolo
Very few of the nurses or other staff – including the ER registration desk – spoke English. We fought our way through the experience and, with the exception of my walkabout to check out the nearest hotel, stayed in the room all evening. The food was forgettable, the TV didn’t work and no ice was available. Pretty miserable.
My walk to the nearest hotel was somewhat interesting, though. The hotel looked quite nice, but with all the uncertainty about how long she would be in the hospital and how we were going to get back to the US, I opted to spend the first night with Jett. I also checked out the nearby department store – El Corte Ingles – which is the largest single store that I have ever seen. Eight stories. Huge. But the cafeteria also had no iced drinks, which was what I was most urgently seeking.
I am missing the ship already.