deepsea21
Contributor
So one of my worst nightmares came true (again)... Getting sick or injured just before a dive trip.
I managed to break my foot 36 hours before our flight down for our December trip. My Dr. told me that where this break of the 5th metatarsal was did not require a boot but to keep my weight off of it as best I could. When I told him I was going to MX in 36 hours to go diving he said I could dive if I wanted to but I probably would't want to as I couldn't take the pain. He wasn't aware that my pain tolerance is pretty high and I broke the same foot in a different place 2 years ago and went diving with that broken but that pain was no where near this level.
I took wheelchairs and beep-beep carts through all airports on the way down. My biggest fear was getting through the Coz airport but that was the best part of the flights down... An airport or AA employee was waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase with a wheelchair and took me through customs to the baggage pick-up and another loaded the bags at that pick-up. Then through the red/green light and on to the taxi ticketing window and all the way out to the vans. Yeah, they all got tipped heavily.
I had a 20 days of diving booked and notified Jeanie at 3P's what happened before we left and cancelled the first week of dives. Then I canceled a few more days. Jeanie said not to worry about it and just see how it goes. Finally, after spending 9 days in a lounge chair on the CM pool deck icing and elevating 5 hours a day followed by more icing and elevating in bed after dinner I got the swelling down to a point I figured I could get it in a boot and get it into a fin. That worked and I was able to fin back and forth across the little pool. Being weightless in the water finning really didn't hurt much but walking around putting any weight on it was not gonna happen for long.
So, it's time to start diving after 9 days riding a lounge chair but I can't walk much without it killing. Pony and Julio at the shop saw that I was picked up just outside the CM and driven as close to the boats at the marina as possible. DM Jose, Captain Chan Fran (Eagle Eyes) and even owner Steve hefted my tank/BC up the side after every dive so I could climb the ladder without all that weight. Coming back to town I was dropped off at the front of the CM. I ended up getting 10 days of diving in when I thought the trip would be a total bust. Had we booked any other destination we would have cancelled but Coz is cheap and I figured I'd rather ride a lounge chair for 3 weeks and watch the Coz world go by from the pool deck than sit at home watching TV and maybe I'd get a little diving in. 10 days of diving was way more than I expected and while I missed out on so much that I usually would have taken in walking about during the X-mas season I can't complain.
I couldn't be happier with the CM staff and the service they provided me. The breakfast crew let me hobble in from the 2nd floor every day through the roped off Covid barrier so I didn't have to climb those stairs (thanks Vincente & Synthia). Gustavo took care of filling multiple bags of ice throughout out the day and my new CM friend I got to know (can't remember his name right now) who cleans the pool and entry areas every morning brought out a cushion for my lounge chair every morning as soon as he saw me hobbling out here and before all the others were brought out around noon.
Long story short, what I thought would be an absolute disaster and a wasted dive vacation turned out to be as good as possible given the circumstances. As much as I've detested the Taxi Mafia over the years I have to say I was so happy to have them all lined up right across the street from the CM to shuttle me to and from all the various restaurants I'd usually walk to.
Thank you 3P's and all the CM staff!
I managed to break my foot 36 hours before our flight down for our December trip. My Dr. told me that where this break of the 5th metatarsal was did not require a boot but to keep my weight off of it as best I could. When I told him I was going to MX in 36 hours to go diving he said I could dive if I wanted to but I probably would't want to as I couldn't take the pain. He wasn't aware that my pain tolerance is pretty high and I broke the same foot in a different place 2 years ago and went diving with that broken but that pain was no where near this level.
I took wheelchairs and beep-beep carts through all airports on the way down. My biggest fear was getting through the Coz airport but that was the best part of the flights down... An airport or AA employee was waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase with a wheelchair and took me through customs to the baggage pick-up and another loaded the bags at that pick-up. Then through the red/green light and on to the taxi ticketing window and all the way out to the vans. Yeah, they all got tipped heavily.
I had a 20 days of diving booked and notified Jeanie at 3P's what happened before we left and cancelled the first week of dives. Then I canceled a few more days. Jeanie said not to worry about it and just see how it goes. Finally, after spending 9 days in a lounge chair on the CM pool deck icing and elevating 5 hours a day followed by more icing and elevating in bed after dinner I got the swelling down to a point I figured I could get it in a boot and get it into a fin. That worked and I was able to fin back and forth across the little pool. Being weightless in the water finning really didn't hurt much but walking around putting any weight on it was not gonna happen for long.
So, it's time to start diving after 9 days riding a lounge chair but I can't walk much without it killing. Pony and Julio at the shop saw that I was picked up just outside the CM and driven as close to the boats at the marina as possible. DM Jose, Captain Chan Fran (Eagle Eyes) and even owner Steve hefted my tank/BC up the side after every dive so I could climb the ladder without all that weight. Coming back to town I was dropped off at the front of the CM. I ended up getting 10 days of diving in when I thought the trip would be a total bust. Had we booked any other destination we would have cancelled but Coz is cheap and I figured I'd rather ride a lounge chair for 3 weeks and watch the Coz world go by from the pool deck than sit at home watching TV and maybe I'd get a little diving in. 10 days of diving was way more than I expected and while I missed out on so much that I usually would have taken in walking about during the X-mas season I can't complain.
I couldn't be happier with the CM staff and the service they provided me. The breakfast crew let me hobble in from the 2nd floor every day through the roped off Covid barrier so I didn't have to climb those stairs (thanks Vincente & Synthia). Gustavo took care of filling multiple bags of ice throughout out the day and my new CM friend I got to know (can't remember his name right now) who cleans the pool and entry areas every morning brought out a cushion for my lounge chair every morning as soon as he saw me hobbling out here and before all the others were brought out around noon.
Long story short, what I thought would be an absolute disaster and a wasted dive vacation turned out to be as good as possible given the circumstances. As much as I've detested the Taxi Mafia over the years I have to say I was so happy to have them all lined up right across the street from the CM to shuttle me to and from all the various restaurants I'd usually walk to.
Thank you 3P's and all the CM staff!
