A Wyoming-based excessive distance jockey was left to fend for herself in Mongolia after race organizers “couldn’t give a crap” about what occurred to her when she fell too sick to compete within the 620-mile trek throughout the East Asian nation.
Dede Anders, 49, was a last-minute entry within the Mongol Derby and arrived in Mongolia on Aug. 1 after race organizers reached out to her final month when one other competitor dropped out, she advised the Cowboy State Every day.
From the nation’s capital of Ulaanbaatar, Anders took an eight-hour journey to the race start line and was all set to take the prolonged experience throughout the Mongolian Steppe.
The race — self-proclaimed because the world’s hardest horse race — recreates the horse messenger system developed by Genghis Khan in 1224, based on The Mongolian Derby’s web site.
Nevertheless, on Monday, two days earlier than the race was set to start out, she turned violently unwell.
“It’s lots of gastrointestinal stuff,” Anders advised the outlet. “I used to be throwing up and stuff like that.”
The race — which normally takes 10 days to finish as riders navigate by depraved terrain and spend, on common, round 13 hours a day within the saddle — was now out of the query given her situation.
Even worse, when Anders tried to hunt medical assist on the base camp, she was shocked by the dearth of empathy or care the race’s medical workers confirmed for certainly one of their registered riders.
“Two medics checked out me. They advised me I wanted nothing however did nothing for me. They advised me to experience it out,” the lifelong horse racer advised the outlet.
Anders, a US Military medic veteran with a doctorate in medical science and emergency drugs from Lincoln Memorial College in Harrogate, Tenn., was astonished {that a} race that claimed to have “a world staff of extremely skilled medics” did so little to assist her.
“One of many medics didn’t even contact me or ask me any questions,” she advised the outlet.
“The opposite one took my pulse for a few seconds. They didn’t take my vitals, didn’t ask if I used to be diabetic or what drugs I used to be taking. All they advised me was it will move in 24 hours.”
Anders then met with the Mongol Derby’s race director, Katherine, to inform her she wouldn’t be racing due to how sick she turned.
“Katherine got here to my yurt and talked to me no less than twice,” Anders mentioned. “I advised her I used to be sick each days.”
Throughout this time, she claims the race supplied her with no medical care however as an alternative drove her again to Mongolia’s capital, the place a driver stranded her at a lodge.
“They put me in a automobile for eight hours sick with a GI bug, with a driver who barely spoke English,” Anders advised the outlet.
“I had to make use of Expedia from base camp to e book a lodge, had the driving force cease within the metropolis, and get my passport so I might lastly examine into the lodge.”
She claims being “dumped off” again within the capital was the factor solely organizers of the derby did to assist her whereas unwell.
“I used to be too unwell to get on a horse for 620 miles,” Anders shared. “However I used to be additionally too unwell to get in a automobile for eight hours and be dumped off right into a metropolis and not using a passport or a flight residence.”
Now alone and nonetheless coping with sickness abroad, Anders’ bother continued when she struggled to discover a flight again to the US.
“I needed to name residence and have my boyfriend e book a flight for me as a result of I didn’t have cellphone reception,” she mentioned. “Seattle is the closest I might get. I simply need to get again to the US.”
The skilled rider couldn’t discover a flight again to the US till Aug. 11, and as soon as she lands in Seattle, she might want to make different journey preparations to get again to Wyoming.
As she waits to return residence, Anders mentioned she has emailed race organizers about her emotions about how she was handled however hasn’t “obtained a response.”
“I paid round $30,000 to go over for this factor,” the rider mentioned. “My entry charge alone was nearly $17,000, and I didn’t even get my blood stress taken after I was sick.”
Previous to the drama, Anders advised Cody Enterprise that she was making “funds of about $900 monthly” to foot the price of the race she as soon as thought of a “lifelong dream.”
Lacking out on the Mongol Derby, which she described as “form of a multitude” and “not very organized,” is the least of her issues now, given how apathetic the race’s medical workers was whereas she was unwell.
“I work within the ER, and I’ve my doctorate in emergency drugs,” she advised the outlet.
“You couldn’t swing a cat and hit a medic over there. I don’t know what the holdup was, however I used to be undoubtedly blown off for no matter motive.”
Supply hyperlink
