07/15/2022
I want to tell you all a story from our most recent trip to Mexico. Don’t worry; it’s a feel good story, even though the emoji sticker in the pic might suggest it’s not.
I look at this picture of myself and my son on the day we took our family to XCaret Adventure Park, and my mind immediately goes to the terror I felt when my son started running a high temperature in the middle of the sweltering jungle in a country that wasn’t my own.
Dusty knew there was a problem when he picked him up out of the stroller after a nap and his skin was hot to the touch. I decided to take him into a cool shower to try to cool him down, and despite being extremely lethargic, he cried out when the water hit his skin. His body immediately started shaking in feverish chills. My mind immediately went to the worst places.
We made it back to the resort and prepared to spend the night battling the fever. We administered Tylenol and took several nighttime tepid baths when the fever would spike. By morning, nothing had changed, so we decided to schedule a telehealth appointment with our pediatrician back in the US. Since our son didn’t have any other symptoms, she became very concerned and advised us to seek care in Mexico.
We had no clue where to start. First, we had to figure out where to go. Do we go to a hospital or try to find a pediatric office? There was also the language barrier. My Spanish is OK, but definitely not fluent enough to communicate in detail using medical vocabulary.
One great thing about our travel membership with Ocean is we get complimentary concierge and butler services during our entire stay, and every time we need help, someone is always there to assist us. That’s when we decided to reach out to Ramón. He was an H10 representative we had spoken to earlier in the week during our stay at Ocean Coral y Turquesa, and he had mentioned he had six kids.
Ramón told us to text him if we needed anything at all, so we took him up on this offer. “What would you do? Where would you take your kids if it was you?” Without hesitation, he said, “Take your son to the pediatric hospital in Cancún.” We immediately called for a taxi to make the 30 minute drive north. Much to our surprise, though, by the time we arrived at the hospital, Ramón was already there and had made arrangements for us to be seen by the pediatric physician. He walked us right into his office, they already knew our son’s name and the situation, and we were seen right away—no wait whatsoever.
The whole time we were at the hospital—navigating our way through different departments, getting lab work done, paying for services—Ramón was there, translating for us and reassuring us that everything was going to be OK.
This is the reason why I travel. I have these intense memories of people I’ve met throughout the years. For whatever reason, some people just stay with you. Maybe it’s a story they told, a kindness they bestowed, or just a magnetic personality. It doesn’t matter that I only had the pleasure of interacting with them once or that I may never see them again. They’ll be with me forever, affirming for me that human kindness exists everywhere and transcends race, creed, and nationality.
Ramón is that person for us in México. He had no incentive, no motivation to drive his own car to the hospital that day, to stay with us the two hours we were there, to then take us to the pharmacy to get medicine for my son, and finally to drive us back to the resort in his family car so we wouldn’t need to take another taxi. He just knew what it felt like to be a parent and to be scared for your child’s well-being.
Thank you, Ramón. I hope our families get the chance to go-kart together next time we’re in México. If not, that’s OK. We’ll remember your kindness forever.
