Monday, July 7: A Visit to the Medicine Man

Ron decided the previous night that his gout was getting worse.  Usually he enjoys dried cherries for a few days and something in them makes the attack subside but not this time.  (I apologize that I was not able to post a picture of his angrily-inflamed big toe but he wouldn't let me near it with a camera.)  

Bad news, but good timing.  Today we were scheduled to be in Klawock (population 854), which was the only day we weren't out in the middle of nowhere.  I spoke to a crew member Sunday night about getting medical attention for Ron and he asked earnestly if Ron would need to be airlifted somewhere.  No, thank God.  The captain did some checking and found the name of a nearby clinic.  I called and made an appointment for 9:30 AM.

This was our destination- the Alice Roberts Medical Center, an easy walk from the dock.  We arrived early and after Ron filled out some paperwork including questions about whether he was a migrant worker and what tribal affiliations he had and handed over his Medicare card, they took him into an examination room.  He ended up with a couple of cortisone injections and a prescription to be filled at the Whale's Tail Pharmacy in Craig, 7 miles away.  No problem.  A friendly taxi driver took us there.  The pharmacy already had 58 prescriptions called in but when we said we needed to be back on the boat in a couple of hours they put Ron's at the head of the queue, even finding a generic version that saved us $70.  The taxi driver, who had waited for us, was almost apologetic at charging $20 for the round trip.  I'm glad it wasn't NYC.  All in all, it was a good experience.  We'd done the Klawock tour on the last cruise, so we saw a different aspect of the area and Ron got the care he needed.  We got back to the boat in plenty of time, grateful to everyone who had helped us.

I spent the afternoon kayaking.  Ron spent the afternoon resting and avoiding the wonderful Alaskan beer.  Fortunately. Beefeaters Gin was not on the forbidden list.

UnCruise tries to get its food supplies from local sources and tonight was a perfect example; they purchased oysters from a couple who harvest them nearby.  The captain grilled most of them and they also supplied chicken wings for landlubbers. I had my oysters just the way I like 'em- raw with hot sauce.