Patients Beyond Borders: Monterrey, Mexico Edition

part two
Al was a no-nonsense medical traveler.
He wasn’t interested in sightseeing: he just
wanted to get the procedure done and
go home to his wife. “They took me to the
hotel [Tuesday] and said they’d pick me up
early the next morning to do the pre-op
blood work and everything,” he explains.
“They were there on time [Wednesday],
took me to the hospital, I had the blood
work, they took me back, and they picked
me up again at 4:00 p.m. from the hotel
and took me to the doctor’s office. I met
the doctor, and he told me everything that
was going to happen.
“They picked me up the next morning
[Thursday] around 5:30 a.m., took me to the
hospital, and got me all checked in. The
hospital is a beautiful, clean hospital. My
room looked like an embassy suite, with a
living area and whatnot. Another girl at the
hospital was pretty much with me all the
time after that. The anesthesiologist spoke
good English and took me through the
whole procedure. They rolled me in and
did the operation, and a couple hours later
I was out and back in my room. . . . Then I
was back in the hotel on Friday. Saturday
they took me to the airport and I was back
home.”
In spite of his prior misgivings about
foreign travel, Al was impressed. “It was so
professional, and it was so centered on me,
56 Patients Beyond Borders
that I felt like I was being well taken care
of at all times, and well looked after—better
than I think I would feel in an American
hospital. I mean, they treat you like you
are someone very important who’s having
this done, and they’re pleased to have your
business,” he says.
And the results were spectacular. “I’ve
lost 72 pounds so far. I’m feeling a world
of difference. I can bend over and tie my
shoes . . . I mean, not having to get down
on one knee to tie my shoe and not breathing
hard to do it. As a result of this surgery,
I’ve eliminated all my diabetes medicine,
and I’ve cut my blood pressure medicine in
half, and I’m not even sure I need it, or even
sure I need the Lipitor that I take. I took
Prevacid for reflux for 15 years, and I don’t
take that anymore either. I am 65 and I feel
like I’m 50.”
He’s feeling, in fact, like a different person.
“The side effect that I was having with
the diabetes medicine was sporadic diarrhea,
so every place I went I had to check
for the bathroom, and it was a real drag.
So it’s like a whole different life. I couldn’t
watch TV before without falling asleep.
Now I have to take something at night
to go to sleep, because of my energy level!
And there’s been no pain in my
recovery.” n