Dave hurt his back on Wednesday morning. Pretty bad, maybe herniated a disk. He basically can't move so I try to keep him comfortable on the settee in the main cabin of the boat. After a few days I decide to start a hunt for some crutches, on the auspice that Dave will be able to get up out of bed at some point and actually be able to get around. It's extremely painful to sit or stand, in other words putting any pressure at all on his spine.
So on Friday afternoon I head to the hospital. I decide to jog there since I really need the exercise. I arrived dripping in sweat. I ask around on where I can get crutches and after a slight run around I am directed to Sister Sarah. Sister Sarah is delighted to meet me and wants to shake hands even thought I'm pretty sweaty. I think they get really bored as they really wanted me to bring Dave in for x-rays, although the doctor said he may not fit in the x-ray machine. I told them he was taking a heavy dose of Ibuprofrin, which they weren't happy about, saying it is very bad for your stomach and can cause gastritis…maybe that's why Dave has such bad gas! In any case they were happy to give me some other strong anti-inflammatories. So they dispensed some pills and put them in a bag…hoping we would come back tomorrow, even though I explained to them that there really is no way Dave can climb up the companionway steps over the rail, into the dingy and then walk to a cab.
As for the crutches, they didn't have any but suggested I find Mr. M. Salanki in town. They say he runs the local chapter of the Red Cross. The description of his store is next door to the burnt down buildings. I find the store, but he is not there. They say he went to the other town and will be back later, probing deeper I then learned later meant, after the store closed. So, the next day, Saturday morning I track him down. He tells me he did have some crutches but they were burned when his shop burned. After quite a bit of thinking he finally thinks of another place for me to look. He gives me the names of two gentlemen that work at the ANZ (ANZ is a bank), Najab or J-10 (yes he even spelled that one). Evidently, at least from what I understood these two are now in charge of the local Red Cross.
As, it turns out no crutches are readily available in Savusavu and by the time we might procure them Dave would hopefully be walking.
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