J also got a cast. Unfortunately, by the time we got back home, the fractured bones had separated to the point where she needed ORIF surgery and now has six screws and a strip of metal holding her ankle together (which surprisingly rarely gets picked up by airport metal detectors).
What's with the lack of pain meds on the island? We didn't have any go-to buddies with supplies, so she had to suffer through the rest of the week (and the extra day delay caused by Hurricane Ike) on ibuprofen and rum punch. We went through a lot of rum. Talking to some residents that week, apparently they don't give pain meds for anything - not when a limb is crushed between a boat and a dock, not when someone falls off a mini-cliff and shatters a knee. For an island owned by a country that attracts drug vacationers because of the easy availability, it's astounding that one can't get pain meds for a really legitimate purpose like a spiral ankle fracture. (Got in to see an ortho surgeon the day after we arrived back home and he immediately prescribed a bottle of 100 percocets to keep her happy until and after the surgery.)
Fortunately the doc warned me that the medical supply store was closing and had me run over to get crutches while he was doing the cast. Unfortunately they were the European kind without the underarm support and it took J a while before she could use them without falling and hurting herself more. We were staying on the second floor of Den Laman and getting her up and down the stairs without an elevator wasn't going to happen. Ending up moving into a ground floor room at Capt. Don's for the rest of the week, got her to the room on a utility cart from the restaurant the first night. The next day I went back to Nos Arkon (I can't believe I still remember the name of the medical supply store, but I had a lot of dealings with them that trip) and rented a wheelchair for the rest of the week. Then we had fun finding out how difficult it is to get around on a wheelchair on a island without the ADA. Back in the States, with handicapped parking, ramps galore, automatic doors, etc., what a difference! (The ladies at Nos Arkon were very cool, even let us drop the wheelchair off at the airport instead of the day before we flew out.)
Looking on the bright side, we got to meet a lot of people on the island as her cast was quite the conversation piece. Chatted with Ned DeLoach at Cactus Blue one night, I got to play volleyball with the Capt. Don's staff and Moogie and bought Moogie a drink on his birthday after he gave her and the cast a mention in one of his songs. Best of all, on the way back home (diverted through Newark because of Hurricane Ike), we got bumped to the front of the mile-long security line after emerging from Customs/Immigration. We also found out how they manage to get a disabled passenger up the stairs into the plane at the Bonaire airport (it involves two very large guys and a wheelchair/sled contraption). Not my favorite trip to Bonaire and certainly not hers, but it will be remembered for life.
Wait a sec... Re-reading your post I saw that you did get pain meds the following day? How? We asked the doc and he recommended ibuprofen. Perhaps he was mad that he had to come in on his day off?
, that got her threw the night, and several friends to help her hobble till crutches became available.
