Medical Scare in Mexico!

Now that we know all is well :-) Miki wanted you to know she had a first class medical scare here in Mexico. The day after we arrived, she started bleeding vaginally - this is a woman who went through menopause when she was 50 with not one symptom and has not had a period since then. We went to a local male doctor who prescribed a hormone shot. Whatever it was he prescribed was impossible to find, so we went to another male Dr. at the American hospital. He did a very painful internal and prescribed Premarin to be inserted vaginally for 30 days.

Not much had changed after 10 days, so we called the American hospital again and asked for an appointment with a gynecologist, preferably a woman. Got an appointment the SAME DAY with a great gal, Dr. Duran. She did a pap smear, an ultrasound and an internal complete with speculum with a camera attached. She told M she should have a D & C and biopsy of the uterus to check for the Big C - Cancer.

Next day she had blood work done and the 3rd day, Friday, she was in the hospital from 7 am until 4 pm. Had the procedure, slept off and on for a few hours and was then sent home. We were told we would hear the results by the following Wednesday, as the biopsy was being couriered to Dr. Duran's friend in Mexico City, the best pathologist in Mexico.



Ah, manana, as the saying goes down here - on Wed we were told there had been a holiday in Mexico City on the Monday, and the courier delivery had been delayed, so now it would be Friday. Friday came and Dr. Duran said it would now be Monday. Sigh. Most of the time we are very relaxed about the manana factor down here, but waiting for this result was very stressful.

Miki rested for a few days after the procedure and has felt fine since then. The bleeding has stopped and all we needed was an answer at which point we would decide whether we would have to come back to Canada or deal with whatever might come down here. A friend of ours here has a nasty form of melanoma and has a great oncologist, so gave us his name just in case.

Monday Dr. Duran called - NO CANCER!!!!!!!!! All tissue was healthy and there were no abnormalities at all in either the uterus or cervix. She was in the clear!!! But, we met with her the next morning and she was adamant with Miki that she needed to lose weight, as the extra weight was what had caused an excess of hormones to build up, causing the bleeding. She gave her a hormone shot, which she is to have once a month for 3 months, and will see her again in February, at which point she is to have lost 3 kilos.

As we are both overweight, it was a wake up call all round, so we are dieting, trying to exercise every day, and in fact joined Curves in Canada just before we left, as there is one here in Cancun as well, so we look forward to doing that 3 times a week. The medical care (once we got to Dr. Duran) was fast, efficient, and inexpensive. The bill for all the Dr. appointments, hospital stay, anesthesiologist (sp?), lab work, surgery, nurses, medication, ultrasound, pap smear, and of course biopsy, was $1,650. Can you imagine what that would have cost in the U.S.????

We are so very grateful for the love and support that friends and family sent during this time, and are delighted that our stay in Mexico will continue as we work on our little casa, visit with friends both from Canada and our local friends. Life is good, and as our friend Les reminded us from a song from Tim McGraw:

"I was in my early forties, (well, 60s in Miki's case)
"With a lot of life before me,
"An' a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
"I spent most of the next days,
"Looking at the x-rays,
"An' talking 'bout the options an' talkin’ ‘bout sweet time."
I asked him when it sank in,
That this might really be the real end?
How’s it hit you when you get that kind of news?
Man whatcha do?
An' he said: "I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."
He said "I was finally the husband,
"That most the time I wasn’t.
"An' I became a friend a friend would like to have.
"And all of a sudden goin' fishin’,
"Wasn’t such an imposition,
"And I went three times that year I lost my Dad.
"Well, I finally read the Good Book,
"And I took a good long hard look,
"At what I'd do if I could do it all again,
"And then:
"I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."
Like tomorrow was a gift,
And you got eternity,
To think about what you’d do with it.
An' what did you do with it?
An' what can I do with it?
An' what would I do with it?
"Sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I watched Blue Eagle as it was flyin'."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."