TRAVELS WITH FAITH: Fun With The Gimp

Well…I feel like I should be writing but my head remains empty of topics. We are in a kind of holding pattern here, in Mazatlan, for the next few weeks while Chris recuperates from his knee surgery.

Since Chris will likely be doing a blog entry of his own about the actual surgery I will just relate a bit of my experience through this.

We arrived in Mazatlan on Monday (the 21^st) specifically so Chris could see the orthopedic surgeon who was recommended by Michael from “Ahea Kali”. He got an appointment for the next day and following that he spent two days getting an x-ray and lab work and delivering those back to the doctor. In Mexico, your medical records are your property and your responsibility. The surgery was then scheduled for Saturday.

Saturday morning we took a pulmonia (open air cab) to the clinic and arrived at 7:15. Chris got into his little gown and disappeared into the next room where they started an IV and the next thing I knew he was out in the hallway on his way to the operating room. I spent the next couple hours sitting on a plastic chair reading a book. The staff would pass through from time to time but no one spoke to me. It wouldn’t have done much good anyway as no one spoke English and my Spanish is exceptionally limited.

About 9:30 Chris’ doctor (who does speak English) came out and told me the surgery was done and explained the whole procedure. He suggested I go have something to eat as it would be about noon before the anesthetic wore off and Chris could leave.

Off I went to find the out of doors. The clinic is actually a refurbished warehouse (the elevator is a freight elevator) and the inside is a bit of a maze. I knew I was on the second floor and since I am a bit claustrophobic I opted for the stairs. I thought if I just went down one flight I’d be back in the main lobby. Wrong! The first door I opened went to the parking lot. The second door went to the bus terminal. Aww…forget it! I wasn’t all that hungry anyway and it would be my luck to get lost when I came back and tried to find Chris.

I found a nice, comfy chair just down the hall from Chris’ closet (aka “recovery” room) and got my book out. At 11:45 I heard someone call for “Krees” and, sure enough, the nurse motioned me over. I walked to the door and the nurse handed a white doctor-type coat to put on. Hmmm. Well…OK. Then she started to put booties on my feet and I began to get concerned! Maybe they were really looking for someone else…someone who was having surgery! The nurse spoke no English so trying to explain that I was NOT the person she was looking for was beginning to get ugly. She kept insisting I put the booties on and I kept getting more animated in my resistance. Finally, I heard Chris say, “Sandra…I’m in here.” It finally dawned on me that they just wanted to keep the hallway sterile. Whew!!

We got Chris up and dressed and into a wheelchair and then a young man took us directly to the administration office. In minutes, with one swipe of Chris’ debit card, EVERYONE involved was paid: the clinic, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and the nurse. What a great system! Then we were taken to the main floor where a cab picked us up and after a quick stop at the bank we were back at the marina.

Note: No consent form was ever presented for signature. You know the one I’m referring to. In the States, you have to agree that you realize you might have complications and/or die anytime you have a hangnail removed. I guess in Mexico they assume you can figure out there are risks involved in having anesthesia and surgery.

When we got back to the marina Chris was pretty hungry so we grabbed a couple burgers at the palapa restaurant before tackling the rest of the trip back to the boat. Dan helped Chris get down the ramp and dock and onto the boat while I carried all the “stuff”. I had made up the bed in the salon for Chris since it is much lower than the aft bunk and that is where he slept for the first 5 days. Abby assumed her position as head snuggler and sympathizer.