✉ Things That Inspire: John George Mortimer [2] - Gary D. McGugan

Today author Gary D. McGugan takes over our blog to tell us about the Things That Inspire him.

His latest novel is The Multima Scheme (22 April 2018, Tellwell Talent, 334 pages), a Suspense, book two of John George Mortimer series.

"Another fascinating novel! Continuity from the previous one with a tremendous amount of 'page turning' new revelations. Quite the surprise to read that John George had a motorcycle that he rode with a passenger.

You are a true story weaver complete with extensive details about the locations. Congratulations on your achievement. - and there is another on the way, yahoo!" - email from Ontario reader Bill Blight

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || The Series || Author Guest Post || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

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Things that Inspire

by Gary D. McGugan

My wife and I are snowbirds – people from a northern climate who just don’t like winter and find a way to escape the cold for a few months. For the past 13 years we owned a wonderful place, in a great neighborhood of Ft. Myers, Florida where we spent four to six months each season and met many new friends. We loved it!

Fort Myers, Florida

But we decided to sell our little piece of paradise last year to embark on a new adventure. Instead of returning each winter to Florida, we decided to choose places in the world we hadn’t yet visited, and ‘live’ there for a month or more. Why? In some form, travel has been a component of our lives since our teens. We learned early on that by traveling to new places we are exposed to different people, ideas, and perspectives. For us, every trip has been a learning experience. We always return with a fresh appreciation of the human spirit and gratitude for how easy our own lives are in comparison. We’ve both concluded our best and most lasting education has come from travel and we thought spending a significant time might intensify the experience.

This winter, we decided to spend one month in Uruguay. Although, we had visited there earlier, it was only for a day when we crossed by ferry from Buenos Aires. At that time, we thoroughly enjoyed our few hours sightseeing and thought it would be great to experience more time there. As a writer, I had another driving motive. It was time to start research and development for my third novel and I had already mulled the possibility of setting some scenes in a small Latin American country.

New Year’s Eve, we celebrated in the departure lounge of Toronto’s international airport waiting for a very early-morning departure that would take us to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay with stops in Mexico City and Buenos Aires. A UNESCO heritage site, the historic town is an undiscovered gem. Beautiful trees line cobblestone streets first laid by Portuguese settlers, and magnificent old buildings tell a story of a troubled past with multiple wars between the Spain and Portugal.

Colonia Del Sacramento

The people we encountered were friendly and welcoming. They seemed to appreciate our attempts to communicate in Spanish, and a local print shop provided extra help several times as I worked on final editing changes for The Multima Scheme. Our first two weeks were outstanding! We enjoyed the fine summer weather of South America, excellent food in charming restaurants, and daily exploration of the city and surrounding villages.

In week three, disaster struck. We still don’t how, but my wife came into contact with the mumps! From a disease almost eradicated in North America, my wife suffered intense pain, severe swelling of the glands between her ear and throat, and an infection that ultimately required hospitalization and a surgical procedure to drain the infection.

But we both learned from the adversity and drew inspiration from the care she received in Uruguay. It became necessary to visit hospitals in both Colonia del Sacramento and the capital Montevideo. Each time, attention in the emergency departments was quick and efficient. Although citizens of Uruguay have universal health care, as foreigners we were obliged to pay. But the cost of care was far less than in the United States and the quality of care seemed as professional as we see in either Canada or the USA.

We were particularly impressed with the optimistic attitudes, patience and genuine interest shown by the entire staff in both hospitals. Despite the handicap of language, we found ways to communicate with every member of the team. Every worker, from the women cleaning floors to surgeons, greeted us every day with a friendly “Ola!” Everyone showed interest and empathy towards us and – perhaps more surprisingly – towards each other. Starting with the peck on a cheek each staff member exchanged with his or her colleagues at the start of a shift, it was apparent every member of the team was polite, friendly, and communicative. We watched staff laugh and share jokes when appropriate, then immediately pivot to intense professional demeanor the moment a patient requiring care arrived. Patients appreciated the atmosphere too – despite their pain and suffering.

We were struck by the humility of the specialist assigned to my wife. She visited twice a day while my wife was hospitalized. Post-release, she scheduled follow-up outpatient visits back at the hospital at times most convenient for us to travel. The woman took whatever time we needed to understand her messages completely and showed unlimited grace and patience during multiple conference calls with an insurance company doctor posing dozens of questions about treatment and prognosis, all while working through a Spanish interpreter in another country. It was inspiring to watch her work.

My wife is fine now. It took a few weeks for the infection to clear completely, the paralysis of her facial nerve to regain all responses, and the swelling to subside completely. But everything is back to normal. Clearly, our month in Uruguay was far more eventful than planned! But, once again, we learned much about a small country most North Americans will never visit and were inspired by the ability of a still-developing country to train and motivate its people to deliver exemplary health care. There were lessons for us at every stage, and at every juncture we were inspired and encouraged by average people doing their jobs well in Uruguay. I got a lot of good material to use in upcoming novels too!

Can Multima Corporation withstand another attack?
While John George Mortimer copes with treatment for cancer, the CEO must also ward off challenges for control of his empire.

The Multima Scheme
Available NOW!

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