All's Well That End's Well

Finally, a finishing post to end this blog ...

We are pleased to report that Jim and Betty are fit and well, with their ordeal well behind them.

Upon their return from Australia they put their minds to the task of finding a house to live in - mission accomplished.

In this photo - happy and healthy with their family - Pete, Betty, Michelle, Jim and Nick.

Thank you for reading this blog, your kind wishes, and your comments.

Farewell.

CHERYL (Pete Judd's Partner)

AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

Finally, a finishing post to end this blog ...

We are pleased to report that Jim and Betty are fit and well, with their ordeal well behind them.

Upon their return from Australia they put their minds to the task of finding a house to live in - mission accomplished!

In this photo - happy and healthy with their family - Pete, Betty, Michelle, Jim and Nick.

Thank you for reading this blog, your kind wishes, and your comments.

Farewell.

CHERYL (Pete Judd's Partner)

Doing well ...

Just a brief note to say that Jim & Betty are doing really well. Betty is now getting out and about, driving, etc., and is back to her usual bubbly self.

Jim is also doing really well, getting out for small walks, but still needs to take it easy.

They will be heading over to Australia next month for a few weeks to get away from the NZ winter and to rest and relax in some lovely warmth.

They are living at Michelle & Richard's at the moment and can be contacted there. If anyone needs contact details, please email me on goddymail@gmail.com and I can provide those details. Not sure about putting them up on a public website!!

Home Sweet Home

Apologies everyone for the lack of information over the last week. It was unclear exactly what day Jim & Betty were going to depart Cusco, then once they left we lost some time with time zones! On a flight that went from Cusco, to Lima, to Santiago, Auckland and to Napier, Jim & Betty were accompanied by a doctor the whole way and were treated to first class travel. Jim was on oxygen and had his blood pressure monitored the whole way.

They arrived in Napier this morning to a welcoming committee of Pete and Michelle, as well as an ambulance waiting to take Jim to hospital. He was discharged a couple of hours later after a thorough checkover. He will be visiting his own doctor on Monday also. While he has lost a lot of weight, Jim's arm injury has healed well (it was a very very bad gash caused by the buckle of the seat belt). He also has a small lesion on his leg which will hopefully fully heal soon. His breathing is much freer now they are in a kinder climate and as the day has progressed he is starting to look better and better. His blood pressure has reversed - it has gone from being high and is now very low, causing his fingers to be completely white from lack of blood circulation, but with rest it will all settle down. He is lacking in energy and quite tired, but still has his sense of humour ...

He told us a story this afternoon - on the plane on the way over the choice of meal included chicken. Yeah right. So Jim chose to have scrambled eggs. "Baby chicken" commented the travelling doctor! Jim just had to laugh!

Betty is looking good and despite her ribs still being a little sore, she is in good spirits. She did a fantastic job in dealing with everything while Jim was ill.

They are both very glad to be home, but sad they were unable to get to the UK to see Nick.

From Monday Jim will hopefully have access to the internet and will make some comments on the blog himself. We have a laptop for him and just need to get a T-Stick or Vodem for him, which we'll try and do on Monday.

While Jim and Betty are very grateful for everyone's concern, they just need a couple of days to settle, they've had a very trying few weeks, a very long flight and need a good couple of nights sleep, and a few naps during the day.

They are staying at Michelle's for now, but please do not just drop in at this stage, and they will contact everyone in due course and catch up - as you can imagine, hundreds of phone calls could become quite stressful for them.

Again, thank you all for your kind wishes, emails and cards, plus the phone calls to Michelle and Pete, and in advance for your understanding about their need to just recover for a couple of days.

The photo in this post was taken tonight.

P.S. They are NOT having chicken for dinner tonight!!

Chicken, chicken and more chicken!

Jim and Betty are sick of eating chicken ... the only chicken they want to see is one running around a paddock!! But there was a change to the menu - Betty ate guinea pig - and it tasted like chicken!! Jim ate alpaca and loved it ... he made references towards Michelle & Richard's neighbour who has an alpaca and said to make sure it was well locked up when he gets back!!

Jim had his second shower today, and has had no oxygen for 2 days now.

It looks like they will be heading for Lima in the next few days and staying there for an as yet undetermined period of time until they are well enough to undertake long haul travel, when they will then head back to New Zealand. On the flight to Lima Jim will be allocated 3 seats and a medical person will travel with them.

Another Update from the NZ Embassy, Santiago

From: LUXTON, Cecilia (SGO)
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 7:56 PM
To: Nick
Subject: Update

Hi Nick

I talked to your father earlier today. He is feeling much better. His blood pressure is good and he is off the drip and oxygen and is moving around.

They have not heard from the insurance company but expect some news about being flown to Lima soon, hopefully by Saturday.

Have you been in touch with them? I hope to get details of their accommodation in Lima, before they leave Cusco.

Anyway, as you can see, it's all good news.

All the best

Cecilia

Time and Healing

Jim's general condition is definitely improving. He lacks energy but the situation with Cusco's high altitude is not the best. However, he has been through a lot so time will now be the healer.

Jim and Betty are receiving great support from Rotary, the British Embassy in Chile and the NZ embassy in Peru.

Welcome Visitors

Pete spoke to Betty this morning.

The hospital has 24 rooms over 7 floors and is well equipped. Takes about 15 minutes to get any hot water though! They are not sleeping well as they are uncomfortable (not sure if that is the beds or more likely because of the broken ribs).

She advised that Jim is doing well - he gets the last of his arm stitches out in about 4 days time. He is now going for short walks, but gets very puffed.

The past District Governor (Rotary) picked Betty up and took her to his home to meet his family, which was a really nice thing to do.

She went to the airport to meet Keri & Dermot and they were all very happy to see each other.

We also received the following email from Keri and Dermot:

We arrived in Cosco today to be met by Betty - a good sign we thought. We visited Jim in the hospital and were pleased with how he is looking. He looks a bit drawn but considering what he has been through that is to be expected. He has not got much energy but is improving each day. Today he had steak, mashed potatoes and veggies and really enjoyed it.

Betty is looking very well even though she is still in a bit of pain. She was her usual bright self.

They are receiving great support from the local Rotary clubs (3) - loads of sweet goodies to eat, or perhaps not.

I think that you can assure everybody that they are in good hands.

Seeing them again tomorrow.

Cheers Keri and Dermot

Oh for a Steak Dinner!

The food - rice, chicken, pasta, rice, chicken, rice, chicken, pasta, chicken!! Jim is really struggling with the food - so out went Betty and came back with a steak dinner with mashed potatoes and vegetables! The biggest smile he's had in the last 2 weeks!!

It looks like they'll be in hospital for around another 5 days at this stage. Both their lung capacity is improving - with Jim getting 80% oxygen and Betty 90%. Jim even managed to go without oxygen for 3 hours yesterday. Apparently when Keri & Dermot arrived they felt the lack of oxygen due to the altitude straight away.

Jim is now able to walk to the bathroom and can shave himself, although the effort to achieve this does leave him very tired. He hasn't been able to have a real shower for 14 days, so is really looking forward to that! See, we knew Betty was a trained nurse for a good reason!

Where the drain was taken out from his chest is healing well, however, unfortunately Jim's arms are not healing as well as they should and he still requires some healing on those. Taking the stitches out was apparently excruciating.

If anyone wants to phone them, it needs to be around 10am NZ time (5pm Cusco time) as Betty is starting to get out and about a bit, so won't always be near the phone earlier on.

Progress

Jim has now had his drain and catheter out, but is still on oxygen and still has a drip in. His blood pressure is lower (due to drugs!). He has now eaten 2 meals, yesterday and today.

Betty is doing really well - her broken ribs are still very sore and sometimes cause some difficulty with her breathing, and make lying and sitting down uncomfortable, but she's grateful that she is well enough to assist Jim with tasks such as cleaning his teeth, etc.

Betty's shopping trip was really for a few essentials, i.e., bottled water and tissues from the supermarket. She also had her glasses repaired, which were damaged in the accident.

The city is amazing - she's just sad Jim is not getting to see it. They only had 2 days there before the accident happened.

Interestingly the hospital, while technologically superb, runs out of things like toilet paper - it turns up eventually, but sometimes having to make do with tissues till it arrives. Same with bottled water, which they use to clean their teeth with, and drink ... those cups of tea are still elusive - one for breakfast and one for dinner!

They will have been in hospital for 2 weeks on Monday ...

They are really looking forward to Keri & Dermott's arrival - they will be staying at a hotel about 2 km away from the hospital - but that's OK, taxis are in abundance over there and are really cheap to use (should you want to.... !).

Betty is really grateful for the amazing support they have received from Rotary members. Thank you.

Their room at least is looking bright and cheery, the owner of the hotel they had been in gave them a pot plant, and they received a couple of baskets of flowers from Nick & Erina and from Pete & Michelle and families.

Will give you an address for cards etc as soon as we can.

Same stuff, different day!

Another day passes, and not much to report. Jim has had the shunt taken out of his lung, which is great news. His catheter will be coming out today or tomorrow (fingers crossed!).

They are hopefully going to Lima on Monday or Tuesday - if the insurance company OK the decision to move to a hotel, not a hospital!

Message to Nick from NZ Embassy, Santiago

Dear Nick

I have just been talking to your mother and she has given me a good update on your father's health situation. Jim continues to slowly improve, his blood pressure is now under control thanks to medication (the altitude in Cusco does not help), but he still is on a drip.

Following is a message from her to you:

"We love you and miss you and look forward to joining you in London. We still don't know when we will be flown to Lima, it's a decision to be taken by medical staff and travel and medical insurance companies. So, we just need to take each day as it comes. We are still thinking of going to the South of Spain to recover from this ordeal and then to London to be with you."

It's hard for them to make telephone calls from the hospital. And by the way, they have been moved to Room 606, which is nicer and sunnier, which makes things at least look a little bit better.

Best regards

Cecilia Luxton
________________________________________

Cecilia Luxton
Consular Officer
New Zealand Embassy
Santiago

Friday 14th May 2010

We finally managed to get through this morning - their phone hadn't been set up properly. They have now been moved to a new room - and it's even nicer than the previous one - it's the presidential suite!!

They are both well, however, Jim is not healing as fast as anticipated, mostly due to the altitude. He should have the stitches out of his arm in a few days and hopefully the chest drain will hopefully come out in a couple of days also. Oxygen remains for now!

The Rotary District Governor from 2 years ago has visited them, as has the secretary of the British Consulate. She has asked Betty if she would like to go shopping this afternoon, which will be lovely for her to finally get out!

Some of you have tried to email or phone Jim & Betty, however, without much success. Please feel free to leave messages on this blog for them (instructions how to are in the comments of yesterday's post). Your comments are being passed on to them on a daily basis.

Jim and Betty would like to thank everyone for their messages and appreciate the concern everyone has shown.

Unfortunately we haven't been able to get through on the phone this morning, so no update today. We believe they have changed rooms and are now in room 606.

22 degrees, partly cloudy and 25% humidity!

In a day of 22 degrees and 25% humidity, Jim had his first shave on his own - the effort left him so tired he had to have a nap afterwards! His blood pressure has stabilised and the medical team hope to remove the drain tomorrow. They've had to keep moving the needles because his veins keep collapsing, so I'm sure he'll be glad to see the end of those!

He now has stitches in his arm to heal the laceration, and hopefully these will come out in around 5 days.

Sometime during the next 5 days they will move to a hotel near the airport and then as soon as Jim is fit to fly they will transfer to Lima to be at sea level.

Betty is doing well, but still in a bit of pain from the broken ribs - which will no doubt continue for a wee while yet.

Contact Details

At the moment their contact details are as per below, however, there is a chance they could be moving to Lima in around 4 days. Cusco is around 10,000 feet above sea level which is adding to Jim's breathing difficulties, however, Lima is at sea level so his recovery will be that much faster if they are moved.

Jim & Betty Judd

Room 604

San Jose Clinic
Los Incas Avenue 1408-B
Cusco
Peru

Phone number for the clinic is +51 84 24 3367

If we hear they are moving or anything, we will update this web blog.

Please feel free to leave messages for Jim & Betty in the comments part of this blog - we will relay any messages to them, and once online, they will be able to read them also.

Tuesday 11th May 2010

Betty was in good spirits when we spoke this morning (8am NZ = 3pm Cusco). They've had a few visitors which has been nice for them - one of their rescuers has visited them, and a lady from New York that was in another taxi has been in touch with them, and also they've been contacted by the NZ Consulate, which is reassuring for them. There are quite a few nurses and doctors at the clinic who speak relatively good English, and one nurse in particular is wonderful and really goes out of her way to look after them.

They are finding that the food is not quite what they are used to and getting a cuppa is like pulling teeth - really hard! One in the morning for breakfast and that's it! But they are very very grateful for everything they receive.

Betty is feeling really good, but is still on pain killers (3 broken ribs). After starting off in quite a serious condition, things are looking up for Jim, although he is still on oxygen and still has the drain from his lung. They are going to have another look at his arm and hopefully decide what to do with it. There is quite a gouge in it. Bruises are now starting to show up!

Jim's sister Keri and her husband Dermott, who are also travelling at the moment, will be visiting them on Saturday for 2 nights so they are really looking forward to that.

Jim & Betty's Adventure

Welcome to our blog to keep friends and family updated on how Jim & Betty are faring in Peru. We don't have a lot of information right now, but will update this blog whenever we get some more news.

Jim & Betty Judd are currently away on an overseas trip that involves travel in South America, a nephew’s wedding in Equador, travel to the UK and was also to include a Rotary Exchange in Essex.

Last Wednesday (5th May), in Cusco, Peru, the taxi they were travelling in swerved to miss a vehicle coming toward them on the wrong side of the road, hit an obstacle, went airborne and went down a small bank.

They both suffered several broken ribs, and Jim also suffered a punctured lung and a lacerated arm. Jim is currently on oxygen (the altitude in Peru will not be helping) and has a drain from his chest cavity, which is apparently working well. He only has around 15% lung capacity at the moment, but his breathing is improving a little each day. He is now eating (soup). The medical team are working to fix his lung in particular, and also repair his arm.

Unfortunately these injuries require time to heal. They didn't make it to the wedding and are very sad to have missed this.

They are currently resident in the San Jose Clinic in Cusco, Peru (have a look - it appears to be a state of the art facility - http://www.sanjose.com.pe/) and are receiving excellent care.

Jim & Betty and their family wish to thank all those caring friends and family members who have phoned to show their concern and send their love and best wishes to Jim & Betty.

Their insurance company I believe have been wonderful, as has Harrison from House of Travel in Hastings, in assisting them with rearranging their trip (i.e., putting everything on hold until they are both well enough to travel).