Chapter 20
Medical Care in Mexico!
I am in San Diego tonight after surgery and
thought about not doing a chapter tonight on my blog. But when I was getting
ready to go to the hospital this morning, I was doing things only a single
woman would do and thinking back to other surgery trips. It is therefore
appropriate to change some order.
Here I am alone for the first time having surgery
in my life, and I thought about what if? Not my first surgery, but my first
surgery alone. I found myself packing my suitcase just in case something
happened to make things easier for my friends and family in case I had a complication.
Stopping at the desk and telling them if I did not return to not call the
police.
Driving to the hospital I recalled my last
surgery trip in Mexico. Several of us girls took the bus from San Miguel de
Allende to Guadalajara for cosmetic surgery. Now some girls won’t admit to
having plastic surgery, and some of us do as I do. I also believe in telling
the truth about my age. If you lie and make yourself younger, everyone might
say, "Wow, she looks bad for her age." If I am going to say a wrong
age, I will say I am older. So they think, "Wow, girl, you look
great." I have a friend who was a
professor who also always says that she is older than she is. She thinks that she gets more respect that
way, without having to earn it.
There are great surgeons in Mexico and the
medical care is wonderful and at a cost comparative to the 70’s in the U.S. I
am only here in San Diego as I have US health insurance. But for most of my
medical care in Mexico I pay out of pocket. Many times the co-payment in the U.S.
is more than the actual cost in Mexico.
On this trip we took the first-class bus to
Guadalajara. Now a bus in Mexico is similar to a first class airline seat.
We had brought our own picnic basket of
champagne, cheese, crackers, grapes and nuts. We had our own personal party on
the trip. Everyone had different things done, and I will only write about
me as the others prefer to not be mentioned.
I had a breast reduction as I was tired of men
always looking at my breasts first. Everyone had different surgeries,
except we all had our arms tightened.
I am always thoughtful and the leader of the
group, so I went last. That way I could help each girl go into surgery and
be there when she came out. When I woke up, I asked them to take my IV out;
they said no, you might need pain medication. I replied I am not in pain, and
if you don’t remove it I will. So they did. I went into the room my friends
were in and said. “Okay IV’s out. We have all been fasting and we need a real
meal.” They all said, “We are in pain.” I told them I would take their
medication with me and inject them if they really needed it. They all whined
and wanted to stay. Then I mentioned shopping and they all were suddenly
in. It was so funny we were like the movie, “Walk of the Penguins.” We had to keep our arms at our sides and
could only move the lower part of our arms. But we shopped and had a wonderful
meal and went back to the hotel, and I gave everyone a shot and they slept
well.
I am staying in a hotel tonight, rather than
driving back to Ensenada via Tijuana in the dark and also just in case I have a
complication. I had my liver biopsy this morning and a CAT scan later and many
medical appointments and tests between. I went from one to the next dragging my
IV on its stand and in a hospital gown.
This is the reason I moved to Ensenada as I have
a medical problem for which I can have free treatment, even though reasonable
in Mexico, it would be punitive to me in out-of-pocket expenses. My son is in
Ensenada to help me, and he just had his first child, so I am being a grandma.
This will be in a later chapter.
I would like to mention that you can buy a
medical insurance policy in Mexico from the Mexican Government when you have
your FM2 or 3 and depending on your age or your medical problems. It is
approximately $500 US per year and covers everything. Every doctor in Mexico in
private practice has to give a day per week so you could have the best in all
of Mexico, but at the very least a great one.
There is also an insurance plan you can buy in
Mexico that is reasonable http://www.skymed.com/ that will fly you in a private plane or helicopter to the
hospital of your choice in the
U.S. if you have U.S. insurance and are living in
Mexico.
Bus line in Mexico:
http://www.etn.com.mx/english/
Tourist Office in San Miguel de Allende:
http://www.turismosanmiguel.com.mx/eng/
Article on San Miguel de
Allende:
Great Plastic Surgeon in Guadalajara, Jalisco:
Dr. Antonio Ramirez Cuevas
Hospital San Pio:
Av. Lopez Mateos Norte 766
Phone: 3616-8558, 3615-4449,
3616-6661 or 3616-6062
There are many different specialists operating at
this hospital.
