Killer Sea Urchins

While not quite as serious as when Alex had a run-in with a jellyfish in The Marquesas, Brenden’s encounter with a sea urchin in Makemo had every bit of the drama.  He was playing on and around the wharf with several of the Makemo kids, when he showed up on Exodus’s back step crying and in distress.  He showed me the tip of his forefinger, which had 5 dark, pinprick sized holes, and he told me he was attacked by a sea urchin. 

I decided to hide my amusement for the moment, because he was clearly not in the mood to be teased about attacking sea urchins, so we put vinegar on it to try to neutralize the venom.  One of the kids on the dock went to get someone and came back with a French woman who used to be the nurse.  Her advice was that after the pain wears off you just leave it alone, and his body would expel the pieces of the urchin in time.  Turns out this is pretty much what happened, although we kept a close watch on it for infection.  When each one seemed close enough to the surface Brenden would pick it out with a needle and tweezers.  I think it took over a month for all 5 of them to work their way out.