Medical is always a big issue when considering Lakeside as a potential retirement location. So I thought I would share some personal observations about what you can expect and what you need to do if you decide to live here. Uno dia, one day, you will wake up in pain. Every time you go to move your left arm, the pain is excrutiating. Yesterday it was sore, but today the pain brings you to tears if you try to move your arm. NOB you'd probably go to an urgent aid clinic, the emergency room, or call your doctor to see if you can get in. Here you've got similar choices, head over to Cruz Roja, go to one of the various clinics, or call your doctor to see if you can get in. Pain started to diminish after the shots, so we got home and made arrangements for a driver to take us to Guadalajara the next morning. Next morning, not so much pain, but sore. Driver arrives on time and we drive up to the imaging center. Very clean, modern center with professional staff and no need to have driver translate as they spoke enough English to do all that was needed. Two hours later we're on our way home with the results. Next day we take results over to see the Doctor. The doctor reviews the MRI results and says we need to see a Ortho specialist that comes in on Monday. Doctor advises us to get a sling and try to limit moving the arm until after seeing the specialist. We see the specialist on Monday morning, he exams the arm, reviews the results and says he wants to see if he can treat it with anti-inflammatory drug and physical therapy. Elapsed time Wednesday 1st Dr appointment Thursday MRI Friday review results with Doctor Monday review results w Specialist Tuesday begin therapy Pain had subsided by afternoon of first day and anti-inflammatory meds started same day. Costs Dr visit w 2 shots 700p /$ 44 US X-rays 750p /$ 47 US MRI 4400p /$275 US Driver 540p /$ 34 US Dr visit review 300p /$ 19 US Specialist 600p /$ 38 US Therapy session 400p /$ 25 US Total out of pocket less than $ 500. All with very professional doctors & nurses in professional settings. Now admittedly this is a fairly minor medical issue, but I believe these are more common than the catastrophic issues. What's the moral to the story? Find a Doctor you like, at Lakeside, before you need them Find a Driver you like before you need them, and have a backup Quality care is readily available, it is professional and can be conducted in quality facilities. As much as you wouldn't want to start searching the yellow pages when you have a problem NOB, don't wait till it happens always have a Doctor and a driver that you like and can trust. Our feeling is that you can get excellent care, at a very reasonable price with someone you have confidence in, just as easily and at a lower cost than NOB. |