I slept fitfully again (although I had a record-breaking 2 hour sleep in there somewhere) and didn’t know if I was supposed to do a CAT scan on an empty stomach but since I had no appetite that decision was taken from me. The sail from St. Barths to St. Martin under full sail with a following wind and following seas would have been an absolute pleasure on any other day but I wasn’t feeling up to appreciating it. I saw a spout of water/air coming up that was far too voluminous for a mere dolphin and suspected whales – but it was behind me and I couldn’t summon the energy to turn around for a closer look. I saw big spouts a couple of times after that, but they were receding in the distance…
I arrived in Marigot and anchored rather far out, seemingly halfway to Anguilla. I shaved and showered before ding hying ashore for my first-ever CAT scan but my attempt to clean up was negated by the salt spray and rain showers I encountered on the long upwind dinghy trip to the dock. I took out my medical folder, upon which the doctor had drawn a map to help me find the laboratory. I’m glad he decided to become a doctor rather than an engineer! The distance between the two marinas in Marigot covered most of the A4 page (they are about 500m apart) and then drew the French bridge next to the inside marina (they are at least 3km apart). I figuratively threw my hands in the air and went to closest pharmacy, figuring that there couldn’t be more than one CAT scanner in town. I got directions from a friendly assistant, but her landmarks were 2 Orange stores and one other phone company store and a building that used to be the police central station but wasn’t any longer. That reminded me of the cliché about “You can’t miss it!” but it got me going in the right direction and I had planned on asking at another pharmacy. I got there, but it was closed for lunch but it turns out that it was marked on the doctor’s map and suddenly I had perspective and five minutes later I was there!
The building was in a part of town that one might not want to be in after dark, and the building was typically Caribbean and French despite white paint on the outside, but once inside I realized I was actually in France. The receptionists were friendly and efficient and after I’d given them my prescription for the scan and taken care of the formalities of payment I went to waiting area and was about to pull out my e-book and glasses when she waved over and told me (in French) “No, no, you need to come along this way” and I was soon in the CAT scanner room. The technician laughed when I said it was an impressive machine, he said it was a baby when compared to the big MRI scanner in the next room. Needless to say I was very surprised but shouldn’t have been. Marigot might seem a bit run down in general and even slummy in areas, but I’ve lived and worked in the French Riviera before and it looks the same there; the French have other priorities.
I had tried to watch an episode of the TV Series “Stargate” the night before so when the CAT scanner started whirring away and making serious electronic noises I had a strange sensation of displacement. I’ll attribute that to the medications I’d taken and not my overactive imagination. After the scan I waited for about 15 minutes before I was given a big envelope with the results and sent on my way. I asked what was next and the technician asked me to wait for a bit and went back to the control room, then brought me in and I had a discussion with a doctor in there. It seems that the CAT scan is all I paid for, the results would need to be interpreted by my doctor and since I didn’t look pleased about having to sail back to St. Barths he had mercy on me and gave me a free consultation – I must have looked suitably miserable. It would seem that there’s nothing badly wrong, but that the infection needs a good 2 weeks of antibiotic treatment along with the other pills I’d been prescribed. But if I should ever experience that sharp pain I’m still having in that area and it is accompanied by a fever then I should go to an emergency room immediately with suspicion of peritonitis. Since I’d recently discovered how my digestive system reacted to the antibiotics, I am not thrilled about the length of treatment.
Subsequently I cleared in at the Capitainerie and took the long, but mercifully downwind, trip back to Zanshin on the dinghy and motored to my customary anchorage position in Grand Case. I couldn’t find any energy to go ashore, but had a small steak still aboard which I made along with a baked potato. This was my first real meal in 2 days and I didn’t quite finish it – at least if my appetite doesn’t come back with a vengeance I’ll get to lose some weight.
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