Dangerous purse-snatching incident

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Tracy's back home, thanks in large part to JenLoves2Dive's assistance in getting her to the airport and plying her with restorative juices.

She is considerably more beat up than I'd thought. Apart from the fracture she has some truly impressive hematomas and scraped skin over large areas in several locations.

The clavicle fracture does not appear properly reduced to me, but that's not my specialty. She's going in to see an orthopedist colleague tomorrow.

I learned on the long drive home from the airport that her helmet was deeply gouged and might be cracked. She broke a tooth in the crash. At home we wear full-face helmets all the way, but she couldn't find one on the island. She got the best 3/4 helmet she could find and had the chinstrap tight, which might be why she doesn't have a brain injury. She thinks if she'd had the half-helmet more commonly seen on the island that she'd likely be minus an ear.

One of the problems was the lack of warning as the purse snatchers came from behind - she saw a hand reaching for her in her mirror right behind the crash, but had no time to brake at all, so she hit the ground at full speed. Amazingly, she rode the scooter home. She tried to get a taxi to take her to the hospital, but after a couple of calls it never arrived so she called our property managers Amber Hightower and Rodrigo Gonzalez from Your Cozumel, who took her right away.

I hope nobody needs it, but Sinergix, a combination ketorolac and tramadol ("Toradol" and "Ultram" to Americans) product is available OTC on the island and very helpful for bone pain.

United Airlines was impressively unhelpful. Gate personnel in Cozumel were helpful in getting her a seat that didn't have her broken shoulder hanging out into the aisle, getting her on the plane without jostling, etc. but the airline charged her to check the carry-on she could no longer carry. In Houston they were "unable" to reassign her to a more appropriate seat even though the flight was not full.
 
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Thanks so much for your honest disclosure and posting about your wife's ordeal. I've been going to Cozumel for many years, and we've been looking for a place there for a number of those years... eventually the right place at the right time will come up for us... Hell, I'm in the NYC area and we lived in NYC for many years. This sort of stuff doesn't discourage me from either coming to the island on vacation, or continuing to look for a home there.

Ultram has gotten me through a few surgeries and pain situations over the years. I had no idea it was available OTC in Cozumel. Good to know.

United... I am a longtime, loyal Continental customer. Since the merger, the "new" airline has taken every negative of UA and dropped all the great things CO offered.

Glad that your wife made it home safely... even if it required the assistance of "restorative juices." I hope she has a full recovery and is back in Cozumel enjoying your home there soon.
 
Thanks for the update and sharing the information about this horrible incident. It is a very strong and positive step to come forward.

As far as the treatment in general from United....well that does not surprise me. :sarcasm::yuck:
As far as the treatment and care given by Jennifer, :angel2: :yelclap:

Tracy's recovery is in my prayers.

Sue Sue
 
Dang, this story gets worse. I am glad she is home okay and was not hurt more severely. I suppose it would have been a bit much to request DAN's Travelers Assist to medivac. If you have the top plan, there is $10,000 in accident benefits to help pay what your other coverage misses, but mostly hope she recovers well - and gets to testify at the thug's trial. :mad:
 
Love to take full credit but ddeborahdelamar was very helpful in lining up help for Tracy and making sure we coordinated efforts to get her safely back home. I guess dragging her out to Rolandis for sunset dinner and some restorative juice (vino) didn't hurt either. :wink:

BTW, the "restorative" juice recipe he speaks of was me experimenting w my new juicer. I whipped up a blend of 3 carrots, 1 pear, 1 green apple, 3 stalks of celery, 1/2 c parsely, 1/2 cup wheat grass, 1 slice of fresh ginger, 1 mango, and 1 orange. Very sweet and delicious and she got plenty of Vitamin C, D, A, Beta-carotene, B complex and K. num...num...num

As far as United is concerned, I thought United was less than helpful (UNDERSTATEMENT). They charged her $40 for her 2nd "checked bag" because she was physically unable to carry it on herself. She had a small personal bag and then the small bag would have been her carry-on bag, but she was unable to carry it through security and onto the plane by herself. They could clearly see she had a full shoulder brace on, with her arm in a sling and lots and lots of dark bruising around the bandaging and a thick dressing/bandage on her leg. When I asked the agent (who remained equally unimpressed with her physical situation) why they didn’t have someone to help her with her bag, she said that they couldn’t possibly follow her with her bag to the plane (as there were only 3 agents behind the desk) to help her on. When I asked, if United had Handicapped Assistance, she squirmed and said “yes” in Houston but they didn’t have the manpower to help her in Cozumel. So technically United DOES have Handicapped assistance but not for the Cozumel flight portion. Personally, I think United owes you guys $40 and an apology.

It is also a reminder to be more aware of my surroundings and how I carry my purse when I am walking on the street. Walk facing traffic with my purse across my chest and the purse side facing away from the street.

Glad I could be of help but that's what Cozumel is all about. Hard way to meet my new neighbors but glad I got to meet Tracy. You are a lucky man. She is golden and I am happy to have made a new friend.



 
Personally, I think United owes you guys $40 and an apology.
Yep. It'd be good to pursue their customer relations department, but may not be worth the trouble.
 
She thinks if she'd had the half-helmet more commonly seen on the island that she'd likely be minus an ear.

United Airlines was impressively unhelpful. Gate personnel in Cozumel were helpful in getting her a seat that didn't have her broken shoulder hanging out into the aisle, getting her on the plane without jostling, etc. but the airline charged her to check the carry-on she could no longer carry. In Houston they were "unable" to reassign her to a more appropriate seat even though the flight was not full.

Those helmets they wear are barely better than no helmet, and when they have them loosely strapped on and hanging off the back of their heads, as is common, they are completely useless. Every time I see that I wonder what the rate of traumatic brain injury must be.

After just spending a bunch of time again on flights and in airports last week I just shake my head at how de-humanizing air travel has become. From the TSA people barking orders as you wait line up to go through security, to nickel-and-diming of customers by the airlines, to the cramped seats, delays and so on. What would it hurt to take an injured passenger up to an empty first or business class seat so they cold be more comfortable, or let them check a small bag for free or let a companion carry 2 bags onboard. I guess there is the argument that if you do it for one then you have to do it for all....

But still.....
 

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