Different kind of adventure

 Saturday, November 1, 2025

This starts out like the other days, with me typing in the dark while Jan sleeps.  So far so good.  We get ready and go down to breakfast in the lovely dining room with the altar and the lovely wall decorations and the full buffet.  Still going well.

We all gather and climb into the van and get settled.  We're going to a cenote this afternoon and they only accept cash, so we stop at a bank which is located inside one of the oldest buildings in Merida.  Ginger and Juan get out and we're just waiting.  

The oldest house in Merida, where the bank is located

That's when things start to go south.  Because the building is of historical value they cannot remove the large stone that is right in the middle of the wide doorway, where you would never expect a stone to be.  Ginger is looking around for the the ATM and trips over the monster and does a face plant. 

I'm all fat, dumb, and happy when Juan comes back to the bus.  I have no idea what's going on until people start saying I should be the one to go.  Go where??  Samuel points toward where Juan is going back toward the bank and I follow. And there's Ginger sitting on the ground with blood pouring from the gash in her nose.  Of course a small crowd has gathered and it's complicated by the armoured car employees with their big guns, and people trying to get into the bank.  It's about eight fifteen. Ginger's leg is at an odd angle and she says that she can't get up and to call an ambulance.  Juan has done that but they send an EMT on a motorcycle instead.  He does what he can, which winds up being to put some gauze on her nose and call an ambulance.  Finally.  These EMTs put a plastic stabilizer around Ginger's leg and lift her onto the gurney.  She can't lie all the way down, so they raise her head and wheel her toward the ambulance.  Juan and I go with her and everyone else follows in the van.

First the EMT who arrived on a motorcycle.  She's not gonna ride on that!

Finally the ambulance and the Red Cross.

Stabilize the leg

Ready to transfer to the gurney

It's my first ambulance ride.

Our van is right behind us.

At the emergency room Juan deals with the desk people and I go with Ginger where she is transferred to a bed around nine o'clock and hours of boredom ensue.  She gets a port in the back of her hand and is hooked up to a monitor. After discussion she and Juan agree that it is best for him to continue the tour and that his son, Juanito, will come to help.

Ginger's indomitable personality!

Amazing!

Looking for the insurance information

Off to x-ray right down the hall

Cute little bears holding her port in place

They take Ginger down the hall for x-rays at nine fifteen, while we discuss possibilities.  We weren't quite prepared for the reality that the x-rays reveal. There is a significant fracture to the left femur. Surgery will be required and then the question becomes whether she wants it performed here or back home in the States by the doctor who did the knee replacement on that knee.

Ginger calls in the reserves - Ben and Amy.  Ben is her son and Amy is Randy's wife and a nurse practitioner.  They, in turn, call their physician friends and it is unanimous that Ginger has a "bad boy" fracture and that she definitely shouldn't fly without it being repaired.  Amy isn't even sure that a regular airline, like Delta, would allow her to fly.  The universal comment upon viewing the x-rays is "Oh shit!" Ginger decides to stay here for the surgery.   That means that she won't be able to fly home for about a month.  It's a really good thing that she has close friends here and that this didn't happen out in the boondocks somewhere!

So many people were in and out!

Amy needs all the information.  I send her a photo of the medication going into Ginger's IV and the name and address and phone number for the hospital.  She wants the doctor's name and whether they have a patient portal so she can keep track of everything that is going on.

Thank goodness for Juan's decision to call his son!! Juan Junior is a godsend! There is so much interaction with the hospital and the doctor and Ginger's travel insurance company.  And making arrangements for having her transferred to a room and out of the ER. Ginger has known Juanito since he was a baby and it is obvious that he loves her.  He usually gives a two-hour lecture on Saturdays (we'd lost track of it being Saturday!) but he skipped it without a single thought.  He even goes to our hotel to get her laptop and other electronics. This experience is also a good reminder to never leave home without your passport!

There is one young lady whose English is very good.  She keeps coming back to check on us and to make sure Ginger understands what's going on.  When Amy asks for that nurse's name it turns out that she's a doctor!! 

The surgeon wants a better scan so he can decide how to make the repairs so Ginger is wheeled away again at two o'clock.  After that the doc comes back, mummy wraps the leg and tells us that the surgery will be on Monday!  We had been hoping for today, or at least tomorrow! Oh well! At least she is being transferred to a real room and is settled there by four o'clock.

In the meantime the tour has continued.  I had sent everyone a WhatsApp saying that Ginger's instructions to them were to go and have a good time!! They are visiting the ruins of an old hacienda in the morning and swimming in a gorgeous cenote in the afternoon.  We are getting updates from Juan and Jan throughout the day.

Juanito goes out and gets Subway for me and him around five.  Breakfast was at seven so this is really appreciated!!  When the group gets back into Merida they drop Juan off at the hospital and continue on to the hotel.  It is decided that Juanito will go home and get a shower and then come back to spend the night.  The doctor had said that someone should stay with Ginger at all times. Juan and I take a taxi back to the hotel and when I get out of the cab people are all gathered around giving me hugs.  I feel a little guilty because it isn't like I'm the one in the hospital!!            

The group goes to dinner at Amaro's. I'm not hungry so Jan and I split an order of tuna ceviche.  There are a couple of bottles of white wine, after Jan and Karen decide the original offering is not good. At the far end of the table I see that Juan's daughter, Carmita, has joined us!!

Carmita and Juan

Raising a glass to Ginger and Juan

Our tuna ceviche

After dinner six of us charge off to catch the end of the parade just a half a block away. 

There are a lot of people!!  Trying to see is a challenge if you're not as tall as a giraffe!

Then we go into a cool-looking bar and I realize that after the day I've had and the wine, I just can't go bar hopping.  I go back to the restaurant and find Juan and Carmita and we chat for a while. When we're leaving Carmita asks if I want to see the art across the street. YES!!  The place is full of ceramic Day of the Dead skeletons in every size and configuration!!  What a treat! Then it's time to walk home.  Carmita's car isn't far and Juan says he is comfortable with her walking the couple of blocks by herself.

Back at the hotel I go upstairs with Juan to pack up Ginger's things.  In the morning he'll bring down her suitcase and backpack and put them and me into a cab or Uber to go back to the hotel.  The troops will have a walking tour of the city and a free afternoon before coming back together for our final dinner together.  Everyone leaves for Cancun in the morning to catch flights home. 

Juan has sworn to me that he will be at Ginger's side for the whole day and will text me immediately when she is out of surgery. I know I'm leaving her in good hands.