Sleeved in Mexico by Dr. Kelly!
I flew to San Diego on Nov.3rd. We had flight delays so only arrived at 8 pm. Nov.4th we took a 2 hour trolley drive of SD. It was fantastic. Dr. Kelly's driver picked us up at the hotel at 3 pm. she took us on a short tour of the area around the hospital in TJ and then I was admitted to The Florence Health Center. My friend had supper at the cafeteria and I ate my broth and jello. Dr. Kelly visited that evening(Sunday). Omar also visited us and arranged to pick up my friend and the other patients companion to breakfast the next day.
Early Monday morning I got up and showered.A chest X-ray was done. The cardiologist came in and did an exam and an EKG The nurse started my IV on the first try. Blood work was done.They put support stocking on my legs. My surgery was at 1:30 pm. All went well. I did have a drain. No major pain. Some gas but minimal. I did use GasX. Dr. Kelly's regime is pain medication, nausea meds, and a stomach med every 4 to 6 hours by your IV. I did experience a bit of nausea when the meds were about to wear off. I was walking the halls by evening. I saw Dr. Kelly a couple of times that day.Omar also came by to take our companions to supper.
I have to now say how wonderful everyone at the hospital was. The nurses and Doctor's were top notch. There were 2 nurses and one doctor on per shift. There were only 2 patients!! The doctor stayed on our wing the whole shift. At least one nurse spoke perfect English per. shift. All the Dr.'s spoke English.
On Tuesday my support stocking came off. I was able to shower and then they changed my incision dressings.I had 4 small incisions.Elena, Dr. Kelly's assistant came in with my meds for the hotel and home, juice and diet instructions. The rest of the day I spent walking, visiting my fellow sleever,watched a bit of TV and having one short rest.Dr. Kelly came by in the evening with his son to visit us and check our charts.
On Wednesday after my shower Dr. Kelly came in and removed my drain. My IV was taken out. My dressings were removed and we were discharged. Omar drove us to a newer hospital where we met Dr. Kelly and our leak tests were done. We both passed with flying colors but I have to admit that the small amt. of fluid you have drink is horrible tasting.
We were then off to the Lucerne Hotel. It is a beautiful hotel. We finally got to eat some broth and a homemade popsicle after 2 days on ice chips. Don't get me wrong neither of us were hungry those 2 days! Dr. Kelly came to visit us and gave us DVD's of our surgery's. He made sure he answered any questions we had. Omar then took us out sight seeing and to some flea markets and to Revolution Ave. Great silver prices. We then went to a seafood restaurant for supper. The broth was fantastic.Then back to the hotel to relax and sleep.
On Thursday we relaxed around the pool. Dr. Kelly came to my room again to make sure all my questions we answered.He is a great Doctor. Omar picked us up at 3 pm. We went to Costco purely for curiosity sake and then to supper.
I was discharged on Friday and driven to the airport. No problems on the flight home.I of course made sure my clothing was comfortable.Note to anyone flying out of San Diego. None of the restaurants at the airport have soup so take your own packages of broth.
I cannot say enough great things about Dr. Kelly. He is so caring,comforting, friendly and down to earth besides being a fantastic doctor.His other patient that was done the same day I was felt the same.My friend who accompanied me is a nurse and she was very impressed.
So that was my wonderful Mexico experience. I hope it helps anyone who is trying to decide. This is day one at home and I feel fine. Feel free to ask any questions.
YEAH...Congrats and so happy to hear you had a great experience...one of the girls over here on PEI did the exact same trip and loved it...her surgery was May 10 and I think she is now -100 lbs in 6 months.....it all depends on how heavy you are to start off with, but I am sure you will see a big difference within the next 3 weeks.....
Good luck...and thanks for sharing...
It sounds like you had a great experience! I'm the person who Island Momma mentioned in her post above. I did have my sleeve on May 10th and was going to go with Dr. Kelly, but ended up going with Dr. Ponce De Leon instead. Saturday was my 6 month mark, I'm down 88 lbs and feeling great! Please keep us updated on how you're doing, and take care!
Our bariatric surgeon in Halifax is Dr. Ellesmere. I was on his list for 3 years with another 7 years to wait. I'm not sure what kind of a wait the Dr. in Moncton has.You can go to private clinics in Ontario and Quebec but they are very expensive. I haven't looked into them lately but they were more than twice the price than Mexico. Good Luck. Message me if you need more info on Mexico.
My cost was $5,700 in November. i know some months are less expensive. It includes 2-3 nights at the hospital and 2 nights at the hotel for you and a companion. It includes all tests.I had to pay for my airfare. They pick you up and drop you off at the airport.
You don't need a doctors referral. You just call Dr. Kelly's office and they email you medical forms to fill out. you email them back. Dr. Kelly will approve you within days and you pick your date!
It is of course good if your GP approves because they do The follow up blood work.