All this I would have looked forward to after a lazy 8 weeks in the sun, but this winter I have been challenged with health issues and rested up is not exactly how I am feeling right now. My Psoriatic Arthritis flared up a few weeks before I arrived, and it worsened once here until I was unable to play pickle ball or walk to town, or do pretty much anything fun. Fortunately, in Mexico, the health care system is easy to navigate, and one need not wait 6 months to get into the specialist. I just sent an email to a recommended Rheumatologist, exchanged a few emails regarding what was going on, and she fit me in within a few days. I love that about Mexico. When you are sick, you can just go get stuff dealt with. My cost including seeing the specialist and the local doctor (who gave me a shot for pain to tied me over until I saw the Rheumy) was about $120.
When I saw the specialist, she prescribed a new medicine and a shot of Depo-Medrol (Methylprednisolone - a corticosteroid given by injection), but instead of giving it to me herself, I was to go pick it up at the pharmacy (no prescription needed), and give it to myself. Yikes! That took some psyching myself up to say the least. In the end, it was far less terrible than I had imagined, and in fact, it was actually quite funny: an intermuscular needle needs to go into a big muscle - I chose my thigh. After watching a couple of YouTube videos, I decided I would freeze the area first with some ice (soas to reduce any potential pain). Well, when I stabbed myself, fearing I would stab too hard and go too deep, I actually stabbed so lightly the needle went into my leg about 1 centimeter - it felt like I was stabbing a frozen steak! I had to pull the needle out, and go at it again, only this time knowing I would have to stab much harder if I were to get all two inches of the needle into my muscle. So re-freeze, re-sterilize, and re-stab...1,2,3 - I stabbed hard, the needle went all the way to the hilt, and I pushed the plunger! It worked...no pain whatsoever, and I felt quite proud of myself for not chickening out.
Anyway, after the needle, I was so looking forward to finally feeling better, but over the next two days I actually began to feel worse. Little did I know something more sinister than psoriatic arthritis was brewing...
Stephane began having similar symptoms to me, and after a night from hell where Stephane literally was crying in pain his head hurt so bad, he went to the Doctor the next morning who confirmed he had Dengue Fever. I was too sick to go to the Doctor with him, but knew I had what he had, as we had exactly the same symptoms. For the next three days we were both so sick we were unable to get out of bed. Pain in our muscles, muscle weakness so bad we could barely lift a glass of water to our mouths, joint pain, head pain, and overwhelming fatigue. It was just awful!
Doctor Victor, who runs a local clinic here in Bucerias, told Stephane to come back to have his blood checked a few days later, explaining that some people with Dengue will have trouble with their platelets dropping, so I went in with Stephane to have mine checked as well. The Doctor took one look t me and said, "I don't like what I see." Interestingly, he did not think I had Dengue, he thought I had the flu, because unlike Stephane, I had developed a bad cough. Anyway, the blood work confirmed Dengue, as well as dangerously low platelets, and the Doctor said it would be too dangerous for me to go home.
At the clinic there are three overnight rooms, and when you are "admitted" the Doctor literally stays there in the clinic 24 hours a day to watch over you. His wife cooks the meals. So, for the next three days I was on an IV and several different meds trying to get my fluids stabilized. My blood pressure had dropped quite low and I was very dehydrated. They let Stephane stay with me, even letting him sleep in an extra bed beside me!
When I was stable and able to leave the clinic three days later, I was presented a bill - with everything clearly itemized (IV's, drugs, food, etc.) and the bill was only 39,000 pesos. That is just about $2700 Canadian dollars. The amazing part of that was the portion of that bill for the Doctors time, was only 15,000 pesos - about $1000. Can you imagine, 24 hour a day personal care by a physician - for 2 nights and 3 days - for $1000? And there were no nurses...it was the Doctor who checked on me in the middle of the night, the Doctor who changed my IV bag and gave me my meds. And it was the Doctor who hugged me and gave me a kiss when I left, and gave me his cell phone number to call if anything changed in my condition while I was in Mexico city (a trip we had already booked and paid for so could not cancel). Indeed, things are different in Mexico. Different good, in my opinion.
I did some research about Dengue Fever, and it is an interesting disease. It affects everyone differently. Many people can get it and not even know they have it as they are asymptomatic. Others, like me, can have platelet issues. Others still, go on to have hemorrhagic fever, where they begin to bleed spontaneously from various orifices, and shock syndrome or death is a potential outcome.
There are four strains of Dengue - so even if you have had it - you only have antibodies for that strain - meaning you can still get it three more times! And although there is a vaccine for Dengue, the World Health Organization suggests you never take the vaccine unless you have already had Dengue once. The reason for that is because the vaccine puts you at much higher risk of hemorrhagic fever should you ever get Dengue.
Truly, the best prevention is using DEET, and being diligent about putting it on. Alternatively, as some have pointed out over the past few weeks, you could also choose a different country to winter in. But, to those I say this: Dengue fever occurs widely in the tropics, including the Southern United States, Australia, and the Carribean - yes even those uber expensive rich person places like the British Virgin Islands and Grenada. This is not just a developing world problem. And let's be honest with ourselves, even in the United States, where people often winter in Palm Springs or Florida, there are dangerous diseases like Lyme disease and West Nile Virus. Then there is the H1N1 and all those other deadly flues...and SARS. At the end of the day, no matter where you live, globalization and global climate change mean there are bugs and people that spread diseases worldwide.
There is no safe place. Shit happens.
At least in Mexico, I can afford to pay for excellent, private health care, whereas if i wintered in the United States, I would have had to have paid far more than $3000 - just for the insurance to cover my medical care - which likely would have run upwards of $30,000 US.
.png)
