Second Day in Ecuador Was Spent in Hospital

Pam and I had a wonderful dinner at the Mansion del Angel where we chatted with several other Americans who were also staying there. Pam ordered Quiche and a salad and I ordered Shrimp in wine sauce. Big mistake. About three hours later....how shall I out this delicately?.......My stomach decided it didn't want to deal with my meal. In short. all night I was sicker than the proverbial dog. Finally the next day things got so miserable that we called in a house doctor who started me on IVs and said I shoud go to the hospital. I said i didn't need to go to the hospital. He charged us only $70 for the visit and then later sent over another doctor (an internist) for a second opinion. This internist was a very young woman (still had braces on her teeth), but was very persuasive so I said I'd admit myself to Metropolitan Hospital in Quito which has an excellent reputation.I woulo have agreed to almost anything to escape the discomfort whcih I can only compare to being sea sick and hung over simulataneously.

Now, haev you ever tried to admit yourself to a hospital in a foreign country where nobody speaks English and you don' t know the system? Fortunately we had a driver, Agostino, who took a personal interest in us and fortunately was bilingual. He stayed with us through the ER admission process and later stayed even after I was admitted to the hospital itself. He charged us maybe $80 for all the services and support he provided.

So began my real life exploration of the quality of the medical system in Ecuador. Sparing many details, I was very impressed with the equality of care I received. I saw at least 15 doctors who varied in English speaking from zero to excellent. One doctor after another came in from various specialties and all asked exactly the same questions to which I gave the same answers I had given their predecessor.

They all worked as a team, though, which was very impressive. I did have to put up with a nurse Ratchett but she was the exception. Most of the staff was extremely caring, gentle and concerned. Next day, I got the good news: no serious problem; just an intestinal infection (versus some other possibilities they were trying to rule out). Said to  stay away from salads, diary products, mayonnaise, and of course, non-bottled juices and waters. 

The bill for all this care? About $695 which was an expense I didn't need, but frankly I was expecting a bill of about $3000 by US standards.

So, it was on to Cotachachi for another adventure. Stay tuned....you'll love this one!