PART 6

 

Saturday 4 June 2011

We set out early for Murter. For today, I have planned two dives with diving school Najada near the Kornati-islands, a maritime nature reserve. With about 10 divers we take the boat out for about 40 minutes from the jetty in Murter to a location in sight of the islands. I am diving with experienced dive instructor Kurt. We see a fair amount of fish, but the cloudy sky above makes it relatively dark underwater. The fish swim at relatively great depth. We dive near a sunken island. When I resurface it all goes badly wrong.  I loose control over my arms and legs. I call for help and the boat captain rescues me out of the water. After the other divers have returned to the boat we go back to he port of Murter. Slowly it starts to dawn on me that I have probably got decompression sickness. Back in Murter an ambulance is ready. Erik has been called to the jetty too. I am transported at high speed to the hospital in Šibenik. Erik can barely keep up with the racing ambulance. A number of tests are carried out, an ECG is made as well as a CT-scan. It does not show any usable results. A helicopter is arranged to take me to Pula. In Pula there is decompression chamber. An ambulance takes me to an army helicopter base, where the chopper is waiting for me with its engines running. The ambulance nurses come with me on the flight. For them it is an adventure too. They take photos of the views through the windows. In Pula an ambulance is waiting for me and  with blazing sirens the journey continues to Pula's general hospital. First stop is the X-ray room for a thorax photo to rule out a pneumothorax. Then I am wheeled into the decompression chamber along with the consultant. We stay in there for around 4.5 hours. It seems like an eternity. When I get out I can move my legs and arms again. My vision is clearer too. A local journalist approaches me and asks if he can make a photo for the newspaper. I don't like the idea and that is respected. Next thing is an interview with the police. Aparently that is customary after a diving incident. Meanwhile Erik has arrived after a 6 hour drive up here. I have to stay the night in hospital on the neurology ward. Erik goes to a nearby hotel. It is a noisy and uncomfortable night. It feels as if I have stepped into a time warp 50 years back. The room doubles as a nurse station and an Intensive Cary Unit and I am surrounded by a large number of very seriously ill neurology patients. They are all - or so it seems to me - moaning, screaming an crying at the same time.

Sunday 5 June 2011

The next morning I wake up extemely hungry. I have not eaten for more than 24 hours. Erik gets me some bananas. The hospital breakfast does not arrive until 9.30 and defies any description and tastes miserably. After a few visits by the chief neurologist and the decompression specialist I am discharged from the hospital. I am still very weak on my legs, have trouble at keeping my balance and have hardly any energy. I am happy to be alive and on my feet again and in good spirits for the rest of our trip. We drive to hotel Pula, where Erik has found a room. The hotel is very popular with school groups and very noisy. We take it easy during the day and early evening we look for something to eat in the almost deserted centre of Pula.

Monday 6 June 2011 through Friday 9 June 2011

The next day I am still very weak on my feet. We call the hospital for advice. We are asked to come immediately. I am told to go into the decompression chamber again for 2.5 hours. It has a positive effect. The doctors advise an immediate return home in order to continue treatment there. The Assistance company that is helping us on behalf of my (travel) insurrance tells us that it is not possible to fly within 72 hours of hyperbaric treatment. It is airline policy. Our docters say that there is a no medical reason for not flying, but the airlines like to err on the side of caution. Waiting is detrimental for recovery so we decide to continue treatment here in Pula. The rest of the week I go in the chamber twice a day (one hour each time), together with other patients. It takes some effort to make it clear to the travel insurers that this change of plan is medically necessary and that they have issue a bank guarantee to the hospital. After a lot of phone calls they get the message. Outside treatment, I take a lot of rest and we do a few tourist visits around town, like the fortress and the Franciscan monastery. After three nights in Hotel Pula we move to Hotel Valsabion. It makes all the difference: away from the unruly school children we end up in a boutique hotel with a top notch restaurant and views of the Adriatic sea. This way we enjoy our stay a little bit more. Friday is my last treatment in Pula. I have now enough oxygen in my system that I can go without treatment for three days. We have arranged with the Institute of Hyperbaric Therapy in Rotterdam to continue the treatment on Tuesday.

Saturday 10 June 2011

Pula - Poreč - Pula: 120 km

For a much needed change of scene we drive up to Poreč - Porenzo in Italian. A small town on the Adriatic coast with a nice Venetian old centre that is heavily popular with visitors. Fortunately we are not in the high season yet and we have some space to move. The gigantic tourist resorts are happily some way away form the old town, so that it is - apart from the many visitors - still relatively unspoilt.  From the parking lot on the edge of town a busy shopping street leads straight into the old town. We pass a Venetian tower from 1448, now serving as an exhibition space. We continue via Dekumanska towards the Romanesque House, a extraordinary 13th century mansion with wooden balcony. We have a great lunch at Ulixes restaurant on a quiet courtyard. After lunch we visit the Euphrasius basilica from the 6^th century with magnificent byzantine mosaics. After that, I am completely nackered and we drive back to Pula.

At night we have a simple dinner at Pizzeria Pompei in the centre of Pula

Sunday 11 June 2011

Pula - Cres - Pula: 180 km

Today we make a longer trip. We drive to the Kvarner bay coast to the village of Brestova, where we take the ferry to the Island of Cres. The crossing takes about an hour and on Cres a beautiful yet barren mountain landscape awaits us. Large predator birds patrol the skies. We drive another half hour to the Island's capital Cres. Underway we get a phone call from the insurers that our return flight home and assistance have been arranged for Tuesday. In picture perfect Cres we have lunch on the Venetian looking waterfront at restaurant Riva. The servings are more than generous. I get two substantial pork chops. After lunch we drive to the mountain village of  Lubenice. Along very narrow roads through thick forest and olive groves we arrive at the village car park. We walk into the village, which is perched on a cliff above the sea. The views are great. An orchestra with tradtional bag pipes play to a small crowd on a side walk café.  We have a drink enjoying the view over mountains and sea and after that get back to the ferry. We are back in Pula around 7pm. We have dinner at the hotel Milan. I take the fixed menu Adria with shrimps and sea bass.

Weather: sunny and 27 degrees (81F)

Monday 12 June 2011

We take it easy hang around in the hotel. In the afternoon we go out for lunch at the reastaurant Kantina. Great salads. Back to the hotel. Erik takes a swim in the rooftop pool with a view. After a drink with bay view we have dinner in our hotel. It is a treat.

Weather: some cloud. 23 degrees.(72F) 

Tuesday 13 June 2012

We take an easy start into the day. We have a coffee on the hotel patio and around 11am we drive to Pula airport.  The Travel Assistance company has booked us on a direct flight to Amsterdam with Croatia Airlines. Erik returns the rental car at the airport and a wheelchair is arranged. We get assistance at check-in and getting through the security check. For boarding the aircraft I am wheeled through a separate gate and into a loading dock of some kind of truck. The truck brings us to the aircraft. We are then lifted to the aircraft door and via a gangway I get into the plane. We take off at 1.15pm. The flight is quiet: only 35 passengers. In Amsterdam we are transported on an electrical cart to the baggage claim area - another experience - and then on to special transport desk. There we are met by Piet van Leeuwen our driver who drives us home safely .

	Other Travel
back

 

terug