The sun sinks down behind the calm Sea of Cortez at sunset with ripples of pink, orange, and purple dancing across the waves. The colors remain in the clouds until the last bit of sunlight has disappeared to give way to the bright stars visible from the beach at night. For years, I have watched sunrises and sunsets with the most important people in my life in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Before the condos starting springing up along Sandy Beach, I grew up spending holiday weekends and summers with family friends in big beach casitas.
The smell of fresh baked tortillas and sliced mangoes in the salty air is as familiar as the dust and dirt of the desert in my Phoenix home. I never guessed that my life might almost end in the very place I always felt the most safe and happy. But we can’t choose things like this; 7 years ago a traumatic experience in Puerto Penasco almost ended my life and forever changed my perspective about interacting with strangers. The day started off like any other, with a banana boat ride with my brother and a tennis match with my mom. After a walk on the beach with my boyfriend, our two families met for dinner at the grill. We all ate too many bacon wrapped shrimp for our own good and shared stories from the day. The trouble didn’t start until a bit later, when I felt like the floor was moving.
Feeling woozy all over, I got up and stumbled to the bathroom. My brain felt fuzzy and I was unsteady on my feet. I called out for help before I began retching all of the seafood I’d eaten in the past few days. After an hour of nonstop sickness, my parents decided to drive me to the nearest Mexican medical clinic. The doctor quickly started an IV and ran a quick series of tests. Still vomiting uncontrollably, I couldn’t comprehend what he was saying anymore. The doctor advised my parents to rush me to the States and to hurry because the border crossing would close at midnight and not open until the next day. I’m thankful that there were no police cars out that night as my dad sped through the desert, because the next day would have been too late. In the ER in Phoenix, doctors asked question after question but could not determine what the problem was. The decision was made to rush me into emergency surgery in the early hours of the morning. The Doctor had to remove a rare blockage to my intestines in order to to save my life, then I recovered in ICU before being transferred to a regular ward for a week long recovery period.
At first, I was afraid to return to Puerto Penasco, fearful of the bad memories and life threatening emergency that almost ended my trips to the beach forever. Anxiety edged into my mind because the doctor warned another incident was not only probable, but likely. Ultimately, it was the excellent care provided by the Mexican doctor and the help provided to me and my family by the some complete strangers while I was in distress that convinced me to face my fears, confident that if something did happen, people would once again help out. Just one year after the day my life almost ended in Mexico, I boarded a plane to Zambia to volunteer with AIDS/HIV orphans. The doctors advised against it and my parents took out an additional medical air evacuation policy for the duration of my trip, but I was determined to use my life to make a difference in someone else’s life. My near death experience in Mexico changed my perspective; now I feel much more as though we are all in this together. Instead of creating space between myself and the locals, I now strive to bridge the cultural gap and connect with the local people wherever I go.
My experiences have been so much more rewarding. I now look for opportunities to repay the kindness shown to me by complete strangers and I believe this keeps the chain of togetherness and cooperation between cultures in motion. My memories from Puerto Penasco still form a central part of who I am, only now I appreciate even more the time I spend walking in the sand with the people I love. Each new sunset and sunrise seems even more splendid than before. Mexico is the place where I feel most thankful to be alive. A traumatic experience met with resounding grace and kindness from strangers is enough to cause anyone to pause and reflect, I only wish I would have opened my eyes and heart wider sooner.
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