Norman Barth, a U.S. Embassy official based in Majuro, interviewed Alvarenga after his arrival and found his account credible. The embassy’s assessment was one of the early official corroborations of the story’s basic plausibility. Barth’s impression, as reported in contemporaneous news accounts, was that the man he spoke with was truthful.
In Majuro, doctors conducted a medical evaluation. The findings: Alvarenga’s vital signs were generally good, though his blood pressure was unusually low. He had swollen ankles, consistent with prolonged immobility and poor circulation. He was anemic. He had difficulty walking after more than a year on a small boat with limited movement. Doctors suspected parasites in his liver from an extended diet of raw meat — a common consequence of consuming uncooked animal protein without the protection of cooking to kill parasites.
His initial condition was better than many expected. Observers who saw photographs of him taken shortly after his arrival noted that he appeared less emaciated than might have been anticipated for someone who had survived more than a year at sea on a diet of raw fish and birds. The medical experts who commented on this observation offered explanations: the body adapts to reduced caloric intake by slowing metabolic rate, and a diet with adequate protein and vitamins — which his food sources provided — allows the body to maintain muscle mass better than a diet that is caloric but nutritionally deficient.
By February 6, approximately a week into his time in Majuro, his health worsened and he was placed on an IV drip for dehydration. This is not unusual: the return to a standard environment and diet after extreme deprivation often produces a secondary health crisis as the body attempts to readjust.