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Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Survived "7 days in Freidhof's Boot Camp"!
What a beautiful but very physically and challenging week! (day 59-65 of the trip). We are calling it, "7 Days in Freidhof Boot Camp" and we now have empathy for his wrestlers! Ward and I were happy that we weren't the only ones spent. It took us all down. Read on...
Stats: As of 5/13/13 we are on day 71 of 100. Bicycled: 4343 km, only 6 flat tires, 2 broken spokes, 2 broken pedals and, something new - a broken rack on my (Jacky's) bike.
We are now in Moradabad. If you recall, Jeff had his passport stolen. He had previously gone to New Dehli to apply for a new one (see last blog) and now has to return to New Dehli to pick it up and get a new Indian and Nepal Visa. So, we are hanging out for a couple of days enjoying the Indian culture and catching up on some internet as we wait for Jeff to return.
Trip from Chandigarh to Nahan.
As we were leaving Chandigarh we knew that we would be seeing the Himalayas. This also meant that we would be getting out of the plains of Punjab and Haryana and into the mountains. Our first overnight was in Solan and then off to Shimla. We climbed from an elevation of 1000 feet in Chandigarh to over 7000 feet to Shimla. It was a grinder of a climb but the vistas were so beautiful and majestic. Shimla History: During British rule Shimla was the summer retreat for the British forces because of the cooler temperatures and the natural beauty.
We did a fair amount of hiking in and around the city, that basically hangs on the side of the mountain. Our legs were tired from the mountain climb but also because of the different muscles that we used hiking. We were also hopeful to do a major trek but the area was over developed to get that remote feeling. At this point`we decided that we wanted to get to a more remote trekking area.
We headed for Naraudhar to climb Chandur Peak (12,000 ft mountain). One would think that we would take a day off from bicycling and hiking in the mountains before attempting to hike a 12,000 ft peak. Remember, we are trainees in Freidhof's Boot Camp. No rest. We continued to bicycle through the mountains until we reached Naraudhar. That night we bought our supplies for the trek. We were informed by a local that due to the snow on the mountain top, we would not be able to reach the peak. We were 1-2 weeks too early. We decided we were going to hike as far as we could.
We had a beautiful hike. The path was pretty well marked. There is a temple on the top of the mountain and it is a pilgrimage for the locals. Their are 2 shacks (they call guesthouses) along the way that you can get food and tea. You can also sleep at these places if you wish. Many people hike up, stay overnight at the temple and then descend the next day. We got about 1000 ft from the summit but the snow cover, slipperiness and potential drops were too much to continue with our old worn out tennis shoes. We had to turn back. It was a success anyway as the hike was so beautiful and we met locals as we stopped for tea on our way down. Maybe we can find a mountain in Nepal to climb.
One more day of Freidhof Boot Camp. We backtracked the first 24km so we knew what to expect for terrain and road conditions. From there the map indicated that we would be turning onto a big road (hwy) that we thought would continually descend to the city of Nahan. When we turned onto this road it ended up being the worst road we had been on so far. If there "was" pavement it had huge potholes and was broken up. Otherwise it was very rough gravel with big rocks (Ward and Jeff said the gravel was worse then any they have been on back home). Another thing, we didn't gradually descend to Nahan. We descended alright, straight down into the valley which meant we had to climb out of it!! Remember a downhill on these road conditions isn't any fun either as you have to ride your brakes and dodge the holes and bumps. Temps were over 100 and the humidity was rising as we were getting into more jungle. I thought I was going to croak. We had gone 40km and still had 80km to go. I was climbing at 6km/hr (that's like 3.5mi/hr). I didn't even know I could bike that slow and still stay upright. Every time we thought we were reaching the top, we would be disappointed by more road winding upward. I knew if we went the whole 120km we would not get there in the daylight. We were running out of water and there weren't any stops to replenish.
We stopped at the next small village and set up our water purification system and filtered their tap water. We weren't sure what the locals were thinking when they saw us doing this. Hopefully we didn't offend them but we couldn't take any chances. They told us we would be descending once again into a valley to then have to climb out AGAIN, but luckily not to the same elevation. They did say there was a national hwy that we would be reaching that we would ride the last 20km on into Nahan. The national hwys typically have a nice paved shoulder so I knew I could ride that in the dark with lights. Well, before we reached the hwy my rear rack broke from all the bouncing and jarring. This meant that Jeff and Ward had to carry my bags. They were also tired and I really wanted to save my sherpa privilages for another time but we had no choice. We reached the hwy at dusk. Wait! Where is the pavement? Where is the shoulder? Where is any infrastructure??!! This was the worst gravel road thus far. By the time we hit Nahan my arms and hands throbbed so bad that I could hardly hold onto the handlebars. It was dark and we had one more surprise...Nahan is located on the top of a hillside. This meant more climbing. By the time we hit the town it was dark. We were all totally worn out and hadn't been able to eat or drink properly during the day due to availability. We all decided to take the next day off to rest.
Ward and I were happy we survived Freidhof's Boot Camp. We're not planning on signing up for any more in the near future.
The last 3 days we have been blessed with flat paved roads, tail wind and many little stores/food places along the route. Wow! What a welcoming change!
So far it has been an incredible and educational experience in India. Within the next day or two we will be heading to Nepal where we will be spending most of the remainder of our trip.
TIP: Never strap bananas on the back of your bike when you are traveling through monkey territory. (Ask Freidhof about this.)
Stay tuned!
Namaste. Jacky and Ward
Stats: As of 5/13/13 we are on day 71 of 100. Bicycled: 4343 km, only 6 flat tires, 2 broken spokes, 2 broken pedals and, something new - a broken rack on my (Jacky's) bike.
We are now in Moradabad. If you recall, Jeff had his passport stolen. He had previously gone to New Dehli to apply for a new one (see last blog) and now has to return to New Dehli to pick it up and get a new Indian and Nepal Visa. So, we are hanging out for a couple of days enjoying the Indian culture and catching up on some internet as we wait for Jeff to return.
Trip from Chandigarh to Nahan.
As we were leaving Chandigarh we knew that we would be seeing the Himalayas. This also meant that we would be getting out of the plains of Punjab and Haryana and into the mountains. Our first overnight was in Solan and then off to Shimla. We climbed from an elevation of 1000 feet in Chandigarh to over 7000 feet to Shimla. It was a grinder of a climb but the vistas were so beautiful and majestic. Shimla History: During British rule Shimla was the summer retreat for the British forces because of the cooler temperatures and the natural beauty.
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| Jeff biking up the dirt road in the Himalayas. |
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| Sunset in Solan. |
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| Himalayas on the way to Shimla. |
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| City of Shimla built on a hillside. |
We did a fair amount of hiking in and around the city, that basically hangs on the side of the mountain. Our legs were tired from the mountain climb but also because of the different muscles that we used hiking. We were also hopeful to do a major trek but the area was over developed to get that remote feeling. At this point`we decided that we wanted to get to a more remote trekking area.
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| Pedestrian mall in Shimla. There were 4 different levels due to the hillside. |
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| Always be aware of the monkeys! |
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| Summer retreat where the British forces would meet. |
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| Woodwork inside the retreat. |
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| Chandhur Peak as we see it in the distance. |
We headed for Naraudhar to climb Chandur Peak (12,000 ft mountain). One would think that we would take a day off from bicycling and hiking in the mountains before attempting to hike a 12,000 ft peak. Remember, we are trainees in Freidhof's Boot Camp. No rest. We continued to bicycle through the mountains until we reached Naraudhar. That night we bought our supplies for the trek. We were informed by a local that due to the snow on the mountain top, we would not be able to reach the peak. We were 1-2 weeks too early. We decided we were going to hike as far as we could.
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| Jeff and Jacky hiking. |
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| Jeff trying to make it across the slippery snow. He was using sticks for ice picks. |
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| Ward and Jacky in front of Chandhur Peak |
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| We stopped at one of the guesthouses on the way down the mountain. |
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| Locals making us chi in the guesthouse. |
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| We are purifying the local water. |
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| Jeff, this is a rest day!!! |
Ward and I were happy we survived Freidhof's Boot Camp. We're not planning on signing up for any more in the near future.
The last 3 days we have been blessed with flat paved roads, tail wind and many little stores/food places along the route. Wow! What a welcoming change!
So far it has been an incredible and educational experience in India. Within the next day or two we will be heading to Nepal where we will be spending most of the remainder of our trip.
TIP: Never strap bananas on the back of your bike when you are traveling through monkey territory. (Ask Freidhof about this.)
Stay tuned!
Namaste. Jacky and Ward
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
On the Road Again...Feels so Good to be on the Road Again...
Our last blog was telling of the mishap of Jacky which was on day 42 of 100 when she severely cut her arm. We are now on day 58 of 100 and a lot has happened since.
We are at 3695 km of riding for the trip. We have had 5 flats, 1 broken spoken and 1 broken pedal. It has been sunny everyday and has only rained 3 times for a total rainfall of one hour. The temperature continues to be over 100 degrees most days but it is not as intense as what we had experienced in the southern part of India.
Jacky's recovery time in New Delhi kept her inside most of the time and out of the pollution. Meanwhile, Jeff and I went to the Asian Wrestling Championship for 5 days (Jacky came a couple of times). We saw tremendous wrestling and some future Olympians. These are the countries that participated: India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam, Jordan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, and Tajikistan (never knew there were so many "stans"). It was strange sitting in a stadium amongst countries that have a lot of tension between them. There was cheering but no trouble broke out. Jeff, Jacky and I want to thank Brad Wicks and Pete Blodget for sponsoring our time at the wrestling tournament.
We started heading north to the border of India and Pakistan. We made a stop in Ludihana to visit the Hero Bicycle factory. They are one of the largest bicycle factories in the world and they sell more bicycles than anyone else. It was very interesting, but Trek Bicycles in Waterloo, Wisconsin does things on a different level of quality.
While in Ludihana we were interviewed by two different newspapers and made the news the next day. "Three gringos are newsworthy??" As we biked the following day we had people stop us and and say (in their best english), "we saw you in newspaper". We enjoyed a few minutes of fame.
Onto Amristar, the city of the "Golden Temple". The "Golden Temple" is the religious mecca for the Sikh Religion. The city was full of Indian tourists making their annual pilgrimage to the temple.
Amrisar is 30km from the Pakistan border. We were told to stay away from the border as it was too dangerous. You know us, we heard about the Retreat of Flags Ceremony of the bordering countries, "India and Pakistan". This ceremony happens daily at 5:30 pm. Three to five thousand Indians and the same number of Pakistanis gather in the stadiums on their respective sides of the border. Cheering from both sides...who can cheer louder?! Who can taunt the other side better?! It felt like we were at a Packer/Viking football game. The Indians even had a cheerleader that was getting the crowd all riled up. The lowering of the flags was very formal and animated as the guards from each country taunted each other. It had to be one of the weirdest government cultural things I have ever seen.
Video was taken prior to the actual ceremony.
Jeff had a bit of bad luck as he was pick pocketed at the Golden Temple. He had his passport and billfold taken (not everyone at the Temple is holy). Lucky for us we have skype and he was able to call and notify his bank and credit card companies. The major problem is the passport. He now needs to get to the US Embassy in New Delhi to get a new one. We decided to go to Chandigarh ,which is enroute to one of our destinations, Shimla.. Chandigarh is the capital of 2 of the states and is a train hub. This is a good spot for Jeff to take the train to New Delhi to get the paperwork started (takes 7-10 days to get a new passport). Jacky and I will hang in Chandigarh for a couple of days until Jeff returns. We will then all head into the Himalayas to Shimla and then to Luknow. In 7-10 days Jeff will return to New Delhi to pick up his passport, Indian Visa and Nepal Visa and then once again take the train back to where Jacky and I are at that point and we will all head to Nepal.
The Decorah Time Trials were held last Saturday. Jeff and I didn't want to miss out on the action so we held our own Indian Time Trial. Jeff just nipped me. Maybe we should have taken our bags off.
India is a developing country but they still have many things to work out. They are still dumping their sewage and trash in the gutter. 55% of raw sewage ends up untreated and into their aquifers.
As far as Jacky's arm, Dr Jeff and Dr Ward removed her stitches using a
fingernail and toenail clipper as a surgical scissors was no where to be
found. Rest assured these clippers were well soaked in alcohol prior
to the procedure. She now wants to call me Dr Kovorkian. The arm is
healing nicely. It just looks like she has a big centipede on her arm.
Stay tuned for some upcoming beautiful pictures of the Himalayas!
Namaste everyone!
Ward and Jacky
We are at 3695 km of riding for the trip. We have had 5 flats, 1 broken spoken and 1 broken pedal. It has been sunny everyday and has only rained 3 times for a total rainfall of one hour. The temperature continues to be over 100 degrees most days but it is not as intense as what we had experienced in the southern part of India.
Jacky's recovery time in New Delhi kept her inside most of the time and out of the pollution. Meanwhile, Jeff and I went to the Asian Wrestling Championship for 5 days (Jacky came a couple of times). We saw tremendous wrestling and some future Olympians. These are the countries that participated: India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam, Jordan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, and Tajikistan (never knew there were so many "stans"). It was strange sitting in a stadium amongst countries that have a lot of tension between them. There was cheering but no trouble broke out. Jeff, Jacky and I want to thank Brad Wicks and Pete Blodget for sponsoring our time at the wrestling tournament.
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| Greco Roman style; weight class 7 |
While in Ludihana we were interviewed by two different newspapers and made the news the next day. "Three gringos are newsworthy??" As we biked the following day we had people stop us and and say (in their best english), "we saw you in newspaper". We enjoyed a few minutes of fame.
Onto Amristar, the city of the "Golden Temple". The "Golden Temple" is the religious mecca for the Sikh Religion. The city was full of Indian tourists making their annual pilgrimage to the temple.
 |
| Golden Temple. Everyone had to have their heads covered. |
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| Inlaid design in marble. |
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| Indians returning from the Golden Temple |
Video was taken prior to the actual ceremony.
Jeff had a bit of bad luck as he was pick pocketed at the Golden Temple. He had his passport and billfold taken (not everyone at the Temple is holy). Lucky for us we have skype and he was able to call and notify his bank and credit card companies. The major problem is the passport. He now needs to get to the US Embassy in New Delhi to get a new one. We decided to go to Chandigarh ,which is enroute to one of our destinations, Shimla.. Chandigarh is the capital of 2 of the states and is a train hub. This is a good spot for Jeff to take the train to New Delhi to get the paperwork started (takes 7-10 days to get a new passport). Jacky and I will hang in Chandigarh for a couple of days until Jeff returns. We will then all head into the Himalayas to Shimla and then to Luknow. In 7-10 days Jeff will return to New Delhi to pick up his passport, Indian Visa and Nepal Visa and then once again take the train back to where Jacky and I are at that point and we will all head to Nepal.
The Decorah Time Trials were held last Saturday. Jeff and I didn't want to miss out on the action so we held our own Indian Time Trial. Jeff just nipped me. Maybe we should have taken our bags off.
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| If you could only smell this picture!! |
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| Careful Dr Ward, don't get the skin! |
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| Tattoo ideas wanted! |
Stay tuned for some upcoming beautiful pictures of the Himalayas!
Namaste everyone!
Ward and Jacky
Monday, April 22, 2013
First Aid Tips: What NOT to do!
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and emails regarding the healing of my cut. Boy, have we learned a lot as we have never had to use the healthcare system in foreign countries or even self treat a wound before.
(Videos below)
Tips:
1. Don't just grab your traveling first aid kit that has been sitting on the shelf for ages. We did that and found out the alcohol towelettes had all dried up, the sticky part of the bandaides would not peel off the plastic protector and we didn't have much adhesive tape left.
2. Don't assume that in these instances you can buy what you need in foreign countries. I sent Ward out for surgical pads. He couldn't find them and came back with panty liners. (I'll never look at them the same any more!). As we had nothing else...we used them for the first 5 days. We then found some surgical pads (which are a lot softer) at a good Pharmacy in New Delhi.
3. Have some general first aid knowledge. Since I never had a stitched up cut before, my first aid skills in a foreign country were inept. We were avoiding water since the water here is contaminated (however, we do have our own water filtering system but, I was so nervous about getting an infection that I was even apprehensive in using that!) Therefore, we changed the bandage daily and would only clean it with alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. (Had to use hand sanitizer until I could find any alcohol.) I didn't realize (until day 6) that the hydrogen peroxide is only suppose to be used for the initial cleaning (this was after we made the video...which is now titled "what NOT do do for wound management which is loaded below) and found out the skin was burnt (as hydrogen peroxide kills EVERYTHING) and some skin actually came off onto the bandage. Hmm, what to do now. As I was afraid a bandage would break open the blisters I left it open to the air thinking it may heal quicker and not be irritated (this is when I was in the hotel room and not out in the Indian pollution.)
4. Have a contact back in the US that is in the medical field. At this point I was afraid that I just took a step backwards as it seemed like blisters were forming by the stitches and I had areas where the skin was removed and susceptible to infection. I was at a loss so I took a picture of my arm and sent it to both Doug Burks (head Pharmacist at the Decorah Hospital and to Annie Zenner Mccune, niece and emergency nurse in Marshfield, WI). Doug took the picture to one of Decorah's best doctors (Dr. Dougan) and had a wound consult. (Bev Rustad, nurse in Decorah also helped with the advice which was confirmed by Annie Mccune.) They re-assured me that it was on the right path for healing and that there wasn't any sign of infection...Yeah!!. They then told me the proper steps that I should be currently taking which were far from what I was doing. Their advice: QUIT the alcohol and hydrogen peroxide!. Clean the wound daily with soap and clean water. Apply sterile vaseline to keep it moist and not stick to the bandage, and ALWAYS keep it covered as it heals better in a moist environment.
I also had to use Doug Burks to review the meds and shots they gave me as there wasn't any instruction given. We had to do shots in the butt and didn't know what they were for. Ward had never given a shot before but became pretty good at it. Next, Ward will have to take out the stitches (day 14). First time for everything.
I am now on day 7 and feeling better. We are planning on trying to bike tomorrow. We will start with short days and see how the arm feels. The guys have been super through all this. It probably helps that they go spectate at the Asian International Champion Wrestling Tournament everyday. I don't think I am really putting them out too much.
From here we start the second half of our trip. We are heading to north India and then dropping into Nepal. Looking forward to the beauty of the Himalayas.
Until next time and thanks again.
Namaste, Jacky
Videos: How NOT to care for a wound.
(Videos below)
Tips:
1. Don't just grab your traveling first aid kit that has been sitting on the shelf for ages. We did that and found out the alcohol towelettes had all dried up, the sticky part of the bandaides would not peel off the plastic protector and we didn't have much adhesive tape left.
2. Don't assume that in these instances you can buy what you need in foreign countries. I sent Ward out for surgical pads. He couldn't find them and came back with panty liners. (I'll never look at them the same any more!). As we had nothing else...we used them for the first 5 days. We then found some surgical pads (which are a lot softer) at a good Pharmacy in New Delhi.
3. Have some general first aid knowledge. Since I never had a stitched up cut before, my first aid skills in a foreign country were inept. We were avoiding water since the water here is contaminated (however, we do have our own water filtering system but, I was so nervous about getting an infection that I was even apprehensive in using that!) Therefore, we changed the bandage daily and would only clean it with alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. (Had to use hand sanitizer until I could find any alcohol.) I didn't realize (until day 6) that the hydrogen peroxide is only suppose to be used for the initial cleaning (this was after we made the video...which is now titled "what NOT do do for wound management which is loaded below) and found out the skin was burnt (as hydrogen peroxide kills EVERYTHING) and some skin actually came off onto the bandage. Hmm, what to do now. As I was afraid a bandage would break open the blisters I left it open to the air thinking it may heal quicker and not be irritated (this is when I was in the hotel room and not out in the Indian pollution.)
4. Have a contact back in the US that is in the medical field. At this point I was afraid that I just took a step backwards as it seemed like blisters were forming by the stitches and I had areas where the skin was removed and susceptible to infection. I was at a loss so I took a picture of my arm and sent it to both Doug Burks (head Pharmacist at the Decorah Hospital and to Annie Zenner Mccune, niece and emergency nurse in Marshfield, WI). Doug took the picture to one of Decorah's best doctors (Dr. Dougan) and had a wound consult. (Bev Rustad, nurse in Decorah also helped with the advice which was confirmed by Annie Mccune.) They re-assured me that it was on the right path for healing and that there wasn't any sign of infection...Yeah!!. They then told me the proper steps that I should be currently taking which were far from what I was doing. Their advice: QUIT the alcohol and hydrogen peroxide!. Clean the wound daily with soap and clean water. Apply sterile vaseline to keep it moist and not stick to the bandage, and ALWAYS keep it covered as it heals better in a moist environment.
I also had to use Doug Burks to review the meds and shots they gave me as there wasn't any instruction given. We had to do shots in the butt and didn't know what they were for. Ward had never given a shot before but became pretty good at it. Next, Ward will have to take out the stitches (day 14). First time for everything.
I am now on day 7 and feeling better. We are planning on trying to bike tomorrow. We will start with short days and see how the arm feels. The guys have been super through all this. It probably helps that they go spectate at the Asian International Champion Wrestling Tournament everyday. I don't think I am really putting them out too much.
From here we start the second half of our trip. We are heading to north India and then dropping into Nepal. Looking forward to the beauty of the Himalayas.
Until next time and thanks again.
Namaste, Jacky
Videos: How NOT to care for a wound.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Trip to the Emergency Room
The Sink fell off the wall.
“Jeff ,call 911“, oh here in India it is 118. Having the end of a day end in an Indian hospital emergency room is not my idea of a good day.
Monday April 15th we had good day of riding. Our 110km day from Agra to Mathura included a few stops at historical sites, some strong headwinds and temperatures only at 113. We had some good fortune in finding a hotel for 1050 RS.($21.00) We were tired and just needed some rest and a bit of air conditioning.
Jacky decided to take a quick shower in an effort to wash away the road grime, air pollution, sweat and sunscrean from the day. This is when everything went awry at 7:30 p.m..
First I need to explain how an Indian bathroom is designed. They are all tile, no shower curtain and they have one common drain. The shower head normally spews water over the entire floor. Hopefully the drain is at the lowest spot on the floor. ( Are you getting the picture?)
Jacky was finished with her shower and was drying herself. She used the sink to balance herself so she would not slip on the totally wet floor. This is when all “hell” broke loose. I did not mean to swear, but the porcelain sink broke away from the wall and crashed to the floor. (The rusted brackets were paper thin.) Jacky slipped and fell on the broken chunks of porcelain sink. Her right bicep was cut badly.
Jeff and I heard all of the ruckus. Jacky was able to unlatch the door and let us in. I do not want to sound crude or gross, but imagine walking in, to find your wife bleeding profusely from a 7 inch gash in her right arm, sitting
in a pool of blood and water. Jacky fainted as I was trying to help her stop the bleeding. (Remember the shards of the sink were everywhere. It looked like a scene from a horror movie.)
What to do first? Stop the bleeding or wash the wound with filtered water so to prevent infection. We did everything all at the same time. We washed the wound, stopped the bleeding, and put some clothes on Jacky.
The hotel staff got us a pedal type rickshaw to go to an emergency room and they accompanied us as well. Jeff ran along side the rickshaw for moral support. Jeff filled out the hospital paperwork as they took Jacky into see a doctor right away. He said a visit in the emergency room required less paperwork than getting a room at a hotel! I was able to be with Jacky while they cleaned the wound and numbed the gash and put in 9 stitches. (The scar will not be very pretty.) (I thought I was pretty tough but the cleaning and stitches made me light headed. Not much support for Jacky.)
Indian hospitals must have an open door policy. While they were stitching up Jacky, a young boy walks into to see his mother who was an attending nurse. The hotel worker was also in the emergency room. The doctor and attending nurse used gloves but no masks by any one else. So much for keeping out any germs.
The cost for the emergency room and doctor was 1000 RS.($20.00) I took Jacky back to the hotel and Jeff went on an antibiotic run with the help of the hotel staff. That turned into a 2 hour event. The drugs and supplies were 650 RS. ($13.00). I am now responsible for giving Jacky antibiotic shots twice daily. I will never make a good nurse, needles and I are not friends.
We took a truck taxi from Mathura to New Delhi because Jacky will no be able to ride for a while. Coincidentally, we had planned on being in New Delhi for the Asian Wrestling Championships, April 18th to April 22nd . Jacky will heal her arm and Jeff and I will go to the wrestling tournament. Our next challenge will be keeping infection at bay. Thanks to Doug Burks (Pharmacist at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah) for informing us what the drugs are that Jacky is taking as education at the Pharmacy was not existent.
“Jeff ,call 911“, oh here in India it is 118. Having the end of a day end in an Indian hospital emergency room is not my idea of a good day.
Monday April 15th we had good day of riding. Our 110km day from Agra to Mathura included a few stops at historical sites, some strong headwinds and temperatures only at 113. We had some good fortune in finding a hotel for 1050 RS.($21.00) We were tired and just needed some rest and a bit of air conditioning.
Jacky decided to take a quick shower in an effort to wash away the road grime, air pollution, sweat and sunscrean from the day. This is when everything went awry at 7:30 p.m..
First I need to explain how an Indian bathroom is designed. They are all tile, no shower curtain and they have one common drain. The shower head normally spews water over the entire floor. Hopefully the drain is at the lowest spot on the floor. ( Are you getting the picture?)
Jacky was finished with her shower and was drying herself. She used the sink to balance herself so she would not slip on the totally wet floor. This is when all “hell” broke loose. I did not mean to swear, but the porcelain sink broke away from the wall and crashed to the floor. (The rusted brackets were paper thin.) Jacky slipped and fell on the broken chunks of porcelain sink. Her right bicep was cut badly.
Jeff and I heard all of the ruckus. Jacky was able to unlatch the door and let us in. I do not want to sound crude or gross, but imagine walking in, to find your wife bleeding profusely from a 7 inch gash in her right arm, sitting
What to do first? Stop the bleeding or wash the wound with filtered water so to prevent infection. We did everything all at the same time. We washed the wound, stopped the bleeding, and put some clothes on Jacky.
The hotel staff got us a pedal type rickshaw to go to an emergency room and they accompanied us as well. Jeff ran along side the rickshaw for moral support. Jeff filled out the hospital paperwork as they took Jacky into see a doctor right away. He said a visit in the emergency room required less paperwork than getting a room at a hotel! I was able to be with Jacky while they cleaned the wound and numbed the gash and put in 9 stitches. (The scar will not be very pretty.) (I thought I was pretty tough but the cleaning and stitches made me light headed. Not much support for Jacky.)
Indian hospitals must have an open door policy. While they were stitching up Jacky, a young boy walks into to see his mother who was an attending nurse. The hotel worker was also in the emergency room. The doctor and attending nurse used gloves but no masks by any one else. So much for keeping out any germs.
The cost for the emergency room and doctor was 1000 RS.($20.00) I took Jacky back to the hotel and Jeff went on an antibiotic run with the help of the hotel staff. That turned into a 2 hour event. The drugs and supplies were 650 RS. ($13.00). I am now responsible for giving Jacky antibiotic shots twice daily. I will never make a good nurse, needles and I are not friends.
We took a truck taxi from Mathura to New Delhi because Jacky will no be able to ride for a while. Coincidentally, we had planned on being in New Delhi for the Asian Wrestling Championships, April 18th to April 22nd . Jacky will heal her arm and Jeff and I will go to the wrestling tournament. Our next challenge will be keeping infection at bay. Thanks to Doug Burks (Pharmacist at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah) for informing us what the drugs are that Jacky is taking as education at the Pharmacy was not existent.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Days 35-38 of 100 in India plus other fun stuff
As we ride throughout the day we experience a lot of variety in nature, foods and what we see on the road. They load their trucks so heavy that it is not uncommon to see a truck over turned.
Or maybe the truck was swerving from this road kill. They never drag the dead animal off the road. They leave them for the vultures to eat. It turns into a real nice smell to ride by (if you know what I mean).
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| Dead cow. |
We have had some challenges with the hot weather with riding temperatures reaching 120 degrees. We frequently have to stop to get something cold to drink, get in the shade or have some good ole roadside watermelon.
Other challenges have been finding internet which seems very surprising to us since they are supposedly the country that we are worried about in surpassing us with technology. Another challenge is regular electricity. It is intermittent. Many places have back up generators but they cannot always carry the load either. Yesterday there was a 1.5 hr blackout from 12:00 - 1:30pm in Gandi. Their were surgeries taking place at this time at their state run hospital. The back up generator kicked in but ran out of fuel. The surgeons were left in the dark not knowing if their patients were dead or alive. ICU patients on ventilators had to have their families handle the manual resuscitator to help the patients breathe and other ICU patients had to fend for themselves. They state these blackouts are not uncommon.
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| Back up generator |
Passing by the mango groves is a welcoming site. We have eaten mangos and have had a lot of Maaza, the mango drink.
We also are enjoying some great food from the roadside vendors. One of our favorite breakfasts is the masala dosa. It is a fried bread that has a potato mixture in it with masala seasoning. You eat it with your hands, tearing it off and dipping it into the sauces. Mmm goold!
Below is the grill that they cook it on. As you can see it is well seasoned.
Now we are off to New Dehli where we will watch the Asian Iinternational Wrestling Tournament. The e-newsletter will be coming out within the next few days so sign up if you haven't already.
Until then, Namaste (Good-bye in Hindi)
Days 30 to 34 of 100 days in India
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| This was taken as we were climbing the mountain. We started at sea level. |
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| Biking to Hampi. |
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| Elephant stables. |
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| Temple entering Hampi. |
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| Intricate stone carvings. |
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