Is There a Doctor in the House?

While still at home we put together a pretty comprehensive medical kit.  Thanks to Uncle Mike we have enough sutures to sew up a small village when we get to the south pacific, and thanks to Mom we have antibiotics purchased in Mexico (where you can get them without a prescription).  The boys’ pediatrician actually gave us prescriptions for azithromycin as well.  Luckily we haven’t had to use much from the medical kit, but after a dive one day Tim developed a pretty severe earache.  I checked inside (using the ENT scope, also provided by Uncle Mike) and it was definitely inflamed and pussy, so I started him on Cipro right away.  Shortly after, Alex’s ear flared up as well, so I started him on Azithromycin since I felt better giving him a drug that I knew for sure was the right dosage amount for him.  They both got better and were cleared for diving again within a week.  Unfortunately, Alex got another infection, or maybe this one never cleared up all the way.  Of course, it flared up just hours after we left BLA village for La Ventana, and he had trouble sleeping that night due to the pain.  Since there is a medical clinic in the village, we went back the next morning.  We asked Kyle from Lady Carolina to go with us to the clinic since he’s fluent in Spanish, and the doctor gave us amoxicillin and ear drops, and it did the trick, albeit Alex was out of commission for diving for 10+ days.  It is a free clinic but they accept donations of anything you want to give.  I gave her 200 pesos, which is less than $20, and at the time I had no idea if that was the right amount, and in hindsight I wish I had given more, since the treatment was effective and all.

Like I said, we are well prepared for worse mishaps, but luckily to this point we haven’t needed it