Vacation Part 2: Overlooking the REAL danger in Mexico

Before we left for Mexico, there was some concern about the safety of traveling there with the recent violence and problems at the borders. However, the place where we crossed did not have a history of trouble so we went for it. We did not have any problems and on the plus side, everything was much less crowded.

After all, we had the protection of this safety pin?


My trouble came in the form of a stingray. On my birthday. We were all enjoying one last morning swim before driving back to Arizona. The water was clear and calm and perfect for a leisurely swim. Until I stepped on this little guy...


I felt a sharp stab or bite and bolted out of the water. When I finally dared to look down, I just saw blood gushing out of my foot and I never looked at it again until about 8 hours later. Everyone sprung into action running for the first aid kit and fresh water. My medical school brother was there and tended to the wound very calmly. The pain was crazy, like a bee sting times 100. I remember thinking that I would have rather been in labor. I started to go into shock, partly because we really didn't know what had attacked me. There was a 4-man carry to get me back to the house and then I was hauled off to the Red Cross.



The woman at the Red Cross immediately identified the wound as a stingray and luckily Ben was there to translate since she did not speak English. She cleaned the wound again and then gave me a whole bunch of shots of lidocaine in my foot to numb the pain. Nothing happened though and she said the pain would go away in 2-4 hours, which it finally did. I don't know if it was my body's reaction to being in shock, or the lidocaine, but I kept having a serious need to urinate. (Translation: peeing in a cup on the side of the road in nowhere Mexico on the way to the border.)



My family still managed to present me with a delicious cake that evening and it was fun to be able to spend my birthday with my entire family.