Kelly McGuinnes - we've lost a friend

That's way too young. I'm sorry you lost your friend & it's a real shame for her family.

Kelly will indeed be missed. My husband and I first met her at Off the Wall. Will never forget her great smile and sassy attitude. She was far too young and leaves behind two beautiful young sons that she loved deeply. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.

Is it true that 911 refused to go because the road to her house was too bad?
That is what I heard and that her neighbor who is a policeman tried to help her and then drove her to the hosipital.

I don't know. But I've been on her road once and that was PLENTY. It's the worst I've ever seen on STX and that is really saying something!!

Yes! Kelly told us numurous times that the ambulance would not go up to her house because of the hill to her house. She said she had to have someone drive her down or she would drive herself to meet the ambulance. Sad situation when you can't get help. Any help on the way in the form of the government - I think not

There are a number of factors that make ambulance service tricky on STX.

First, of course, is the service itself.

But equally important is the topography of STX. Many people live on private roads with no mail delivery. The do have "addresses", but no one ever uses them. The roads are often in poor condition. Sometimes the property owners can't afford better. Sometimes the roads are allowed to deteriorate to discourage tourists and burglers. Since we only have two ambulances in operation at any one time, the ambulance crews will not risk their vehicles on these roads. And because they are private, the government cannot maintain them.

Residents usually plan for this. Ric and I realized early on that if we couldn't give directions to WAPA or Innovative we would be in trouble in an emergency. We wrote out directions and now know them by heart. But even so, in the case of a medical emergency, stroke or heart attack, we would probably call 911 and plan to meet them at the bottom or our hill. It would be faster, no matter what.

This is no doubt a tragedy - what a young woman, and two children...it is very sad. All that being said, movers need to consider this if they have chronic health concerns that require instant action. It might make the difference in whether you pick that house on the ridge in the rain forest or whether you choose your homestead in a condo at Gallows. Ric and Linda have a good plan, but if they lived where Kelly lived.....well, all the directions in the world may not help if the road is in bad condition.

Because my husband has a condition that could recur and stop his respiration or heartbeat in a very short amount of time, the health care was definitely a consideration for us in our decision to return stateside. STX does not have the medical equipment required for emergent care to save his life - by the time he got to Miami (since the equipment is not in Puerto Rico either), he would be lucky to still be alive. I think retirees and baby boomers who will soon be retired might want to take this into consideration...it's a very small part of the picture, but it IS a part of the picture. The emergency room on STX is just a zoo a lot of the time as well - seriously understaffed and with equipment that is behind the times, as Alexandra pointed out in a recent post...just something to think about.

Becky,

You are absolutely correct. And this is a problem that people from most parts of the US would not even think of.

Hi Linda - So sorry to hear about Kelly. I too have asthma and was wondering what her care was in St. Croix - did she have a regular doctor and or was she on some kind of asthma control plan?

I had been thru that ambulance ordeal with Kelly at least 6 times. I would drive from F'sted to La Vallee in the middle of the night and always beat the ambulance. I drove the paramedics up and down her driveway most of the time in my jeep. I have even had to put her in the jeep and take her to the ambulance. I had been calling public works and the Delegates office for the last 5 years trying to get that road paved. They couldn't decide if it was a private road or public. I also got her phone red flagged and finally got it to the point where if it went out it was fixed immediately, thanks to a great Supervisor at the phone company. Ms. Rodriguez. Kellys neighbor works at 911 not police dept. Unfortunately there were other extenuating circumstances besides the delay in the ambulance, that helped cause her death. She was my best friend of 17 yrs. I will miss her greatly.We all need to stick together to get these roads paved, unfortunatly it was mainly Kelly's driveway the ambulance had trouble getting up not the whole road. I urge all residents of STX to contact the Delegates office or Govenors office to get these roads paved. Also get the Vermin that deal drugs, cocaine and crack put away for life and get the cops to do their jobs not bribes from these opporninist pigs.

Dear Jewell,

When Kelly spoke of her medical care to me, and realize I was not a close friend, she always indicated it was appropriate and adequate. Kelly's asthma was extreme.

Thanks Postal! I know who you are and I will call soon. But you said everything correct. I know you knew kelly a long time but the time I knew her I came to love her very much.

Postal.
I also know who you are. You happen to have emailed me to tell me about Kelly, and I was going to email you yesterday to tell you about this board and how they have been talking about the great Kelly and how wonderful she was and what a great person she was. You know me better as "Linda". I will miss seeing her in the future and I know how hard this is on you. I met Kelly 6 years ago and she befriended me from the first day I met her.
She will be missed and I will have a hard time going back to Cane Bay and Off the Wall in the future.
Keep in touch with me, "Postal"... and say Hi to "Big Phil" when you see him again.

Here's my email Linda. sjb17@jjuno.com

I never had the chance to know Kelly and I am so truly sorry for the loss you all have suffered but I want to thank you for taking the time to share what has happened. While my husband and I are fortunate enough to be in good health my sister (who hopefully will visit frequently once we move and hopefully move to the islands some day herself) needs to have easy access to medical services and knowing the risk and things we need to take into consideration regarding where to live could save either her life or the life of other people that move to the USVI so thank you so very much for sharing this tragic story that exposes the risks of living in the islands with a medical condition.