Feliz Dia de Amor y Amistad! Wow, it’s February already and Spring Break is right around the corner…yikes! I hope the New Year has started off great for everyone and continues to get better and better with each month. Thanks to Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers (and guests) for kicking off our new year, as they do every year, with their January Jam. In addition to their Circus Mexicus that takes place every summer, Roger has added a Singer-Songwriter Summit in April, so that will be worth checking out. The Black Moods will be back in town for some live performances and there is at least one country music fest on the books so keep an eye on our Events Page, in every edition, as well as our Facebook Page for the latest events. And if you know of an event, please let us know so we can include it on our calendar.
I haven’t driven Hwy. 8 in a couple weeks now, but it did seem that there was an effort being made to keep the potholes filled. I know they get chewed up within days, but it’s better than it has been. On a recent trip to Mexicali, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the Coastal Highway was – smooth with almost no potholes and no sand dunes on the roadway. Even the few miles between El Golfo and El Doctor has been repaired. The whole drive was nice except for a section after the toll booth, just before San Luis Rio Colorado and on some random highway near Mexicali that Google Maps took me to. Ugh. It was so bad; I drove it twice! Probably the WORST patch of highway I have ever driven on and that includes the Caborca Hwy. and every 4×4 trail! My trip to Mexicali was uneventful driving-wise and very eventful dog-wise. Traveling with my 200 lb. Great Dane who doesn’t like the city traffic, noise, people, elevators, or peeing in a parking lot was tons of fun. At least the Marriott doesn’t have a weight limit for pets, which was a lifesaver because I was going to wing-it and just grab a motel along my route but turns out that those along my route were pretty much all “no-tell-motels”. Ewwwww.
I’ve not much to report this month due to other issues going on so I’ll start telling you about my latest medical adventure. Hope to see you all at the beach and remember that our border still closes at 8PM.
My two-day medical journey in Peñasco
Ah, where to start? Let’s just word vomit for now. This is an article about some medical services and experiences in Puerto Peñasco as well as caretaking, dying and death and some funny stories in-between so it will be continued for a few issues.
In my 30+ years living here I’ve been through just about everything from common parasites (one has to get used to different germies when you move here) to donating blood when a friend had an accident, to spending a month in Mexicali while my mom was in the hospital, to the police and Army, fully jacked, showing up at my house because I went to the Ministerio Publico to report that my dad was dying (I brought him down to live with me in his later years) and they interpreted what I said as “I had a dead body in my house” – I’m assuming that’s what they heard since no one ever said why they rolled in guns a-blazin’. Makes for a good story though a little shocking at the time, but all turned out fine in the end. My Spanish was actually a lot better back then, so I know I didn’t misspeak, but obviously there was a miscommunication of some sort LOL. On top of that experience there was going through the whole dying thing; funeral home, death certificate filing, paperwork and I think I may’ve had to fill out some police reports as well due to the “dead body in my house”. Morbid to some, but my dad, Bob Phipps would appreciate the story. Especially the part about this entire knife collection being displayed in his room (from old Buck Knives to swords) as the police and Army were taking a look-see at him. It didn’t even dawn on me to shove them in the drawer. The 10+ guys police and Army guys were very kind and never said a word. (A little side note because I know a lot of you know me and/or knew my parents. My “bio” dad is Bob Phipps and my step-dad was Tom O’Hare who started this paper with my Mom.)
So, let’s start with the present day while it’s fresh. In the past 2 days I have had every blood test under the sun, ultrasounds head to toe, a mammogram, a biopsy and doctor consult. It may be about 1.5 days, but my brain is fried: I started Wednesday around 3PM and finished Friday morning at 9:45AM (and that was after stopping at the Fruiteria on Sinaloa and the pathology lab on Blvd. Fremont AND going to the office off Samuel Ocaña!) – so, let’s call it 2 days. And I walked out with ALL of my results except pathology, money STILL in my wallet, NO medical bills to come in the mail, as well as my 2 bananas and 3 apples (for 30 pesos).
Here is my journey over the 2 days with prices in pesos…
$9480 Blood Tests
I don’t remember the peso amount, but it was $474 USD so I used 20:1
I had all the usual tests plus hormones, all cancer screenings, thyroid, liver, vitamin and mineral deficiencies and lots more that I don’t remember. Pretty much if Fabiola could run it, I gave blood for it. She was like a vampire reaching in the cupboard for vial after vial after vial – think she used up 10!
$2100 pesos X-rays, mammogram, ultrasounds
Lower lumbar (Columna $400 pesos) and sciatic (Pelvico $500 pesos)
Ultrasounds (US Abdominal $500 pesos) checked liver, spleen, kidneys, pancreas, breasts, ovaries, uterus, stomach in general, bladder and whatever else is in there.
Mammogram (Mamografia) with Revision ecografica $700 pesos
$500 pesos 2-hour Doctor Consult
Went over a bazillion pages of my blood labs, item by item with explanation – what causes it, how and how to make it better if it was high or low, Spanglish shared back and forth, joke telling – jokes from Spanish to English and vice-versa don’t always translate, but are nonetheless still funny, health recommendations and gossiping about Mary.
$3500 Biopsy
$2800 Pathology
I paid $140USD so, again, I did 20:1, but they may have done 18:1 – it was so early I wasn’t really paying attention.
A tiny bit of back story: I haven’t been feeling swell for quite a while, and it got worse over the summer and became intolerable when I couldn’t eat without bloating like a cow and then getting nauseous and I didn’t even want wine! If I don’t want wine, well, just bring on the zombies because the end is near! Anyhoo, I WhatsApp’d Fabiola (on her personal cell) at Farmacia San Andres at 7:30AM and asked her if she could do my blood work later that day because I was in Ajo and needed to drive down. I had been fasting for over 3 days (not by choice, mind you) and wanted to know if I had to wait until morning or if she could draw when I got there. She told me it was fine and that she’d be in that afternoon so I headed down. Farmacia San Andres is owned by the Morales family: the dad and son are doctors, Faby is the lab and pharmacy guru and I’m sure every member of the family is involved in other things because I always see them there. They are a one stop shop and have been here forever. My family has been to Dr. Morales over the years, and he has been my only general doctor for at least the last 5 years. I know I met Fabiola a hundred years ago, but really got to know her when we worked for cancer specialists out of Scottsdale, Arizona who were doing stuff with stem cells down here – they moved their operation to the teaching hospital in Hermosillo years ago – lots of drama involving a bad actor doctor who skittered out of town in the dead of the night, but that’s a whole other article.
I drove down from Ajo, hit my Ranchito and unloaded, dropped the dog and got a urine sample (why I had a sterile specimen cup in my bathroom I have no idea, but hey, I gave it a shot!). Faby’s lab is on Constitucion right next door to Farmacia San Andres. It’s all one building, doors (all labeled), from left to right, doctors, pharmacy, lab. Faby vampired my blood and we went over what labs she would run. I put an emphasis on cancer screening, hormones and liver…keeping the liver in tip-top shape is very important when one lives in Puerto Peñasco (if you know, you know, that’s all I’ll say). Needles don’t bother me anymore. I spent the first year I lived here at the doctor’s office getting IV’s because I constantly had tummy bugs and/or food poisoning…I learned a lot about condiments and food in Mexico that year!!
Side note: There will be a lot of these as I think of things that I want to add, but not necessarily expound on every single experience I’ve had. Doctors in Puerto Peñasco are the bomb! They give you their cell phone numbers! They even do house calls and will administer medicine and IVs and come back to check on you! (Same with the veterinarians – that’s a side, side note.) They are on call 24/7, they will rush you into their office when you arrive if it’s an urgent matter and/or see you the same day. I love that they come at what ails you with a natural approach first and then medicines secondary and give you sensible advice and not lectures – eat an apple, drink 2 liters of water, sure you can drink wine…love that one! Obvious this is all based on my own lived experience. Even if you come in as a 2-pack-a-day-smoker, heavy vaper or pound down a handle a day, the tone would still be non-judgemental and kind, but would probably be like…you REALLY need to stop doing these things! It’s the culture. They actually care. (That was about doctors, not Faby…Faby will lecture you lol.)
When my mom became ill in 2017, I went to her Ajo house to pick her up (long story for another time), called her doctor and asked him if he could meet us when we got to town, and he said yes. We got to his office in Peñasco around 6PM, he drew her blood, had it processed immediately and mom, me, Mario and Alicia were on our way to the hospital in Mexicali by midnight. He even drove to Mexicali to check on my mom and personally consult with her doctors after they ran a bunch of tests. (He loved my mom…I wish he became step-dad #2!) That’s what the doctor’s here do for you. This is not a one-off either, I have a hundred other examples dealing with a variety of doctors as do many of my friends. And it’s not just here, I’ve had good experiences in Mexicali as well, but they have a much higher volume, and you may have to wait a day. (But driving up a day early gives you enough time to hit Costco, Sam’s, Smart & Final, Petsmart, stay at Hotel Lucerna and have a killer meal at their restaurant, or go a few miles up the street to Palomino’s Steakhouse…bomb!)
What was I writing about? Ah, blood, needles – all the good stuff! Faby is such a great phlebotomist (she probably has more titles) that you don’t even feel a thing. I don’t think I’ve had a bad one here in town though I clearly remember one in the states that kept stabbing me and, after the 3rd try, I told her you have one more chance and then go get someone else. Now, after living here and having no issues at all…you get one stab at me! If you don’t like needles, just turn your head the other way, Fabiola talks to you, and you won’t feel or see a thing.
Blood drawn, Faby and I chatted for a while, she made me a long list of what I needed to get as far as the ultrasounds, mammogram and x-rays, we chatted some more, and she made an appointment for me to see her dad, Dr. Morales, the following day at 3:20PM (she knows I don’t like mornings). We left the lab, went next door to the pharmacy, I got a little lecture, paid my lab bill and then drove up to Radio Diagnøstico on Melchor Ocampo to make my appointment.
I think I got to Radio Diagnøstico around 4PM and told them I needed an appointment for the next day and gave them the long list. Actually, I told them Dr. Morales needed me to have the appointment because we had an appointment at 3:20PM the next day. I don’t think my little lie mattered as my appointment was made for 8AM the following morning.
Super not happy about having to get up soooo early (hush you early birds), but as it turned out I was awoken at 4AM with two stinky paws (literally) on my face, about 1” of blanket and a giant head taking up half my pillow. On with the day…clothes on, teeth brushed, and I arrived at Radio Diagnøstico at 8:05AM – hey, I tried! And everyone else was late(r) so I felt pretty good haha. First it was off to the x-ray room, done and done. Easy peasy. Out the door, in the next where the mammograms are performed. Men, you can stop reading here… The mammograms were a breeze. The first one I had maybe 3 or 4 years ago over by the new hospital, zero pain. I was always terrified because of the horror stories I had heard since I was young about how painful it is…pffft…no pain. Pain is sitting for an 8-hour tattoo on the underside of your arm. The mammo gal was great. Two squishes down and two side squishes and we were done. I have to say that the left side caused me to wince, but she ran back to her computer, and it was over in a sec. The paper cuts I’ve had are literally worse. I think the mammo took 15 minutes, so I went back to the lobby to wait for Dr. Juvenal Romero Orozco to arrive and was in the ultrasound room just after 9AM. He said a “buenos dias” to everyone and shook their hands as he walked through the lobby. Really? What doctor does that? And everyone that walked in for an appointment gave a buenos dias! to everyone else already there.
By the time we got settled in the ultrasound room Juvenal had all of my x-ray and mammogram results. He looked them over and found some suspicious items that needed further investigation. He squished on some gel and away he went. Oh, he has a new gel warmer, which was very nice. He didn’t have it last time I was there for an ultrasound, but it’s been a minute since my last visit to him. He has a screen positioned right in front of you so you can see everything he’s doing, and he explains everything to you as well. It all looks like gray and white and charcoal blobs, but he obviously knows what it all is. He started with my right breast and found the suspicious spot which turned out to be a tumor, which I’m pretty sure they already knew. He measured and marked it and then moved on to check out the other spots and everything else in-between.
Next it was onto my stomach area, which was my main concern. I was feeling so icky that I was thinking I had a tumor in my stomach – not in my breast! But everything in my gut came out groovy. I had him double check my liver LOL and everything was fine. He pointed out my liver, kidneys, spleen, maybe gallbladder and whatever else is in there. After I could see there was no tumor and my liver and kidneys were good, I kinda zoned out and just watched the screen. After that it was time to check my girlie bits and pieces – and all was good down there. He even pointed out my colon. Ewwww.
I got dressed and then waited in the room for a few minutes while he pointed out stuff to me on my scans and wrote a few letters about what he observed and what his recommendations were. Turns out my breast tumor was large and suspicious enough that he recommended I get a biopsy to see if it was cancerous or not. He gave me all my scans and reports and bid me farewell.
My appointment wasn’t until 3:20PM so I WA Fabiola and told her that I was done and had all my scans so if Dr. Morales was available sooner then so was I. We moved my appointment to 1PM so I headed back to the ranchito for a nap haha.
To be continued next month, but in the meantime if you need an x-ray, mammogram or ultrasound Dr. Juvenal Romero Orozco is on Melchor Ocampo almost at the corner of Guillermo Prieto. The telephone number is 638-383-7070 and WhatsApp 638-125-0512. Walk-ins are welcome and they’ll take you right then or you may have to wait a few minutes. A young man walked in off the street while I was waiting in the lobby, and he needed an x-ray for his back. He waited for maybe 10 minutes, was charged $300 pesos and sent on his way with his film.