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 Health & Beauty | February 2006 
What about Health Care in Mexico?
 Sueanne Hagemann - PVNN
| | For information about Cornerstone Hospital, please call Pamela Thompson at 224-8122, 224-9400, or send an email to pmt15@hotmail.com. |
Puerto Vallarta - When they say life can change on a dime, I am once again reminded how true that is. Three weeks ago my boyfriend Len and I were busy creating a new life together, [he recently moved to Puerto Vallarta to live with me after a long distance courtship from his home town in British Columbia, Canada]. I was settling into a very warm loving relationship and looking forward to a wonderful journey together as we steered our way through the normal changes necessary in joining 2 people and families.
My father died 4 years ago after a long struggle with colon cancer, and since that time I have been very aware of the dangers of colon cancer and the importance of early screening with a Colonoscopy, (yes that’s where the stick a camera up your butt!) Being that Len was 56 and had never had the test, I suggested (strongly in only the way a women can “strongly” suggest something to her boyfriend,) that he have the test done. So, as I normally do when I have any medical issues, I got on the phone to Pam Thompson at Cornerstone Hospital and she set up an appointment for Len to have the test in Dr. Armando Joya's Intermedica office the following week.
Len was apprehensive, but I assured him that the worst part of the test was the day before when you drink 5 gallons of liquid to flush out your colon! (I know this because I have had 2 tests.) You won't believe how much crap your colon can hold (pardon the pun). So after one day of being close to a toilet, the day of the test is nothing. We left at 8:45 am for Dr. Joya’s office and by 10:30 Len was ready to go home. The only part of the test that hurts is the needle when they put you to sleep. When he woke up it was done and he wasn’t even sure they did anything. By that afternoon Len was back at work.
When we left the doctors office, the nurse asked us to schedule an appointment in one week to go over the results since they found some polyps that the Doctor removed (which is not unusual.) So the following week Len returned to get the results, which we were sure would be fine since he a no signs of any problems prior to the test. Well, on Wednesday January 18th our lives would change, he returned from the appointment with the diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer! After we both had a good cry, it was time to take action.
My first call was to Pam Thompson, who reassured me everything would be fine and she would call me right back. In 15 minutes she phoned back and told me we had an appointment in 3 HOURS! with the new Oncologist in town who was “outstanding!” she said. We met with Dr. Velasco who patiently explained that Len would need a Radical Resection of the colon to remove the cancer and would need a permanent colostomy (this is a bag placed outside your abdomen to collect your poop.) Although we both were taken by the wonderful Dr. who assured us things would be fine, we were in shock!
He wanted to do surgery ASAP because everyday we waited the cancer could be spreading. When we returned home and started to research colorectal cancer and speak with others, we were becoming even more scared and, overwhelmed.
In the 4 years I have lived in Puerto Vallarta one of the top questions North Americans ask me about living in Mexico is “what about health care?” I always have responded with the same answer, “we have great doctors and hospitals in P.V. but if I ever had anything really serious I would go back to the States or to a larger city in Mexico for treatment.”
Len, being Canadian, has “free” health care back in British Columbia. At this point our options seemed overwhelming. My wonderful Spanish speaking friend, Rashika, started making calls around Mexico to see who was the top surgeon or specialist in Mexico. She rapidly provided me with the cell phone number of the head surgeon and colorectal specialist in Guadalajara.
We set up an appointment for a second opinion for the following day. Len also called back to Canada to find out what he could do if he returned home. I was about to find out that “free health care” has its downside. Len discovered that if he returned to Canada for treatment he would be place on a waiting list for the surgery with other people who were sicker then he was, so basically he had to wait to get worse! That option was out. We spoke with several other doctors, who gave us various opinions and some saying that a less radical procedure could work, but they had not seen all the test results. So it seemed as we became more educated, it became more complicated. We did a lot of praying.
We set up another consultation with Dr. Velasco that would change everything. On Friday morning we went to him and let him know that we were getting second and third opinions. Well, having dealt with doctors for many years, both in my professional life and having faced some serious illness myself, I was not prepared for the ego-free loving kindness, Dr Velasco presented.
He said he too had phoned his colleges and done research to make sure his initial thoughts on the course of treatment were the best. In my experience with medical people I was not used to hearing a doctor admit that he consulted others to reaffirm his decision (although I am sure they do.) The fact that he supported us to the extent that he was willing to provide all necessary information to seek other opinions, along with a letter letting the other doctors know how and why he came up with his surgery recommendations, was as surprising as it was refreshing.
This is where our spiritual beliefs come into play. When Len and I left Dr. Velasco's office to go to Guadalajara, we looked at each other at the same time and said, "what do you think?" I left feeling so confident in Dr. Velasco and sure that he was "the man," but this was Len’s life and his decision. Len stated that he too felt Velasco was "the man," and he wanted to put his life into his hands! It was a heartfelt confidence that words can’t describe. Dr. Velasco's certainty, warmth, ability to admit he too had checked out his decision, his attention to detail in telling us everything we needed to know, and his openness in knowing that Len had to go with what he felt was best.
We also knew that by choosing a smaller hospital like Cornerstone in Vallarta, rather than a huge hospital in another city, Len would receive excellent care here. We were assured that there was nothing that the hospital in the U.S., Mexico City or Guadalajara had that he would need that Cornerstone could not provide. Our minds made up, surgery was scheduled for the following Tuesday.
The next few days were a blur with phone calls, plans, crying, talking and praying; wondering why this was happening; reliving my father's struggle and his death; feeling my own pain, and trying to focus on Len and not on myself. On the Saturday before surgery Len, who installs satellite systems, stopped at Cornerstone to request the room he wanted!
He also asked the hospital if he could install a satellite dish on the roof and a system in his hospital room - and the hospital said, “no problem!” Now can you imagine going to a hospital in the U.S. and requesting this, ha! Aside from my shock that he was even thinking about what TV stations he would watch after surgery, I had to laugh. [Good thing he didn’t run this great idea by me before he did this!]
On Tuesday, I checked Len into the hospital and got him settled in for the night before surgery. The room was nicer then many hotels down here! The doctors and nurses were more than great. When we rang for a nurse if we had to wait for one minute for her to arrive, it was unusual. They set me up with blankets and pillows so I could stay in the room with him. And it was finally time for surgery. After 5 1/2 hours, I got the news that the surgery was successful and Len was doing great. A short time later, I was led into the recovery room to see my sweetie.
Dr. Velasco was there for every question, he came in 2 or 3 times a day to check on Len and even took the care to change Len’s dressings himself. Dr.“Paco”, who assisted in the surgery and after care, was also part of this excellent team. He and Dr. Velasco nicknamed Len “Lencho”, and made sure to never leave Len without making him laugh, (which can be a task when your testicles are the size of a softball and you are cut from your belly button to you butt).
Gaby and Yolanda, the primary nurses, could not have given Len better care if he was their own father! Pam, the patient coordinator, checked in several times a day to make sure that Len, myself and Len’s daughter, Jennifer, along with all my Vallarta family who supported both of us with so much love, were all fine. Pam had also arranged for another man who had a colostomy to come visit with Len and I to discuss how to live with this.
Our next big hurdle was to wait on the pathology report to find out if there was more cancer anywhere in his body that would need chemotherapy or radiation treatment. On the 4th day, Dr. Velasco came running in the room with the preliminary report that there was no other cancer! Wow, what a relief. Len was soon ready to go home to continue his recovery. The total cost for his hospital stay, surgery, doctors, and medications came to about $12,000 USD - amazing! We talked to another person with similar surgery whose bill was about $124,000 USD.
Len is now home and it’s been about 4 weeks since we got the news of his cancer. He is doing wonderful in his recovery, although I know he is antsy to be up and about more. He has adjusted to his colostomy, and soon he will be able to return to all his normal activities. As Dr. Velasco told him “the bag is a constant reminder of the close call, and a small price to pay for being healthy again.” Sh*t happens!
So in the end, this has left me with some new insights on life. Never take anything for granted, listen to you gut, try to laugh when you can, and true friends make everything easier. Vallarta offers some of the best health care anywhere. And any of you men and women over 40 that are reading this and have not had a colonoscopy, get one! Had Len not had this simple test, the ending of this story could be very different.
Thank you Dr. Daniel Velasco, for being not only one of the greatest doctors I have ever met, but also for being a great human being; Dr. Armando Joya for your skilled work; Dr. Santiago, the Anesthesiologist for pain control; Dr. Jose Fco. Leal for assistant medical care and helping us laugh, you're becoming a great Doctor.
Special thanks also go to Pam Thomson for coordinating all of this, always knowing who to call, and telling me when to suck it up; Gaby and Yoly for caring for and bathing my boyfriend with the same love I would; the administration of Cornerstone Hospital for having state-of-the-art facilities and a wonderful staff, and for allowing my TV addicted boyfriend to watch all the Canadian Sports he needs.
I'd also like to thank Len's children, Jennifer and Tyler, for their support of me and their Dad while they were going through their own pain and fear; Rasi for being there; Bob for being the first one brave enough to get tested; Jenoa for making life easy for me so I could be there for Len; and all my recovering community friends for their prayers, phone calls and love. |
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