Update
I'm still in Monterrey and I still couldn't be happier. Let me see if I can outline my experience so far...
I think I'd already told of the great experience of being picked up by two hospital reps from the International Patients Office.
So, we'll skip to preop testing and surgery and aftercare.
Gabriel Senior is the CEO of Travel for Care, my coordinating service. He picked me up from my hotel the second day I was here and took me to the hospital for my preop testing. We went to the International Patients Office where I signed all of my paperwork and met a representative named Carlos. Then both Gabriel and Carlos escorted me to all of the different departments that did my preop testing. That included the lab for my blood draw (and that woman was fabulous. I'm a hard stick and I didn't feel a thing.), then chest xrays, then off to an EKG, and then an ultrasound on my whole abdomen. Gabriel and Carlos did all of the talking for me.
The hospital is breathtakingly beautiful. There is art everywhere. There's a beautiful courtyard. The medical school is just across the courtyard. The whole place is swarming with medical students in the final years of their schooling. And unlike so many future doctors in the US, these guys seem to have no ego. They're all extremely nice.
After all of the preop testing, Gabriel took my friends and I up to this vantage point on top of a mountain in the middle of the city. There's a huge flag pole up there and a great big area around it with benches and whatnot. You can see the whole city and all of the mountains around it. It makes for beautiful pictures. He pointed out all kinds of interesting sites and explained some of the history of the city. I took a lot of pictures. Then he took us back to the hotel. A litte later, the other coordinator, Heather Wicklow, came to pick me up to take me to Dr. Horacio's office for our first face to face meeting. Mind you, he and I have been exchanging emails for months by this time. It was awesome to get to meet him. He went over my preop testing and explained my Fobi Pouch procedure. We must have talked for 45 minutes. He's never in a hurry to leave. It's like he has all the time in the world. He gave me the colon prep, and joked about what a lovely time I'd have that night. He called the bottle a "souvenir"... He's got jokes.
My friends have been so well taken care of. Of course, breakfast is served every morning and three nights a week, the hotel serves a free dinner, too. It's called the Manager's social or something like that. Free food and beer! LOL They love the food that is served. I love to look at it. Food porn!
Anyway, the next day was my surgery. Gabriel picked me up again. He helped me register. He took my friends and I back to the surgery area. The waiting room in surgery looked so comfortable. And, there's this very cool screen in there sort of like you'd find in an airport. It has the surgical progress of all of the patients so that their families and friends know how the surgery is going and how long they can expect their loved one to be in surgery. How cool is that?
Gabriel took me back to the preop area, spoke for me, translated, waited while I changed clothes into the gowns, and then sat next to my bed throughout the entire prep process. He only left when they wheeled me out. Amazing? Yes!
Of course, I don't remember much after that. I remember that they placed an IV in my hand and they numbed the area before they did it. They gave me a pill that made me sleepy and induced amnesia, thus the foggy memories. I don't remember waking up in recovery. I don't remember being cold or anything. My next clear memories are of my hospital room, which was a nice room. I noticed that they start a second IV site while you're under anesthesia so that they have a second port in case the first one goes bad. How nice that they do it while you're under!!
The nurses were so great. I think we actually had fun with our language barrier in trying to pantomime our needs to each other. The doctor gave me a list of things I'd probably need to say and ask and things the nurses would be asking, too.
Because my procedure is a Fobi Pouch, I had both a drainage tube in the middle top of my belly and a gastric feeding tube under my left boob. The feeding tube goes into the lower "native" stomach and this is what is fed for the first week so that they pouch can heal without any irritation. The feeding tube is highly uncomfortable, but it should come out tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to that. I don't think it would be nearly as uncomfortable if I didn't have such huge and heavy boobs. They rest right on it.
My pain management has been good. The nurses were quick to respond in the hospital and I have liquid ultram now that I'm out. They also gave me liquid gas medicine and a liquid antibiotic.
I've been out and about since my surgery even with the feeding tube being uncomfortable. There is a large grocery store nearby. Today we're going to a mall that is just a couple of blocks away. We'll be taking a cab as the traffic here is insane. The doctor said there is a VIP movie theater there with huge reclining leather seats and servers that bring you drinks (and food for those able to eat).
I can't wait to see it!
Oh, and the surgeon comes to see me every single day. Sometimes more than once a day. Every. Single. Day. He checks my tube and my incisions. He sits and talks. He asks about my sleep quality. He's just amazing.
So, you know, I thought that extra money I spent was for peace of mind, but it's really not. It's for quality of service, the most advanced surgical methods, and safety. If I had to do this a million times over, I'd choose the same coordinating service and the same doctor. I will suggest this service and this surgeon to anyone who asks me. If you're preop and considering a cheaper route, trust me. Take the extra time to save a little bit more money and have your surgery done in Monterrey. We have this surgery done to extend our lives. You deserve the very best and this is definitely it.
I think I'd already told of the great experience of being picked up by two hospital reps from the International Patients Office.
So, we'll skip to preop testing and surgery and aftercare.
Gabriel Senior is the CEO of Travel for Care, my coordinating service. He picked me up from my hotel the second day I was here and took me to the hospital for my preop testing. We went to the International Patients Office where I signed all of my paperwork and met a representative named Carlos. Then both Gabriel and Carlos escorted me to all of the different departments that did my preop testing. That included the lab for my blood draw (and that woman was fabulous. I'm a hard stick and I didn't feel a thing.), then chest xrays, then off to an EKG, and then an ultrasound on my whole abdomen. Gabriel and Carlos did all of the talking for me.
The hospital is breathtakingly beautiful. There is art everywhere. There's a beautiful courtyard. The medical school is just across the courtyard. The whole place is swarming with medical students in the final years of their schooling. And unlike so many future doctors in the US, these guys seem to have no ego. They're all extremely nice.
After all of the preop testing, Gabriel took my friends and I up to this vantage point on top of a mountain in the middle of the city. There's a huge flag pole up there and a great big area around it with benches and whatnot. You can see the whole city and all of the mountains around it. It makes for beautiful pictures. He pointed out all kinds of interesting sites and explained some of the history of the city. I took a lot of pictures. Then he took us back to the hotel. A litte later, the other coordinator, Heather Wicklow, came to pick me up to take me to Dr. Horacio's office for our first face to face meeting. Mind you, he and I have been exchanging emails for months by this time. It was awesome to get to meet him. He went over my preop testing and explained my Fobi Pouch procedure. We must have talked for 45 minutes. He's never in a hurry to leave. It's like he has all the time in the world. He gave me the colon prep, and joked about what a lovely time I'd have that night. He called the bottle a "souvenir"... He's got jokes.
My friends have been so well taken care of. Of course, breakfast is served every morning and three nights a week, the hotel serves a free dinner, too. It's called the Manager's social or something like that. Free food and beer! LOL They love the food that is served. I love to look at it. Food porn!
Anyway, the next day was my surgery. Gabriel picked me up again. He helped me register. He took my friends and I back to the surgery area. The waiting room in surgery looked so comfortable. And, there's this very cool screen in there sort of like you'd find in an airport. It has the surgical progress of all of the patients so that their families and friends know how the surgery is going and how long they can expect their loved one to be in surgery. How cool is that?
Gabriel took me back to the preop area, spoke for me, translated, waited while I changed clothes into the gowns, and then sat next to my bed throughout the entire prep process. He only left when they wheeled me out. Amazing? Yes!
Of course, I don't remember much after that. I remember that they placed an IV in my hand and they numbed the area before they did it. They gave me a pill that made me sleepy and induced amnesia, thus the foggy memories. I don't remember waking up in recovery. I don't remember being cold or anything. My next clear memories are of my hospital room, which was a nice room. I noticed that they start a second IV site while you're under anesthesia so that they have a second port in case the first one goes bad. How nice that they do it while you're under!!
The nurses were so great. I think we actually had fun with our language barrier in trying to pantomime our needs to each other. The doctor gave me a list of things I'd probably need to say and ask and things the nurses would be asking, too.
Because my procedure is a Fobi Pouch, I had both a drainage tube in the middle top of my belly and a gastric feeding tube under my left boob. The feeding tube goes into the lower "native" stomach and this is what is fed for the first week so that they pouch can heal without any irritation. The feeding tube is highly uncomfortable, but it should come out tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to that. I don't think it would be nearly as uncomfortable if I didn't have such huge and heavy boobs. They rest right on it.
My pain management has been good. The nurses were quick to respond in the hospital and I have liquid ultram now that I'm out. They also gave me liquid gas medicine and a liquid antibiotic.
I've been out and about since my surgery even with the feeding tube being uncomfortable. There is a large grocery store nearby. Today we're going to a mall that is just a couple of blocks away. We'll be taking a cab as the traffic here is insane. The doctor said there is a VIP movie theater there with huge reclining leather seats and servers that bring you drinks (and food for those able to eat).
I can't wait to see it!
Oh, and the surgeon comes to see me every single day. Sometimes more than once a day. Every. Single. Day. He checks my tube and my incisions. He sits and talks. He asks about my sleep quality. He's just amazing.
So, you know, I thought that extra money I spent was for peace of mind, but it's really not. It's for quality of service, the most advanced surgical methods, and safety. If I had to do this a million times over, I'd choose the same coordinating service and the same doctor. I will suggest this service and this surgeon to anyone who asks me. If you're preop and considering a cheaper route, trust me. Take the extra time to save a little bit more money and have your surgery done in Monterrey. We have this surgery done to extend our lives. You deserve the very best and this is definitely it.
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