Well that was just a slice. Back home and starting to heal, and sooo much to tell. First off, I truly am feeling very well. For those who've had a gallbladder removal by laparascope, it was exactly the same. Minus, of course, how you eat afterwards.
Let’s start with the good: We had a good flight down. The surgery went very well and the doctors and nursing staff were top-notch. No complications, no problem with stitches, good needles for pain and inflammation and antibiotics, good care in hospital and no problems for other patients.
Now the rest of the story …
August 10 - We arrived in San Diego around noon and got settled into the hotel room by 2PM. Speaking with the front desk supervisor Penny was like talking with a drill sergeant, but otherwise it was all okay. Room was fine, nothing fancy, good beds, white duvets and great room service. I was nervous about the next day and had trouble sleeping, but still managed to sneak in 7 hours.
August 11 - We were up and waiting at the front doors by 7:45 AM, anticipating the arrival of the Jerusalem Hospital van. He arrived around 8:15 (mexican time is a little delayed) and we began our journey to the clinic/hospital. We sat around and around and around (filled out some forms, bloodwork, EKG) until finally around 6 PM we were taken to meet the doctors. My surgery was the first - started around 7 and took about 45 minutes. Afterward, I was stuck in a bed and given some pain meds that knocked me out. Poor Darrin hadn't had anything to eat, so he and two other ladies walked around the neighbourhood and finally found a pizza place to fill their bellies. I guess he came in while I was comatose to check on me, but then he was sent upstairs to the "doctor's lounge". He slept on an oversized loveseat, although not much sleep took place. An elderly patient having a face lift became delirious and fell on his face then accused hubby and the other family members of stealing his passport and money. I guess it was a comedy from the start.
Side note: When I booked the surgery, Louise Johnson (the patient coordinator for Dr. Almanza), indicated that there may be room for Darrin at the Recovery House. I confirmed this twice with her prior to our arrival, with the last check the day before we left. Yes, she assured me, all was well. Hmmm... Something that wasn’t mentioned was that the 4 people I was told are operated on each day was in addition to the 4 plastics people being operated on each day.
August 12 - Returned from the hospital around 9AM. I slept late afternoon/evening, having no idea what was happening with Darrin. I guess there were 5 family members staying at the house of which two were given beds (because those were available). In one of my forays downstairs, I checked that Darrin would be given a bed this evening. Oh yes, I was assured, everything will be fine. However once again this didn't happen but wasn't told until late evening. As well, of the 5 "guests" two were fed and three weren't - the three being Darrin and two other ladies. Unfortunately this time we were too far from anything and so they subsisted on freezies and scraped out casserole. Ended up sleeping on a couch again - this one slightly longer than the last.
Darrin finally got out of the house to get some smokes and food. His adventure was, while he had his seat belt on, the driver didn't and they got pulled over by the police. Thankfully they left him alone and the driver slipped them $5 to be allowed to leave. Darrin was very, very nervous to say the least. So back to the recovery/guest house to check me, who was sleeping once again. Note: at this point I was supposed to be on a clear liquid diet. I was offered freezies. Period. We were informed in the late afternoon that we had to leave the house tomorrow morning. Darrin tried to find a room in San Diego to no avail.
August 13 - Upon waking this morning, we were informed we were being sent to a hotel because there wasn’t enough room at the inn. I showered (Darrin hadn't been able to shower) and gathered my things together. We were taken to the Hotel Ticuan in Tijuana. OMG! Absolutely stunning hotel. 4 1/2 stars, huge rooms, immaculately clean, marble and furnishings and embroidered bedding and and and it was $69 for the night or $115 for the master suite. We decided to go with the regular room as it was one night of sleep. Darrin got some real food into him and a hot shower, and felt a lot more human. The bad is that we were told we wouldn’t have to pay and then we had to pay. WTF?
So we were turfed from the house around 2 PM and taken to the hotel. Thankfully we were able to find a little supermarket a couple blocks away, to get some food. Darrin also went out and got some hot food for himself. I was feeling pretty good and didn’t mind the walk – it helped get rid of the gas.
The arrangement was that we would be in hospital one night and then recovery house two nights. If we had to move to the hotel, the cost would be covered for us. Well surprise, surprise … guess who had to pay for their room! I asked the driver to call the house and he put his head down and said we had to pay. If I was smart I just would have refused period, however anaesthetic ravaged brains don’t always process things how they should.
Note: When I spoke with Louise, she would not allow for a departure on the 14th so we booked a room in San Diego, again at the Hampton. There were two patients who left on the 14th - yet another thing that made us go hmm.
We were in bed early and had quite a restful sleep.
August 14 – Wake up early to be taken to San Diego. We had three other people with us: two ladies who had face lifts and one of their husbands. We were all outside by 7:45 for the arrival of the van at 8:00. Well, 8:00 became 8:30 and we all started getting extra pissed. We ladies began to call Louise, the hospital, the clinic, the house, everywhere. We were told 5 minutes, 5 minutes. Finally at 8:55 our driver showed up. Bear in mind that it takes approximately 3 minutes to cross the US border into Mexico. However, it took us until 10:40 to make the 10 minute trip the other way. We got dropped off at the Hampton too early and spent a few hours (and about 3 miles) walking all over San Diego. It was really good for the gas, that’s for sure. Finally get into our room about 2PM and just lounged and snoozed for a while. Room definitely isn’t as beautiful as the Ticuan, but not too bad. Went to bed around 8 so we could be up at 3AM to catch the plane. I slept about 3 hours as I was nervous and excited about getting home.
August 15 – Up at 3:15 and everything ready by 3:45, to catch the 4:30 cab. I thought there would be no one at the airport, but surprise surprise there were lots of people. Darrin was frustrated we were “late” but once we got through and onto the plane, all was fine. We were home by 1:00 and all is good.
I’m feeling pretty good right now. Was a little tired on the 16th and had a nap in the morning. Otherwise, things are pretty much back to normal. Well, minus the changes in eating and drinking habits. More of that to follow.
Next post I’ll summarize the things you need to be aware of and prepared for.
Hello. Thank you for posting your experiences. It sounds that you were not treated as expected at the recovery house. This is not the first time I have heard about overbooking and overcrowding at the recovery house, to the point where there were not enough beds. Also was interesting to learn the hotel made you pay. Did you address this back to the staff after your return home?
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