Fun in Ketchikan

Back in Port Bazan I had noticed my left pant leg was wet but hadn’t paid it much attention.  When moving around the boat and doing things, this is a normal occurrence.  Then I noticed the top of my left sock was crusty.  This isn’t a normal occurrence.  I pulled up my pant leg.  The scab had come off where I had barked the shin two months earlier and the wound was oozing.  I figured it would dry up in a day or two so I swabbed it with alcohol and put a band aid on it. Then I promptly forgot all about it.

A few days later I pulled off the band aid, swabbed it again and re-bandaged it.  By the time we got to Ryus Bay, it was red, swollen, and still oozing.  Definitely infected.  I figured I’d go to the clinic, get a prescription for antibiotics and that would be that.

I debated blowing it off but thought I’d better take care of it so Friday morning I set out to do it.  After an hour of walking to several places that claimed to be clinics but didn’t have anybody that could prescribe medicine I finally got to one that could.  They didn’t have any appointments but offered a nurse to look at the wound to see if I should see a doctor.  She took one look and said I should definitely see a doctor.  Serendipitously as I was leaving the receptionist said they had a cancellation and could I be back that afternoon.

After I had described the circumstances under which I had injured it (for about the fifth time) to the doctor and he had examined it, he said he wanted to do a culture.  While he was taking the swab he said he also wanted me to go next door to the hospital to have an x-ray and a blood test.  And he wanted me to see an orthopedic surgeon.  I don’t have health insurance so I said, “Go easy on me, Doc.  This is coming out of my pocket.”  He looked up and replied, “You want to lose your leg?”  That got my attention.  He went on to explain that if the infection has gotten into the bone there wasn’t much they could do. I went next door.

Now was I pretty sure the bone wasn’t infected but that doctor had scared me.  Right after it happened while I was cleaning the wound I also checked for dents and divots in the bone.  There were none.  And if it had been broken, I would have experienced pain that would have prevented me from doing what I had done immediately after.  But I’m not a doctor.  Needless to say, the weekend wasn’t much fun.

Monday morning a nurse called to say the x-ray had been examined and there was no indication of any infection.  Whew, what a relief!

Tuesday afternoon I went to see doctor number two.  He turned out to be a pretty cool dude (the other guy had the bedside manor of Attila and the usefulness of a traffic cop).  He said the infection was a staphylococcus strain that was vulnerable to every antibiotic except penicillin, a very good thing.  He added that the hematoma I had gotten from the blow had left a cavity under the skin and that was where the infection was.  He said if it were his leg he would have it cut open, cleaned out, and let it heal from the bottom up.  The danger was once again the bacteria getting into the bone, the idea being to remove any trace quickly.  I must have looked funny because he then said, “The operation would have to be done in the hospital.  You’re looking at $6000 minimum.”  Ouch, will this roller coaster never end?  I asked if there was a plan B.  He said,”Yeah, there’s packing.”

Packing is a medical term I wasn’t familiar with so I asked.  He told me not to worry; he was going to show me.  The nurse knew what he was talking about because she quickly appeared with a bunch of stuff.  He proceeded to jam about 6 inches of this white ribbon into the wound with a single-ended Q-tip, using the wooden end.  Whoa, creepy.  And a little painful.  We were done, at least for that day; he wanted to see me again in a couple of weeks.  I left with a baggie full of “packing material” and a prescription refill.

Boy was I having fun in Ketchikan.  My plan was to be here for about a week taking care of stuff then taking off for an open-ended cruise around Revillagiggedo Island (the island Ketchikan is on) and through Misty Fjords National Monument via the Behm Canal.  The trip is about 130 miles and I figured I’d be gone up to two weeks before returning to Ketchikan to prepare for transiting British Columbia.  But this stop was proving to be very expensive.  I estimated my medical entertainment at $1k or more and I still hadn’t dealt with the nav computer issue.  I was able to resurrect the autopilot remote.  At least I didn’t have that $2k expense hanging over my head.

I decided to put off the nav computer issue and get ready for the Misty Fjords trip.  What followed was 3 days of jaunts to the grocery store, liquor store, chandlery, and several other places I’ve mercifully forgotten.  Friday looked good for departure.

More later.

I haven’t included any pics as I didn’t take any of my leg and they would be kinda gross if I had.

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Postscript: I forgot to mention a person who, without even knowing me went out of her way to help me with a chore I had no means of performing by myself.  Thank you, Joni.  You're an angel.

Oh yeah, I do have a couple pics to post.  These things cruise past the boat all day.  This one is named after you, Jilly.