Get Belted — or Else!

This isn’t exactly about sailing, but we think it’s important enough to mention anyway for a couple of reasons.

Yesterday afternoon Doña de Mallorca was driving a 1994 Chevy Tahoe from the La Cruz Shipyard on Banderas Bay to Punta Mita, when she was forced off the road by an oncoming vehicle that had partially drifted into her lane. The section of road was straight, but very narrow, with deep cement drainage ruts on each side instead of gently sloping shoulders. The spacious replacement road is 80% complete, but not yet open.

After getting both righthand wheels in the deep rut, de Mallorca tried to steer back onto the pavement. Alas, coming out of the rut caused the heavy SUV to roll over twice and end right side up, facing in the opposite direction, atop a six-foot embankment on the other side of the road!

After enduring a violent double rollover that trashed the SUV, de Mallorca was somehow able to jump out the driver’s side window without cutting herself on the broken glass. Although the SUV wasn’t equipped with airbags, de Mallorca was wearing her seat belt. A combination of the seat belt and some great luck are the only things that prevented her from being broken up, paralyzed or killed. We’ve always had a cavalier attitude toward seat belts, but not anymore.

Although in shock, de Mallorca didn’t feel as though she was badly injured. Nonetheless, when the ambulance driver asked her if she wanted to go to the old community hospital in San Pancho or the brand new private San Javier Hospital in Nuevo Vallarta, de Mallorca chose San Javier. A retired RN, she feared she might have had some damage to her spine or something else not obvious, and unlike San Pancho, San Javier has a CT machine.

The San Javier Hospital is like something out of a patient’s ultimate healthcare fantasy. Every hospital we’ve been to in the States has been overcrowded, tired and dirty compared to San Javier, which was so sparkling that we felt like we needed to wear sunglasses at dusk. And all the equipment is just months old. The last time de Mallorca had to go to a hospital was last August in Torrance, and there were 79 people waiting for emergency treatment. Not at San Javier, where there was a staff of about 25 and, as best we could see, not one other patient.

After de Mallorca got a CT scan, the doctor asked if we wanted to review it with him. We did. So he took us into a nearby room, where he brought up all the scanned information on brand new computer equipment. He went over everything slowly and carefully, and pointed out some previous minor damage to her spine. Like the rest of the staff, he seemed very competent, and he had all the time in the world to make sure nurses understood his instructions.

The only downside of San Javier is that it’s not cheap. But if we ever have a potentially serious medical condition, we know where we want to go. And if possible, we’ll be wearing a seat belt on the way.

It’s now the morning after and de Mallorca is feeling none the worse for the wear. Miraculous.