ARRIVING VANUATU AND HOSPITAL VISIT

On the way down from Lata I had developed ugly looking ulcers around my mouth and lips.  I was worried about what was causing them, I set off to find the hospital.  It was a long walk to the hospital along the road to the airstrip.  I managed to arrive before the doctor finished for the day.  I told the doctor about my recent malaria and the drugs I was taking.  He responded that the ulcers were a common side effect of the Primaquine tablets I was taking.  The doctor gave me some multivitamin pills and said the ulcers will clear up when I finish the course of treatment.  That was a relief, it wasn’t some flesh-eating tropical disease.

STRUCK DOWN WITH MALARIA

The speed picked up and I furled the yankee.  We raced ahead through the night with just the staysail and double reefed main.  It was blowing gale force now and we were going too fast.  My illness had returned again.  I was in a bad way, sleeping on the cockpit seats.  I just had to let the boat go, Mickey was doing a great job of steering and I seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness.  At one stage we took a wave into the cockpit, I was washed off the seat into the cockpit well, sloshing around in the water with a bucket and a bunch of ropes.  I just climbed back on the seat and went back to sleep, soaking wet.  Truce could look after herself. 

DENTAL REPAIRS IN PNG

Upon entering the clinic I was met by a gentleman behind a desk, the receptionist I assumed.  I explained my problem to him, he came around the desk and had a look in my mouth.  Oh yes, he said, I can fix that, he led me to another room, sat me in the dental chair and said he would be back in a couple of minutes.  Now I had to assume that the receptionist was in fact the dentist even if he didn’t have a white coat on. 

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑