IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?
It’s time for me to address one of the most frequent questions I’ve gotten so far:
“How did you convince Mandi to sail around the world with your three boys?”
Actually, Mandi was onboard with the plan from the beginning. But she did have one essential requirement- that we get prepared for any medical situation. Requiring medical care at sea was also one of my main concerns. With all the hype about pirates and storms, there is real danger in facing a medical issue in a remote location. Even a minor issue can develop into something major without proper diagnosis or timely treatment.
As our departure date grew closer, the medical question remained unsolved. We thought about taking EMT courses or adventure care courses, but nothing really seemed to meet our specific needs. We were fortunate to find MedAire, which provides medical kits and training, and MedLink which is the 24/7 telemedician service provided through MedAire (they were quick to help us solve our lice dilemma in Puerto Rico as you may recall). Then we discovered the final- and most crucial- piece to the puzzle, our Tempus IC unit.
The Tempus IC is our own personal vitals monitoring system. The live data provided to the
physicians at the MedLink location is the same information determined in an ER setting: heart
rate, blood O2 level, temperature, pulse, glucose level, blood pressure and even a 12 lead EKG
monitor. The unit is amazing; it takes photos and video and transmits the images to MedLink, so
it’s like having a doctor on board. After we learned about it, we knew we needed it in order to
have that last bit of confidence in making the trip.
Best of all – the monitoring is automatic so it’s very simple to use; both Griffin and Jake can
operate it. In fact, we anticipate that we will be in communication with the doctors at MedLink
via our Tempus unit more than we ever visited the doctor back home. The unit communicates
directly with MedLink via our satellite connection, or my cell phone or WiFi network. I push one
button and I’m talking to a health care professional. Awesome.
Tempus IC has become part of the family. We conduct routine drills using it so we all know
how to test everyone’s vitals. To make it more fun for the boys, we’ve tried using it as a “lie
detector.” Not only does this keep the boys interested, it teaches them about anatomy and
how to monitor different vital signs in each other. The game of trying to catch their brothers in
a lie helps to ensure that they place the different monitors in the correct place.
And MedLink has encouraged us to call often, even if it’s only about a scratch or the sniffles,
just so we can stay ahead of the curve. In some ways, Mandi and I are actually more confident
about caring for the boys with this system in place than we were in our home where we often
practiced the “wait and see” approach. Once again, advances in technology have allowed me to
be truly mobile with my family.
Remote Diagonostic Technologies, LTD.
Listen to Scott Leonard’s thoughts on RDT’s Tempus IC unit.
Guns on Board
There is a great deal of discussion about whether or not we should have guns on the boat. At the moment, our decision is not to bring guns with us. The reasons have to do with hassle, our own safety, and ultimately we are not confident that guns would accomplish their purpose due to the regulations imposed.
Is it important to keep in mind that the US has some of the most liberal gun laws in the world. Many countries are not happy when boaters bring guns within their borders. As a result, declaring guns to customs can substantially increase the time it takes to clear the boat and the fees that may be charged. Many times, the guns must stay locked in a container, with the ammunition locked in a different container, and a custom’s seal over the locks. As a result, the guns are not readily available for use. Unless an intruder is spotted, giving the boater enough time to unlock the gun and the ammunition and then to load, the guns lose their effectiveness and can potentially be used against the boater.
Another option would be to hide the guns on the boat and not declare them when entering a new country. This is not a good idea; the penalties for smuggling guns especially post 9/11 are extremely severe and not worth the risk.
So the boater is left with a dilemma. How do you insure the safety of your family and protect your possessions while cruising? The threat of pirates is very real, especially on open water. The answer, it seems, doesn’t lie with carrying firearms aboard your vessel.
Taser – Better than Guns
So how are we addressing the dilemma posed with the “Guns on Board” comments. We will have Tasers on the boat.
Man Overboard
The single biggest risk that keeps us awake at night is the threat of one of our children or one of us falling overboard, especially after dark. Finding someone in the water without light is nearly impossible. There are endless accounts of sailors dying of hypothermia while the crew of the boat is in the process of making a rescue. It takes time to maneuver a sailboat back against the wind. There are no breaks to stop a boat quickly and turn around. Pulling up alongside someone in the water, in any kind of swell, is difficult even for the most skilled captain.
One of the great design features of our boat, the raised fly bridge from which we sail, also separates the skipper from the rest of the crew. If one of the crew were to fall overboard, the skipper would most likely not even know it occurred. One piece of safety equipment we have added to each and every lifejacket is a man overboard alarm. This way, if someone were to fall overboard, an alarm sounds on the boat and the location is immediately plotted on the chart plotter. To help with nighttime recovery, there is a water-activated strobe light on each lifejacket.
Not to be fatalistic, but we treat a man overboard situation as a great possibility of loss of life. While we practice man-overboard drills, no one wants to have to rely on the ability of the crew to find you and pluck you out of the middle of the ocean. The safety strategy around this is to try and insure no one falls off the boat. Every lifejacket has a harness built into the lifejacket. If the seas are strong everyone connects a tether to their lifejacket to special lines run on the boat just for this purpose.
