Medical Help

Many people have asked how we handle medical concerns as we travel around. Since we are basically healthy, AND we have GEHA insurance as our secondary plan, medical events have not been an issue.  When traveling the east coast in 2010, Derrille needed a cortisone shot in his sore knee. We happened to be in the Boston area at the time.   Derrille also needed to refill his meds at Walgreen's.  We told the pharmacy staff what we need and asked for their help. They gave us the name of some orthopedic doctors.  Derrille got in and received the needed treatment. We've gone to Prompt/Urgent Care facilities all over the country.

Last week in Winchester Oregon, Derrille noticed his heart skipping a beat every so many beats. He called his heart doctor in Phoenix. The nurse suggested an EKG.  Reedsport had an Urgent Care office at their hospital, just six miles away.  He went in, was administered an EKG and some blood tests. A few hours later the doctor said everything was excellent. The missing beat was benign and nothing to worry about.  Derrille was planning on a full workup with the Phoenix doctor this year, so he will get his second opinion.  For now everything is as it should be with his health.

Torrential rain and high winds pelted us for our first couple of days at Humbug Mt. State Park in Port Orford.  Then on Oct. 16 the sun came out. We walked for exercise in the morning and headed for the beach in the afternoon. About 300 or more seagulls were on the beach. Brush Creek flows through the campground and down to the sea. The creek today, swollen from the rain, met the ocean in rolling waves. The seagulls rode the fast current of the creek almost down to where the two bodies of water met. Fun to watch!

I had a glorious time wading in the water. I waded in the surf my 30 minutes or so, getting soaked from my thighs to my toes...loving it!

Coming back up the trail home I stepped over some gravel to a sandy spot, (because I'm bare footed) and the side of the trail gave way down the bank. Apparently the rains had eroded the area below the soft sand which caved in like a small sink hole and down I went. I sank straight down. A solid part of the bank kept me vertical. Falling is not a new skill for me. So I climbed out of the hole and proceeded back to the campground and the nearest water faucet. I'd rinsed off the sand and began to dry my feet. Then I noticed the blood. Apparently my fall into the hole brought my foot into contact with a rock??? the culvert or something. A large chunk of tissue from the back of my toe was missing. I cleaned up my toe and bandaged it, but  Derrille wasn't sure I did a thorough job.  Soooo we took off to the Gold Beach Hospital in the next town. That was an experience too.

 There were two other guests. One an alcoholic lady who was 50 and looked 70, who had tried to commit suicide and ended up in jail by assaulting the officers and EMTs. The other guy was a transient with no money who needed liver work. He called someone in MO to help, and the man on the phone said no as far as we could tell.  Neither "guest" had any money and didn't know how they could get to the places they needed to go for help. Down the hall was a prisoner from the jail with some kind of problem that took 6 officers to control him. You meet such interesting people in the ER.  We've visited many urgent care places over the years and this was the most interesting.

The ER staff They cleaned out my toe, soaked my foot, gave me a tetanus shot, and sent me on my way. I wished them good luck with the rest of their shift. As with other stops at urgent care/ER centers around the country I was pleased with all the medical personnel .

My toe is healing quickly, which is good, since I see swimming pools in the near future.

We don't usually need medical help this often, but "stuff happens" when you least expect it.