Day 7

Our last full day in Samoa we wanted to spend some quality time on the beach. We asked a few locals who all recommended Lalomanu Beach on the southeast corner of the island. This area also took a direct hit from the tsunami almost a year ago.

We made a quick stop at the market place for some final souvenirs and then headed 80 minutes toward the Aleipata district.

You can see from this photo above how high the water came up onto shore. It is truly hard to comprehend, but the ruins that still liter the lower district are stark reminders.

We saw a lot of deserted homes with only the tombstones that remained in front of the property.

We also saw structures that looked like they had remained untouched since the devastation.

In all the different areas we drove through, this is one of the only makeshift crosses we saw. Every other burial place was quite elaborate and well-marked.

The ruins of homes with new cinder blocks next them became a familiar sight in the area.

Here are the remains of a home's foundation and the resilient grave of loved ones.

From what we were told, the beach area and reef system along the coast has completely changed. It is obvious from above water that there is still a lot debris, but despite the beauty of the reef system below the water, locals say it has disrupted the ecosystem.

This beach was particularly beautiful because of its close proximity to outlying islands that are conservation areas.

Lalomanu Beach looking eastward--notice all the construction of beach fales underway.

The beach fales looking westward are also new. The entire beachfront was wiped out during the tsunami.

This beach had the most people on it. We met families from New Zealand and a group of Aussie surfers who were also staying here.

After a few hours on the beach, Hilary was playing with Julia in the water while the rest of us lounged on the beach. We heard Julia say that Hilary needed our help and I guess from the looks of things it didn't seem serious so Dan and I were slow to get up and head over to the water.

We saw that Hilary was unable to stand and that she was in a lot of pain. We lifted her out of the water and my first reaction seeing her foot bleeding profusely was that she had cut herself on coral. However, she said it didn't feel like that and that her foot was going numb. A woman from New Zealand ran over to us and said she thought Hilary had stepped on a sea urchin. By this time, a local young man, who also happened to be the beach's first aid "helper" came over and kept saying something about the poison and getting her to a hospital. As Hilary cried out in more pain and continued to go numb, I started to freak out a little. The young man, Tele, accompanied us to the nearest hospital (which miraculously was only a 5 minute drive). He asked us to put some clothes over Hilary (which I thought was very gentlemanly) and he lifted her onto his back.

Tele wrapped his shirt in her bloody foot and then made a torniquet out of it to keep the poision localized in the foot as much as possible.

We drove up to the hospital, pictured below. It really looks nicer on the outside than on the inside. The building is simply two cinder block rooms with concrete floors and a bed in each room. The nurse was awesome and calmed all of our fears. She explained that the sea urchin's poison is very painful and can cause fever, numbness, discomforts of all kinds, but it is not deadly. As the nurse methodically cleaned Hilary's foot, Dan leaned over Hilary and gave her a priesthood blessing. At this point, we felt relieved and so grateful for all the kind people who were put in our path that day and that there was a hospital so close.

The nurse counted over 14 puncture wounds, wrapped her foot and gave her a tetanus shot to prevent infection. Total cost for this "ER" visit: 25 tala or about $12 U.S. Talk about cheap!

Tele with the girls before we headed back to the hotel.

Hilary kept her foot elevated as much as possible for the rest of the day. She also loaded up on IB profin and Tylenol which helped with some of the pain and resulting fever.

While we were at the hospital, a nice family from New Zealand hung out with the other 3 girls. They watched the locals go into the ocean, hunt the sea urchin and bring it out of the water. Before the tsunami sea urchins were never a problem. Since then, they have infested the area and the locals are doing all they can to keep them out. I wish Emily would have gotten a picture of the creature, but it looks pretty much like a large ball with quills that stick out like a porcupine. The quills that can't be pulled out dissolve in the body over time.

We wound our way through the mountains and back down to Apia to clean up and begin packing for the long trip home. We also talked about how blessed we had been that day. The nurse at the hospital told us there were only 4 hospitals on the island and that we were at one of them. There are only 2 ambulances for the entire island as well. While Hilary's injury wasn't life threatening, we were so thankful that there had been knowledgeable and kind people in our midst that were willing and able to help us get her the care she needed. I can't imagine how much scarier this incidence would have been if we had been all alone on a desereted beach, having no idea what had happened to her and hours away from any healthcare. We all agreed that we had really been blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord!

Julia took over the camera and kept herself occupied taking photo after photo from the car window...

and a few of herself! So glad that all the drama had happened on the last day because Hilary ended up hardly being able to walk for a few days after.