Dr. Ramos Kelly - My Experience
My experience with Dr. Jamie Kelly Ramos
Heath- was always available and always answered my 100 million questions, that was really comforting, I am a pretty impulsive person and had the surgery booked one week after deciding to do this, they asked me to speak to the doctor which I did on January 30th, he assessed by phone that I was a candidate. I put in all my paper work (signed contract and questionnaire that he has on line) on February 2nd I started my liquid diet, and had booked my airline tickets and was ready to go..this is my accurate description of my experience ( while in the hospital I was recording notes, so I could be as detailed as possible)
I arrived in San Diego February 5, 2015- I was greeted by a late driver (Horhae- sorry for the miss spelling) who was about 15 minutes late, although he made up for it with his calming demeanor and sincere apology. Luckily when he arrived he introduced me to another young women who had the surgery a few days prior we briefly chatted and she had told me that it did hurt but more of the gas then anything and that her incisions were very small but still in a little bit of pain- (which brought a sense of relief to know that she made it out alive) then we were on our way, Tijuana was no more than 20 minutes away, we had to stop at the border crossing for them to do a search of the vehicle (which was fine and only took a couple minutes max)- again we were on our way.
We got to the hospital about 130 and the driver took my luggage inside and to a private waiting room, sat down a few minutes and then Perla came in- she was all business, I found her to be not all that engaging, a bit cold (as this was my very first surgery it would have been nice to have someone who understood that, and made me feel at ease) None the less she was polite and courteous, and she was seriously ALL about the money, she had me start signing paper work EVEN though I had not seen the Dr. or had a consultation, grudgingly I signed the paperwork but was thinking to myself where else in the world do you sign off on paper work without seeing the Dr first?
I went for blood work right away while I was still signing the paper work (do note that most of it is in Spanish- they do give you an English copy to read – but it felt extremely ackward with both driver and Perla staring at me, I got the impression that I should hurry up) She then took me to go and get the payment, I payed the hospital and there was no issues with that, got my receipt right away- I mentioned to her that I was starving, as at this point I had been up for 24 hours and have not had anything in my stomach for the longest time…Now this is where the problems started, she told me that she would get me something right away (a LIE) – she did not, but even better than that she told me that the doctors “interact terminal” was broken, she asked me can I pay by paypal, I told her NO! I said I have and will be paying by Credit card as it states that in the contract as an option (meanwhile, I already told her and CeCe when they asked me for the travelers cheque that I would be paying by cc, they said that was fine, come to find out the machine is broken, seemed really shady and I told her this is the only way..She told me not to worry and that we would figure out a way. Again I felt pissed off as I had not even met with the doctor and she was all about the money felt so rushed, felt unprofessional and I felt as if I flew from Canada where do you think im going? You will get your money We then went to go and do the EKG exam, which was fine. I asked Perla to call my mother and let her know that I was fine after surgery she said she would, took the number and everything, I was so grateful for this- but it did it happen –NO!
Hospital room- so they take me to the room, im exhausted and starving quite frankly I was getting to the point of feeling faint BUT the room is really nice at Angelise (really nice I was surprised, clean, big and nice shower) they had a safe, and a DVD player (bring movies if you can) as expected the TV was and is mostly in Spanish so you should probably bring some DVD’s that would have been helpful to know, finally feeling like I could relax, I told the nurse that I was starving and please can I have some food, she said yes no problem..waiting, waiting, waiting and nothing ..then 30 minutes later Perla comes in telling me that I need to pay via pay pal again I told her that I don’t have that, then she said to call my cc company and tell them that I will deposit money into this specific account, to which she provided a void cheque.
I was asked to sign additional paper work (come on people I have been signing paper work for at least 30 -45 minutes, why NOT give me all the paper work to sign at one time- get it together)- 3 additional people came to the room to get me to sign more paper work- it allowed me to think that they don’t have their ****ogether! This process is daunting enough!
I called the company and they said that I would only be able to western union the money and that I could only western union 999.99 (for that current day and do an additional 999.99 the following day and so on, problem was that I had to pay 2400.00) so that was not going to work, asked about email money transfers, but Mexico does not have this service, so the only option that was left was to go to a bank, so back to San Diego we go even though I informed the driver that I can use any bank, by this time my nerves and hunger were getting the best of me, I was not impressed with the poor or better yet lack of communication, I was annoyed, tired and starving,I get the money and ask the driver to take me to a store, luckily there was a convenience store a couple feet from the bank, I bought some applesauce, some water, coconu****er – that applesauce was a life saver! We get back to the hospital and the driver drops me off so I think! Finally I devour the applesauce and finally think its time to relax. Think again! Driver comes in and asks for the payment, I told him no I will give it to the Dr, directly he said ok and left. By this time its roughly 4pm! And guess what still no food!!!
Cecilia aka Cece (this lady is a piece of work! Hands down. She comes to my room about an hour later, and lets be real here, she was totally putting on a show, well the good news is that I seen thru her act), as I have been around many of people and I am extremely good at reading people! This one folks did NOT fool me! She comes in and asks for the payment right away, no courting, no genuine concern for my well-being, just straight to the point, I have read many of reviews and all painting her with the mother Theresa paint brush, that WAS not my experience, mean while she then tried to scam me by saying and I quote “do you have the money, I said yes I do, she asked ok so its 2500.00 you have correct, UHM NO! – scammer “its 2400.00 as per the contract” at that point is when I lost full and utter respect for the women, how are you going to try and scam one of your patients, that really left a bad taste in my mouth that she would even attempt to do that, and that’s when I really knew the merit of the women I was dealing with! – clearly NOT an honest one, and what a horrible representation of a company to have this person to deal with customers, no manners and clearly no class!
She then was apologizing to me, and using the driver to translate to me, meanwhile when your asking and talking about the money your English is just fine!she was telling him that it states in the contract that you can pay by pay pal to which I told her it states that NO WHERE! And that you should pay by travelers cheque as this is the preferred method of payment, now I had to check her on that I advised that it states that NO WHERE!I felt like she was being argumentative with me, which she had no reason to as they were in the wrong here, I explained that if CC is not an option then remove that portion or if its broken then speak up so the next person wont have the same experience that I was going thry, she said they will be adding the portion about pay pall I gave her the money and she provided the receipt.
Now this is the 3rd person that I am telling I am starving, she said Ok I will get you some food, - I think that was the most honest thing she stated! I asked her and the driver if either of them could call my mother as I travelled alone and needed someone to call her and let her know that I was out of surgery and doing fine, BOTH took my mother’s number and …She also mentioned that Dr. Ramos would come by and see me that evening, she leaves, and then about 15 minutes later I got some broth and jello (yes the jello was expired) so I didn’t eat it ! Hooray only took 2.5 hours but at that point I was so focused on the brothI relaxed and finally was able to unwind and take a nap
Dr. Ramos Kelly came by around 5:45pm but said that he had to go and take care of something and would be back about 6:30, he came back at 7:30 and we talked briefly about complications and what I should be expecting,that I should be up and walking no less then 6 hours after surgey, so the surgery was scheduled at 12noon, and that I would be in recovery for 2 hours, and after that will be brought back to my room to start the walking to release the gas. Dr Kelly, seemed nice enough I couldn’t really gage him, as he was only there for a few minutes and then he was off again
I received more broth and jello, this time it was not expired!!! Awesome! Also the guest relations coordinator came to the room and asked if I wanted any movies !!!! Yes so they have a book that you can choose the movies that you want the selection is decent enough especially when there is only a couple of English tv stations
Dr Kelly, came in with the anesthesiologist who was super sweet and nice, she told me she would take care of me, I really felt that she was genuine, and really sweet and kind, I liked her immediately, she was the warmest person that I had met during this entire trip! Felt great, asked me a couple questions and then they were off again
I went to sleep (and it was ROUGH!) the mattress was so itty bitty and thin and quite uncomfortable, luckily I travelled alone so I took the pad off of the bench and put it under the hospital mattress! All was well there after
Surgery day- all was well, I wasn’t allowed any fluids for 12 hours before surgery, they came into my room and wheeled me down to the operating room, note to self **go to the washroom first, I had to pee, and asked if I could use the bathroom, they told me no and that I would have to use a bed pan- embarrassing! I told them I can walk to a washroom but they didn’t want me getting out of bed, anyways I did what I had to and about 20-30 minutes later they rolled me into the operating room, they also placed these white stalkings on my legs while wheeling me I heard loud music playing, I was wondering are they going to have a party while operating, I definitely hoped not, once I got in, the music stopped and I see my favorite anesthesiologist she told me not to worry and advised that they would be giving me some medicine, well! Next thing I knew I was coming in and out of consciousness, I was in recovery for about 2 hours but I was dosing off and then I was lucid back and forth, it didn’t hurt I felt fine, they eventually wheeled me upstairs to my room, I sleept for another few hours and then got up and started walking, at this point I called my mother who was emotionally shaken as NO ONE HAD CALLED HER!
I walked for about 25 minutes, slow and controlled movements, but after that little bit of walking I was exhausted and slept more! They gave you these pressurized leggings with air, (I’m sure that’s not the name) so the air would go up one panel then to the next and so on, the Doctor came in and told me that I needed to use the lung capacity adapter (I’m sure that’s not the name) You blow into it and as you do there are three balls that will be filled with air and rise to the top, so I tried to do the exercise but every time I did, I would throw up, I threw up about 3x.- It was bloody in color and was totally disgustuing- And the Dr said that I didn’t have to do it anymore (Thank heavens) I was tired of throwing up. I went to sleep but everytime you have to go to the washroom you have to take the leg things off, and then ask the nurse to help you put them back on
I woke up determined to walk around, So I would walk for 30-45 minutes and then take an hour or 2 hour break and then do it again, You have to walk this is the best method to get the gas out, whats surprising is that the gas (its not as if your actually burping or farting- anywho the gas I guess just goes and thus I started feeling a lot better) we did the dye test (blah- tasted horrible) the doctor advised that I could finally start eating, as my test was all good! But after the dye and not eating for24 hours and having surgery my stomach was squeamish, I knew that I was going to throw up that dye and that’s exactly what I did, but I felt fine a little sore but that was exected overall I felt fine, the nurse let me take a shower and I felt so much better, she changed my bandages and felt like a new women.Plus it was the first time I got to see the incisions that were super small, which I thought was great I did more walking and felt even better, the movies were great as a welcomed distraction, sun shining outside felt great to feel like I was in the clear, I did not have to wear either leggings which was awesome!
I was never in pain the entire time from the surgery, they kept asking (the nurses but I was fine) its good to know that in the event that you are, that you will have medication
Nurses- most of them speak some English some better than others but overall you could tell that they liked their jobs and that they were there to help you, felt great to have some one care about you,- please remember to tip them, I felt it was important to do so as my nurse took such great care of me
Discharge Day- I was up early and I had my shower I felt great, bags packed ready to go. Dr. Kelly came in around 10:30 ish and asked if I had any questions, and told me he would be discharging me shortly. I told him that I was very upset at the fact that no one had called my family to let them know that I was ok after surgery, he said oh well my wife doesn’t speak English and the driver is just that a driver, he said why didn’t you tell me I would have called, I said 3 people told me they were going to do something I shouldn’t have even had to ask two others, but clearly I did, and they still could not do what was requested, I explained it was my first surgery and the day of I wasn’t really thinking. That I’m sure it was my nerves or else I would have told him to call my mom..but this is something that I think should be asked prior to surgery .don’t you?
He gave me a video (still not sure what’s on it) all my lab results, the EKG, the swallow test, and two X-rays (that was nice)- also a doctor’s note in case I needed it. CeCe came and gave me the medication that I would need for the month, and some gatoride, it was all fine, I was so ready to get out of the hospital, one step closer to living my life, so then they came and wheeled me into the lounge and I waited, and waited, the customer realtions women came and advised that there was a problem with the billing, I told her I have receipts of everything and she said that Dr. Kelly has to have this cleared up prior to leaving, again I stated I had the receipts and I was ready to leave she told me that they can not release me until the full payment has been made, I start calling Dr. Kelly and ask why I have not been released, he told me that I had and that he would follow up, as the Client Relations women advised that they could not get ahold of the Dr. and that if I wanted to leave that I could just settle the price with them, UHM NO!
I have contract and paid what I was supposed to so take that up with the Dr, about 1 hour passes and Im calling the DR and CeCe and guess what! Neither are answering..Im beyond pissed now, totally annoyed, how can there be no communication, someone tell me whats going on???? The relations women came to the room (as I asked if I could wait in the room, as all the staff) were staring at me, and told me everything has been settled, they take me to the main lobby and guess who I see, Dr. Kelly sitting there on his Ipad, he didn’t say one word to me, how unproffesional! I get into the curtosy van provided by the hotel and guess who else I see! CeCe she asks if Im ok..uhm yha I am now but thanks for yet again your lack of communication and professionalism, we waited for a couple other people and went to the
Hotel- Lucerna the Hotel was I would say 4.5-5 star, was VERY modern, room service, more English channels, clean and we got free broth and jello, even chocolates, I went to the restaurant to eat my broth at one point and they bring over this big huge bowl of broth (way to much for one sitting) actually it would probably take you 7-15 sittings LOL! The broth was warm and tasty, felt good to get something in you! Dr. Kelly came to the hotel room, and asked if I had any questions, when asked about why I was unable to get released he said that there was an outstanding bill of 240.00 $ that he was trying to dispute as the hospital said that he used some tools that he needed to pay for, he told me that he ended up paying for it anyways..well then why make me wait if your going to end up paying for it anyways?? Driver called at 9:30 advising to be in the lobby at 11am, he was there on time and we left, crossed the border took us about 40 minutes to get back to San Diego, driver dropped us off and that was it!
Overall, clearly there are some opportunities for change and growth, I am thankful I had the surgery but am writing this review in hopes that they make some much needed changes, please listen to all your patience as this is your business and you should be able to hear our truths, I hope that this review will allow other people to make informed decisions
I decided to write this review to allow people to hear my truth and my story, this is my personal opinion about an experience that I endured, and it’s as honest as they come, when I asked the Doctor about something I seen on youtube (a video that was posted) he discredited the person by saying that the guy was crazy, I AM NOT! This is my opinion, and if you have any questions please email me at [email protected]
I will and am more than willing to discuss the events with you!
Dr. Ramos Kelly's wife picked me up from the airport, she was not late, in fact I almost missed her because I stopped to use the bathroom and she was literally pulling away from the curb when I saw her and ran up to her.
The vehicle did not get searched when we were entering Mexico. At the hospital, (I was at Hospital Nova) they drew my blood and made me pee in a cup and take chest x-rays before we went upstairs. When we went upstairs, I gave Cece (his wife) my checks and the hospital staff took them from her and had me sign paperwork at that time. (I had not met Dr. Ramos Kelly at that point yet either, but I didn't care) The nurses were wonderful to me. One of them calmed my nerves by telling me HER sleeve story because she had it done a year prior. She hooked me up to the EKG and shortly after the heart Dr read the results. I was started on an IV, and then shortly after Dr. Ramos Kelly came in to introduce himself and answer any questions I had. (The part about her wanting food? Ummm, honey, you're not supposed to eat anything or drink that close to surgery... maybe ice chips...) The further I get into reading this chick's note, the more apparent it is that she is a whack job. She is a bitter person who doesn't listen to directions or take proper precautions. She stopped and got herself applesauce? You are supposed to be on CLEAR LIQUIDS only two prior to surgery. If you can't see through it, you can't have it... I'm shocked they drove her back to San Diego to get money... And, what she probably failed to realize that the surgeons have to PAY the hospital in order to use their facilities for the surgery. They couldn't operate on her until she gave them money to give to the hospital... As far as the 2400 vs 2500 "scam" she thinks was being pulled on her, everyone gets different prices depending on the weight and cir****tance, Cece probably honest-to-God didn't know her exact amount and this chick is just a mad, hate-the-world type of person... (For the record, I paid with Cashier's Checks and had no issues whatsoever.) My TV in my room was all in English, so I didn'****ch any hospital movies... Dr. Ramos Kelly introduced me to the anesthesiologist in my room before surgery also. I had a man for mine. He was very nice. When they wheeled me into the operating room I spazzed out. I was saying, "I can't do this, I can't do this!! I'm sorry I wasted your time!! I can't do this!!" because I was so anxious about it... the anesthesiologist put a needle in my IV and said, "You're gonna need to lay down now." in a very strong, comforting voice. Next thing I knew, I was waking up out of surgery with a new sleeve :) They had compression socks on my legs (these are to prevent blood clots) and the girl who wrote that said she was blowing into the lung thing and then throwing up... probably because you're supposed to suck in, not blow out... but whatever (there's a video of me doing this post op on my channel) I kept my compression socks on when I went to the bathroom... I don't know why she would say you have to take them off... The gas pain hurt in my shoulders. Bring a heating pad. It helped. The air exercises also help with the gas pain. WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK - It'll help the most. Dr. Ramos Kelly checked on me a couple times post op. Gave me my DVD of my surgery. Took me to Angeles Hospital for my barium dye test (mine didn't taste bad, we mixed it with mango juice) - I got copies of those images and of my chest x-rays, and EKG results, all to give my doctor in the states if he needed them. I had no problems whatsoever with billing... so her stuff about checking out of the hospital... idk?? Looks like Dr. Kelly paid the bill anyway instead of charging HER for the extra charges he incurred, so she should be thankful for that, not mad. Hotel Lucerna is AMAZING. It's absolutely beautiful. The broth tasted amazing... the food my sister got looked amazing and I was jealous I couldn't eat it - and she didn't shut up about how incredible it was, which didn't help lol :) Cece gave me my medications at the hotel, the next day she came back to pick us up to take us to the airport (VERY LATE - I was freaking out about the possibility of missing my plane, but we were at the airport in plenty of time) Overall, she's complaining about: 1 - Her not being prepared with a back up plan to pay her bill - OK, the machine was down, paying with PayPal is NOT that complicated, accidents happen, machines break, have a back up plan... they even drove her back to San Diego to help her get money instead of telling her too bad, so sad, buh bye... 2 - Wanting food within 48 hrs of surgery... Girl, no. You can't have food within 48 hrs of surgery. CLEAR LIQUIDS ONLY. So what did she do? She went into a party store and bought herself food that was not on the doctor's pre-op food preparation list... 3 - They didn't call her Mom. Ok... I'm sure they would've if there was a medical emergency. But, since everything went smooth, and they knew that, and you're only out for a short period of time, they probably assumed that - GASP! - She was capable of making a phone call all by herself with her big girl pants on. 4 - They wanted money to perform a service. YEP. What monsters. 5 - Cece saying $2500 instead of $2400. - She gets mad that Cece accidentally said the wrong amount. And, then she says Cece was apologizing profusely for it. Then she says she can see right through that little scammer... Woman, grow up. It was an honest mistake. AND she apologized. 6 - Jello was expired. - Big deal. Ask for a new one, it's not the end of the world. 7 - The hospital mattress wasn't up to par. - Really? This is a hospital, not the Ritz Carleton. 8 - The breathing exercise machine made her puke. - Because she was doing it wrong, end of story. 9 - The bill wasn't paid for in order for her to be released due to an issue with Dr. Ramos Kelly having to use a special instrument during surgery. - I'm curious if it was something to remove applesauce from her stomach that they weren't expecting to see in there... Regardless, she complains about it and Dr. Ramos Kelly paid the bill for it for her... and she was mad about that... Overall, haters gonna hate. All of her problems could've easily been avoided if she conducted herself like a grown up. She sounds like she hates everything about life, and hones in and exploits the negative in the entire situation. If she was better prepared, planned accordingly, and follow simple black and white instructions, 90% of this would've been avoided. But, some people just always need a reason to complain. She got an internationally acclaimed surgeon to perform her sleeve surgery. She will have great results if she learns to stick to plans set forth for her. She should be thankful, but like I said haters gonna hate. That's all they know how to do. I take offense to her post because my trip wasn't rainbows and butterflies, but I didn't see there and put a magnifying glass on every. single. little. flaw. I could find. Basically, have a good attitude, be prepared, and get ready to get an amazing surgeon performing your surgery and giving you a fresh start on life. I am thankful every single day that I chose Dr. Ramos Kelly. You will be too.First and foremost, I am NOT going to insult you the same way you did by calling me crazy, because, quite frankly. I clearly am better then that, and I do realize that over and threw your computer that you feel awfully big and bad typing as freely as you want. So lets get a couple things straight, my review is just that my review, who are YOU to demean my experience because it was different from yours? You should really grow up!!!! In response to your ludicrous statements
1) My MAIN point is and was the lack of communication, if the machine was down, perhaps someone could have expressed that to me prior to me leaving Canada, I wrote about it in MY review so that others would bring travelers cheques instead of experiencing what I went thru
2) As per the contract it states (and I spoke to Heath about this) that you are NOT allowed to eat within 12 hours of surgery, hence me getting food, if you read what I had wrote you would have understood that I was up for nearly 24 hours with only having two teas, and a small amount of water, who mentioned a party store??? I surely didn't, wonder if your henchman told you that! Yes I bought applesauce, but with asking three different people for broth and NO ONE delivering, I had to do what I did, its called survival
3) No they didn't call my mom, and you are a complete and total douche for saying anything otherwise- I know I said I wasn't going to call you any names but..I couldne resist! (for your information, that was NOT discussed that they would call if something went wrong) I was of the understanding that they were to call to let her know that I was ok, how you feel that was justified is beyond me, putting on my big girl panties when I'm 2 hours in recovery, and another 4 hours in and out of sleep as in I JUST HAD MAJOR SURGERY also how would I call my mother when the phone is locked in the safe, who am I whodini? And I did call my mother once I was lucid, by the way smarty pants, I'm not a little girl I'mwomen who takes full responsibility, I also expect that when im dealing with a "reputable" I use that word sparingly, company that they keep there word. WHICH THEY DIDN'T which was and is my exact point! They need to take ownership and when the Doc came to my hotel room he apologized and said that I should have told him, so he even knew that his team F**ed up
4 & 5)My issue was not that they wanted to get paid (as we all expect to work and collect a cheque) however the point is she (CECE) lied, when she knew the price, she sent the paper work which DIRECTLY HAD THE PRICE, now maybe you throw your hard earned money away BUT I DON'T, so she is a crook and ill say it over and over again
6) Jello, not the point of asking for a new one, sharing my experience, its called tolerance you perhaps should learn some,
7) Yup the mattress was ****! Was I asking for a king suit OBVIOUSLY not! However other people going to that hospital may want to prepare themselves, and thus its apart of my experience
8) Your right, I did breath into it and IT STILL made me puke!!! So much so that even the Doctor told me to discontinue use as he was in the room when I was throwing up after performing
9) No it wasn't to remove applesauce! your quite the character, as the doctor advised, he said that the hospital had claimed that he used an instrument that he in fact did not use!!!
So just to clarify I felt the need to respond to your rant, specifically because I WILL NOT BE SILENCED~~~! I will continue to tell my experience whether you like it or not, I in no way degraded your experience or demean it, why because our experiences are different, I know for some reason you feel that your the defender of The Ramos Clan however that's fine continue on your journey. I am not a hater, and just because someone has a differing opinion of events does not mean that one is better than the other, I mentioned learning to have tolerance, which is something that clearly you have not mastered the art of!! But let me break this down for you MY EXPERIENCE IS MY EXPERIENCE, its different from yours because we are different people, learn to humble yourself hun! It will pay off in the long run!!!!! You continued to insult me thru out your entire rant, which seemed to have more to do about me then it did about you, which is quite flattering that you cared so much of what I had written then to focus on yourself! small minded people, such as yourself should really consider the implications of focusing all of your energy on someone else s journey instead of your own, im sure that's also another little nugget of information that I've passed on!!! And for the record you have never met me, know nothing about me other than what I wrote, who knew that you had a degree in psychology, I love everything about my life EVERYTHING!!! So whose the hater, the person attacking me who has never met me?? POT>>>>MEET KETTLE!! At least im telling my experience
Anyways Ive wasted enough time on you and your sour, nasty, demeaning, rude, condescending self!! I wish you the best of luck! and while you continue to write raving reviews Ill continue to tell my truth and refer people to other doctors clinics due to my experience with Dr Jeckel!! Your the exact same reason why I was unable to speak the truth in his Facebook group, people apparently dont like it when you don't confirm, when you speak your truth, when your honest about your experience, unlike the remainder of the people in the group I have my own mind and thoughts, and he is JUST a DOCTOR hes not GOD!
