jendeli
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
Ok, so here it goes. We were in Nassau that day but decided to stay on the ship. After dinner my daughter who is 7 started complaining of pains in her stomach. We thought it was gas so my husband and I stayed in the room with her and watched movies while her brothers went to kids club. Well the pain got worse, my daughter was in the fetal position trembling in pain and then I noticed she was starting to spike a fever. I ran down to guest services where they put me on the phone with the ship's nurse. She told me bring her down to deck 1 medical to have her examined by the doctor. Well in the docs office they did a urinalysis on her and told us that she needed to be transfered to the local ER because it was looking like an appendicitis that could require surgery. I was told to "Get your passport, the ship leaves in 3 hours, so prepare to disembark." Wait......I dont have a passport, I am here on a birth certificate and ID! I was then told "They wont deny your daughter because she is a child, but it is ilegal for you to stay in this country without a passport." To which I responded, "I am not leaving my daughter." At that point I was fighting back tears. The port authority told me "For now, lets get to the ER and while you are there I will see what I can do for you." So he took us to the ER in Nassau. It was a little run down and a little dirty but the staff there was excellent. I then suffered the longest 3 hours of my life. I am an anxious person, so I dont handle things like this well. Especially because I had no way of communicating with my husband who was still on the boat with my 2 sons and would arrive at CC the next morning without us? And if we didn't get back on the boat in time, when would I talk to him again? In 3 days when the ship pulled back in port? Would he even know what was going on with his daughter? To top it off my daughter was crying, she was in pain, and she wanted to bad to get back on the ship. It was heartbreaking. Well, at this point in the story it starts to get better. Her appendix was fine. She had some other things going on that could be treated with antibiotics and we could get back on the ship. It was 119 am and the ship left at 2. I paced the floor, waiting and waiting for the doc to type the discharge papers. At 140 I was told that the port authority was out front waiting to take us back to the ship. At that point the man who takes care of insurance stopped me and said,"We need to settle up before you leave." AHHHH! So I quickly paid the bill, (which was more than the cost of the cruise) and holding my daughter, ran to the car that was waiting to take us back to the ship. We boarded the ship at 1:53, greeted by a very happy group of cast members, and were able to finish our vacation as a family. SIGH
So that's my story. I thought I'd share it here so if any of you are thinking of traveling without a passport, think again. It could happen to you.
I just want to add that the staff on the Dream was awesome, including the medical staff, before and after our little adventure. Oh, and check with your insurance before you travel outside the country. The hospital did not accept foreign insurance, so we are now waiting to see if we can be reimbursed.
So that's my story. I thought I'd share it here so if any of you are thinking of traveling without a passport, think again. It could happen to you.
I just want to add that the staff on the Dream was awesome, including the medical staff, before and after our little adventure. Oh, and check with your insurance before you travel outside the country. The hospital did not accept foreign insurance, so we are now waiting to see if we can be reimbursed.
. I can only imagine what you were going through and the anxiety you felt! 
