bit by a bug

AT THE CLINIC

We were intending to write about the Festival, the just-concluded celebration of Our Lady of Peace, the patron saint of Bucerias. However, other events intervened and we were unable to attend except for the first day. But we did gain some valuable information.

Infrastructure. One reads about that quite a bit. And we think about roads and utilities and other items that speed commerce. But it can also refer to the various organizations and systems used to accomplish routine activities. Last year we learned about the dental infrastructure to attend to my wayward tooth. As we related, the dentistry care was excellent. (I am going to have my teeth cleaned while here.) This year is was Mrs.T’s turn to explore the general medical infrastructure.

Last Sunday morn Rebecca told me she was not doing well and the greater part of the night had been on the porcelain throne. And she was feeling a bit nauseous but thought the usual over-the-counter medications would kick in and resolve the two-ended ailments. When I returned in a couple of hours after church – probably a record number of baptisms – Mrs.T was not well at all. She suggested a trip to an emergency room at one of the hospitals in Puerto Vallarta. (PV has several hospitals and a couple cater to tourists; they have very good reputations.) We decided to see if Joannes or Luis were at home, they live in the same compound, and could recommend a doctor. Indeed Joannes was at home and called Dr. Victor to see if he was at his clinic in Bucerias, which he was. Joannes was kind enough to drive us the short distance across the highway to Clinica Santa Rosa.

The first thing about the clinic is that it is inviting. If your doctor’s office is like ours, it is in a nondescript building in a small mall surrounded by other offices that could contain anything from a veterinarian to an insurance agent and probably do. Or it is one of many offices, usually specialists, in a multi-storey tower that is part of a medical complex.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157600448628972/


Any of your doctors’ offices have such nice manicured lawns and flowerful entries? Outdoor sculptures? Murals? One almost feels better before reaching the door.

Once inside we greeted by Doctor Victor. No sign-in desk to fill out insurance forms. No clerk or nurse to take vitals and fill out release forms and ask about next-of-kin. No. Straight to the doctor. And he did not waste much time.

Dr. Victor is quite affable. Went right to work. He took Rebecca’s BP, looked at her tongue, which lacked color. Said she was dehydrated and took her to a room. Hooked her up to an IV and started some fluids. He asked what antibiotics to which she was allergic, which is nearly everything. But she can take Cipro which he had and hooked up a bottle of that as well. No muss, no fuss – right to treatment within minutes. Obviously he had seen these cases before.

Clinica Santa Rosa is an excellent place to receive care in Bucerias. It has four nice rooms, each well equipped and with a bath and shower. The equipment may not be state-of-the-art, but it is up-to-date. The inside is as clean and cared for as the outside would suggest. It advertises as a 24 hour clinic and pharmacy, which seems to be true. The doctors, there are two, perform a full range of services from cirugias to partos and the clinic has the facilities. If not, as noted there are several first-rate full hospitals less than thirty minutes away. Try getting such treatment on a Sunday afternoon in Columbus without going to a hospital emergency room. (Our personal peeve is with those misnamed places called emergicare or urgent care or something similar.)

This was a bit more than the normal case that Imodium could handle. Probably some type of dysentery. The best we could analyze, it probably came from a hamburger that was undercooked. It almost definitely did not come from bad water. In almost every country where bottled water is available, that is what is consumed. Tap water may be used to wash things and cooked with if boiled. The US is probably one of the few countries where we put a glass under the faucet for water to drink. Bottled or filtered/treated water is the norm here.

Mrs.T was badly dehydrated, she was down about 4/5 liters of fluids. She needed to stay overnight at the clinic for more liquids and was discharged the next morning. Total bill: about $7500 MP or approximately $750 US including the room, doctor’s fee, and medicine, some sent home with her. Medicines were the costliest part of the bill. It took a bit, but she is essentially back to full strength.

Once again we were quite impressed with the infrastructure here. A superficial understanding based upon partial and misleading information, especially stereotyped, would be deceiving.

Dan and Rebecca

The senior Mr. and Mrs. T are here for a couple of weeks. The next bit of commentary may be a bit later.