Marina Vallarta Crocodile or Cocodrilo

Stopped by the marina today with some Beach Crossers clients. This crocodile was swimming leisurely past. According to the man that works at the marina "this is the small one." He said there are two crocodiles that hang around the marina in Vallarta. We will have to go back and take a look at "the big one".

My experience with medical care in Puerto Vallarta

Since we have Beach Crossers mobility rentals, we have a lot of experience with people who need some medical services as well. We have clients that are treated at the Lyme clinic, come to Vallarta for joint replacements, elective surgeries, stem cell injections etc. However, recently I've have some personal experience with the medical services here in Puerto Vallarta. 

In February, I started having some chest pain. It's a busy time for Beach Crossers, so I put off going to the doctor. At the first possible opportunity, Sheri and I headed to see Dr. Romo to see if he could shed some light on my chest pain. I have a history of bronchitis and pneumonia. I was 10 weeks premature and always attributed the less than strong lungs to that situation. Just my opinion, with absolutely no support for my theory. 

This felt different. It was more of a constant pressure. It also felt like I had swallowed a big vitamin and got it stuck somewhere between where it went in and where it should have landed. 

Why Dr. Romo?  Well ... first of all ... he's our landlord. Yep, his wife was born in the oldest building of our 4 building apartment complex. So, we have known him for a while. Sheri went to see him last year for some back problems that were improved so much that we would both consider him our local doctor. 

Dr. Romo was out of town. The attending physician did an EKG (or ECG. It's an ElectroCardioGram, but usually called an EKG). It was abnormal. Hmmmm. No heart problems in the family. I have perfect numbers for blood pressure and cholesterol. I have never been a smoker and work out regularly. I eat healthier than most. I do not eat french fries or drink Pepsi (a quote from one of the doctors "you'll need to give up the french fries and Pepsi" ... really?)

I was checked in. Blood tests were done to confirm that I had not suffered a heart attack. Yes, the EKG was that bad. Dr. Romo called me that evening just to go over what I should expect. A couple of hours later, a Cardiologist came by. He had seen my bloodwork and EKG and wanted me to just rest. They were going to repeat both of those things in the morning. I also had a chest X-ray just to rule out any lung interaction. 

The next morning the blood work and EKG were repeated. Dang if they didn't come back the same. The cardiologist, Dr. Nieves came to see me again. He went over the EKG and blood work. I had a few very bad things on the EKG that he was worried about. Something about my RST waves and another place where I should have something that goes positive/negative that was just going positive/positive. Well, I am a very positive person. 

His recommendation was to go to Guadalajara to have a nuclear stress test. I don't know if that can be done here in Vallarta. I would think so. We have amazing hospitals. I am guessing that he is not affiliated with one of those hospitals. I called Pam Thompson for a recommendation. Her first recommendation was to get a second opinion. Hey, that's a good idea. I should have thought of that myself. So, off I went to see Dr. Hernandez at San Javier. There are three cardiologists at San Javier. He has the first available appointment. 

He looked at the EKG and talked to me about my health history. Then we went next door and had another EKG. Dang. There is was again. That weird looking EKG. As a biology teacher, I know what an EKG should look like. This is not it. He said I had a 50/50 chance of a sudden death event and should get into surgery now!!!  Well, it was Friday. I told him that I absolutely was not going to go into surgery right now. I would take my 50/50 chance and think about it until Monday. I promised the rest of my family that I would sit my butt in a wheelchair and not doing anything that might increase those odds before getting medical treatment. I did a lot of research, praying, and deciding over the next 48 hours. By Monday morning I had a plan. We could do the angiogram, but only for diagnostics. I was not okay with the idea of being knocked out and having the doctor look around, do a stent if needed, or two, or three, or four, or five. If there were more than 5 needed then they would just do a bypass while I was there. Now, don't get me wrong. I have complete confidence in Dr. Hernandez. I just like to know what's going to happen before it happens. I felt like in this situation that should be possible. Dr. Hernandez was not willing to do an angiogram for diagnostics without having permission to fix it if he found something life threatening. Okay, I get that. He couldn't very well go in there, find something that was going to kill me and sew me up without fixing it. Fair enough. That didn't make me any more okay with the knock me out and do whatever you want scenario. Dr. Hernandez recommended a angiotomography diagnostic test in Guadalajara. We left that same afternoon. Thank you Stephanie for coming from Ajijic to take care of Beach Crossers (and Sheri and me) for awhile. I'll never forget Stephanie calling. 

Stephanie "I got to cross something off of my bucket list today"

Sheri, "Really, what?"

Stephanie, "I got to walk across the lobby of a luxury hotel carrying a toilet seat."

Me, "Hahahahahaha. Welcome to the world of Beach Crossers."

Sheri and I headed for Guadalajara. We found a room on hotwire.com at Country Club Inn or something like that. The hospital was Country Club Hospital and the neighborhood shares the name. Yes, there is a country club nearby. The room was less than $30 USD and was very nice. 

The hospital was beautiful and very modern. I suppose I should have said the same about San Javier. It is a beautiful hospital. The procedure was pretty much like a CAT scan. Some high tech 3D imaging of the heart. I debated over the dye. Mom always insisted on no dye so I felt like there was probably a good reason to say no. Not knowing what that reason was, I went ahead. Just for the record. Someone should have mentioned that you feel like you wet yourself. I really was not sure if I had or had not!  Luckily it was the latter. 

The whole experience was weird only because I have so little experience being on the receiving end of medical procedures. We hung around GDL until the results were printed. That's something different (in my experience). In Mexico, they tend to hand you your diagnostics. So we waited until the films and the report were ready and took them with us. Doctor Ramirez didn't consult with us, but had talked to Dr. Hernandez before we met with him the following morning. To recap, Monday we met with Dr. Hernandez, Monday evening to GLD, Tuesday for some imaging, Wednesday back in to see Dr. Hernandez, and surgery scheduled for Thursday morning. All of that seemed very different than in the states. Again, I have limited experience there. 

So the imaging showed a 60-70% blockage of my main artery. To make things worse, you actually have 3 arteries that nourish the heart with oxygen filled blood. Like having 3 freeways that serve a city. For most people those freeways are divided with something like 40/30/30% of the traffic. Well, my arteries were divided 80/10/10. That means that the primary highway was blocked nearly 70% and the supporting highways were really more like country roads. My odds took a serious turn for the worse. 

Thursday morning bright and early I was in for my angiogram.  Now, you can make your own decision here, but I'm going to stick with the miracle viewpoint. There was no blockage. Three EKGs and an angiotomography, 3 cardiologists in 2 cities, and classic symptoms all say that I had a serious blockage. The video from the angiogram says different. There was not only no blockage, but no plaque build up at all. 

So, for awhile, Dr. Hernandez was able to say, "I told you so." and did more often than was probably appropriate. Now, he was completely baffled. What he says now is that if I had not gone to Guadalajara for the angiotomography that he would have sent me away and said that I didn't need a cardiologist. All of my symptoms and the multiple EKGs clearly pointed to a blockage. However, since I had the imaging diagnostics, we know that I have a left bundle branch blockage, an enlarged heart, and a below normal blood flow. Lots of things can cause these problems. One of which is a coronary artery blockage. Maybe it's a question of which came first...the coronary blockage or the electrical blockage? Anyway, the coronary blockage is gone but the rest remains. 

While in the hospital, Dr. Romo had one of his nurses bring me a book called Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. It was fascinating. I left the hospital and watched the movie, "Forks over Knives". By the time I had the angiogram I had been vegan for 8 days. There was some debate as to whether or not the plant based whole foods way of eating could have dissolved the blockage so quickly. I reached out to Dr. Esselstyn, who amazingly replied and scheduled a phone conference. I learned a lot speaking with both Dr. Esselstyn and his wife Ann. One of the things I learned is that, "The diet absolutely could not have worked that fast. The earliest results we have seen is three weeks." Well then. Back to a miracle. 

I've continued with the plant based whole foods way of eating (PBWFWOE). Seriously, they use the acronym. I continue, not because my heart can be fixed, but because the health benefits were so amazing. I'm enjoying fruits and vegetables like never before. Eating whole grain (oil free) breads, pastas, and desserts. I've tried grains I had never heard of. I thought hemp was used for rope making. Now I eat the grain. Whoever heard of nutritional yeast? I'm ready to buy my second big jar. I've made more oil free hummus than I can believe. I usually cook the garbanzo beans in the crock pot, but my quick batch is

a can of garbanzo beans

a big handful of fresh cilantro

a can of Herdez Casera

a bit of salt to taste. 

In a matter of minutes I have my favorite salad dressing, a dip, a sandwich spread, a potato topper, and an appetizer. Just for the record. I never really liked hummus. Home made is hands down the best option. Don't skimp on the flavors. 

So, to get back on topic. I'm feeling amazing. I still have a heart problem and likely will for the rest of my life. Sometimes if feels like a ticking time bomb. I honestly don't think I could have gotten better medical attention in the states. I didn't wait more than a couple of hours to see a cardiologist and really a matter of minutes before having the first EKG. At my 3 week follow-up with Dr. Hernandez. He said my numbers aren't terrible. My heart is a little enlarged. My flow rate is a little low, and I definitely have a left bundle branch blockage. It's not impossible that it would go away, but unlikely (I'm remembering a recent miracle). The entire situation including 3 EKGs, an over night in the hospital, 5 consults with 2 cardiologists, two sets of blood work, a chest x-ray the angiotomography, the angiogram with sedation, and some medications that I am currently choosing not to take came to just under $10,000 USD. 

Now, I don't have insurance in either country so $10,000 is a lot of money. I'll be the last one to argue that point. However, it was less than $10,000!!!  I'll be paying on that credit card with way too much interest for a while, but there are no liens against my house. 

All in all I'm going to say that I was very satisfied with my medical care. I will go back to Dr. Hernandez in a year or if my symptoms change. For now, I'm loving my PBWFWOE and having more energy in my days. And, I'm shopping for insurance.