[Just Susan]

This is the 1st email from my friend.

Beginning of quote:
I'm sure you're wondering why I am writing to you when we are suppposed to
be on this fabulous cruise. But the unthinkable has happened. After a day of
cold rainy weather touring Tallinn, Estonia, we returned to the ship and
(XXXX) suffered an aneurysm in his head. He had taken a hot shower and we
were getting dressed to meet the others when the top of his head hurt
incredibly!! I called the clinic right away and they sent a wheelchair as he
also lost the feeling in his legs for 5-10 minutes. Luckily, our room was
right down the hall from the clinic and the Dr assessed him quickly and did
an x-ray but said he must have a CT scan which they do not have on board.

So she called the paramedics to take us to the hospital in Estonia, and I was
told to quickly pack our bags. Now there was no way I could "quickly" pack 2
weeks worth of clothes, so I packed an extra set and hopped on the
ambulance. At that time I really thought all would be well and they could
ferry us to St. Petersburg the next day to catch up with the ship. This was
the scariest ride of my life. Not only worried about (XXXX), but weaving
through traffic.

About 20 minutes to the hospital and they left me in a waiting room for 2
hours while they examined him and confirmed he had an aneurysm. I found
myself in a foreign country with no local money to even get a cup of coffee,
and most cabs and restaurants did not accept American dollars.

They were keeping (XXXX) horizontal to prevent further damage from blood in the brain, and I could join him in the emergency room. They sedated him and he slept most of the time. Meanwhile a rep from the ship did come to the hospital and took me to a hotel...decent, but $25 each way by cab.

The next day he needed surgery but they realized they did not have the
equipment as it was very large piece to clip off and they would have to go through the brain. Insurance became an issue as I could only produce our cards.

Finally a very helpful neurologist thought of calling the US Embassy in
Estonia. After many attempts, she reached a wonderful man who looked up our passports, knew the phone # for the AIG travel insurance we had taken out and set up several 3 way calls to get this all straightened out. AIG said we could go to Paris or Helsinki to have the surgery by medical evacuation.
But the flights were 25 minutes versus 2+ hours, so they chose Helsinki,
Finland.

At 9 am the next morning we were on a small plane with a Dr, 1 paramedic and 2 pilots and me. An ambulance met us at the airport and I was in for another scarey ride. By 12:15 (XXXX) was in syrgery. It only took about 1 and 1/2 hour and things went well. Because he had regained his ability to move before he left the ship, they feel he could make a full recovery, but cannot promise anything.

It is now 2 days since surgery and he has not woken up yet. He is on a
ventilator breathing for him which they will remove as soon as he awakens. We talk loudly to him and squeeze his hands but little response yet. He probably wants a break from my constant chatter.

My hotel is only 4 blocks from the hospital so I can walk but it is very
cold, about 40-45 degrees. I may buy a winter coat since he will be here 10 or more days for recovery. We planned on 65degrees for most cities we were visiting so I have no warm clothes.

Copenhagen and Berlin were awesome and we were having a great time with our dear friends. The ship docked in Helsinki yesterday so they got into our stateroom and packed up the rest of our belongings, then brought them to me at my hotel so I had more clothes. Thank God! I wore the same slacks for 4 days. They were able to see (XXXX) through a window and I pretended that Linda was his sister so she could go in and see him.

I figured she might ask some good medical questions, and she did!! Such wonderful friends..we walked around Helsinki and saw the highlights before they returned to leave on the ship. Then I went to the hospital where we again tried to wake (XXXX) to no avail.

Again, our family is asking for your prayers. Bruce has been my caregiver
for years and now I can pay him back but this foreign country business is
unbelieveable! I get lost as none of the streets criss cross, they curve and
intersect. Prices are very high for everything but they use the euro and I
haved changed $ and found a small grocery store.

I must hurry as the computer is going to cut me off in 2 minutes, but I
could write a book.