I thought you might like to know what has been going on the last few days. I will try to keep it brief even though it has been taking up most of our time, energy, and concerns since Sunday night.
One of the male students got very sick on Sunday while we were in Mauritius. We were only there for 12 hours and yet it seemed like an eternity. He was with some other students, had a lot to drink on a beach, was apparently dehydrated before that, and would have died but for the sake of a couple of friends who were with him. They made sure that he got to the hospital and received treatment immediately. One of the doctors, Dr. laura, who was on the ship went with them to the hospital and stayed with him. On Monday night, the dean of students held a meeting in the Union to tell us all what had happened. He said that the boy was as close to dying as you can get. And he praised the two boys who helped him, stating that if they hadn't reacted as quickly as they did, he would have died. He is on the work study program and may or may not be able to return to the ship in India. Apparently, SAS has an excellent insurance company which took care of the medical costs while he was hospitalized in Mauritius. He is now in a hotel room waiting for a flight to India when we arrive on Sunday. What an expense for SAS and his parents if he doesn't get back on board and they need to fly him home. His best friend who was with him and saved him was Austin, one of our extended family.
The next thing that happened was we heard Tuesday night that there had been pirates along the west coast of Mauritius before we arrived there on Sunday! Great! There were fire hoses laying on some of the decks which looked like the crew was preparing for something. We asked Fred if he thought they could reach our ship since we have been told by the captain that we have the fastest ship around. Fred said they probably have RPGs, which are Rocket Propelled Grenades!! This is not what we wanted to hear as nighttime was approaching!
We also heard that a student was going to be airlifted off of the ship at 6 a.m. Wednesday to receive medical attention for some blood platelet disorder that couldn't be taken care of on board. We were all buzzing about all of these events, and the rumors were flying. Pretty soon it became 3 people getting off! I woke up at 6 a.m. and wondered when this would happen and then I felt that the ship was going really fast! We were not slowing down for a helicopter at all! Then I thought we were maybe trying to outrun some pirates!! I wasn't quite awake yet, you see. We then went up to breakfast and the captain said over the loudspeaker we were going to stop at Diego Garcia and let three people off there who needed medical attention. The island of Diego Garcia is owned by the British and leased to the Americans as a naval base. We all waited for an hour or so and then we saw boats approaching with Marines aboard, guns in full view, and a police dog along for the ride! It was very exciting! They pulled alongside and waved at us. It took a while before a larger pontoon type boat came up to take the 3 sick people away to get treatment. Some of the female students were waving and yelling to the Marines as they drove off.
So, a boy's life was saved, no pirates ever showed up, and three people were happy that the Marines arrived!! The other 990 people were very happy it was all over for at least another day! Things have now settled back into the regular rhythm of the waves and the rhythm of our lives here on the MV Explorer.
A footnote to this story. We learned today that the young man is doing well and will be returning to the ship when we arrive in India on Sunday. Two girls who were getting medical attention are not returning to the ship and there is no word yet on the third person, a male crew member.
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