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St. Maarten Here We Come…well, maybe… #291628
11/25/2022 10:04 AM
11/25/2022 10:04 AM
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 450
Teresasxm Offline OP
Traveler
Teresasxm  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 450
The ophthalmologist stared into my one good eye and said, “I don’t think you have a sinus infection at all. I believe you have Shingles of the Eye.”

“But I leave for St. Maarten in five days,” I exclaimed.

“Well, that could be a problem.”

That began 24 frenetic hours of visits to my optometrist and family doctor that sent me to the Emergency room to get accelerated to an Eye Specialist. In all, five medical professionals weighed in on my dilemma and it didn’t look good at all. Shingles can cause vision loss and blindness, something I wasn’t willing to gamble on. But the decision was made to take the meds, control my stress (yeah, right) and hope for the best. The day before departure I went back to the specialist for the final decision. It was determined I had a mild case, but it hadn’t peaked yet. I was still a swollen, blistery mess but the shingles hadn’t yet invaded my eyeball and better yet, the retina. After some thoughtful consideration and finding out I had located an ophthalmologist on St. Maarten plus the fact I could get back to Toronto either directly or with connections any day of the week in an emergency, the Specialist said, “It’s up to you but I think you can go.” I was willing to throw in the towel and call the insurance company but after a discussion with my ever-optimistic husband and the fact I had the green light from my doctor, I decided to pack.

We flew on Westjet from Toronto and the flight attendants were happy and wonderful making the 4-hour trip pleasant and quick. We landed in a rainstorm that had quit by the time we boarded the bus to the terminal. We had just beat the big KLM to the gate, so we all breezed through customs (no EHAS – yay! No vaccination certificate check – Woo-hoo!) and because we had only packed Carry-on (for the first time in my life) we had no luggage to pick up and rolled right to William from Triple A car rental outside the door. Paperwork done in a flash, we went for our arrival ritual; a quick stop at Driftwood for a Carib and to watch our plane take off for Toronto – without us. (Insert happy dance emoji here). After stocking up on a few groceries at Maho Market we parked in front of Mary’s Boon, hugged each other, and yelled, “We’re home!”

Dinner was at Mary’s restaurant because we were bushed, and the food was as wonderful as ever. I opted for the Thai curry with shrimp. It had a mouth-watering earthy flavour that ran deep, and it was the kind of sauce that you just couldn’t get enough of. The shrimp were fresh and so tasty along with the al dente vegetables that were drenched in the sauce. I almost licked my plate. Gary had the fish and chips which he gave two thumbs up for its light crispy batter, crunchy fries, and good taste. As we sat there gratefully watching the waves crash up on the shore, I was reminded of TTOL Pat’s message to us all…even when faced with a few challenges, “Just do it! Get on the plane and go – with your doctor’s blessing of course”. Nothing in life is perfect and the start of our getaway was pretty challenging but thanks for being on my shoulder Pat. I owe you one.

I’ve been working on posting pictures (thanks for the advice Fabila) Hope it works!!!!

Attached Files 7F3C9275-1552-424B-B42C-3EE95B42D9CB.jpeg969E8D2E-6F87-4FE5-85BB-F3745C69831F.jpeg9873D7CF-45F9-4721-85D4-9B089435CA91.jpeg
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Re: St. Maarten Here We Come…well, maybe… [Re: Teresasxm] #291630
11/25/2022 10:36 AM
11/25/2022 10:36 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
Traveler
Carol_Hill  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Wow! Scary stuff! Hope everything turns out OK!


Carol Hill
Re: St. Maarten Here We Come…well, maybe… [Re: Teresasxm] #291631
11/25/2022 11:00 AM
11/25/2022 11:00 AM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,408
Yonkers, NY
fabila Offline
Traveler
fabila  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,408
Yonkers, NY
Pictures look good.

Wishing you a quick recovery from Shingles. My sis and mom had/have them. Not fun.

Re: St. Maarten Here We Come…well, maybe… [Re: Teresasxm] #291632
11/25/2022 12:35 PM
11/25/2022 12:35 PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,141
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
islandgem Offline
Traveler
islandgem  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,141
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Sorry to hear about your health delima. You must be careful now and get lots of rest as shingles can spread to other parts of the body and that is very painful. I am actually surprised that the doctor said you could travel now. Try to enjoy your trip.There is a very good ophthalmologist clinic in Marigot.I had a friend go there for eye problems last week.




Re: St. Maarten Here We Come…well, maybe… [Re: Teresasxm] #291633
11/25/2022 12:50 PM
11/25/2022 12:50 PM
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
pat Offline
Traveler
pat  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
I am so glad the doctor gave you his okay and you were otherwise good to go. Enjoy your trip and and up-date us on it as you choose. 🙂🙂


Respectfully,

pat



"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them."
Re: St. Maarten Here We Come…well, maybe… [Re: Teresasxm] #291634
11/25/2022 01:28 PM
11/25/2022 01:28 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,476
Ohio
ruralcarrier Offline
Traveler
ruralcarrier  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,476
Ohio
Hope things work out and glad you got to go. Many years ago, I had a very mild case of shingles surface (not in my eye) just prior to a trip. I went and everything worked out fine. Good luck.


J.D.
Re: St. Maarten Here We Come…well, maybe… [Re: Teresasxm] #291635
11/25/2022 02:18 PM
11/25/2022 02:18 PM
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 131
Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
C
CaribbeanCanadians Offline
Traveler
CaribbeanCanadians  Offline
Traveler
C
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 131
Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
I got a bad case of shingles last March in Roatan, Honduras and was able to hang on for another week until we left.
At least there are some good doctors in St. Maarten for good meds. Hope you will get better soon and enjoy your holiday.


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