Archive for health care
Shock! Reader Disapproves of My Cipro & Bourbon Diet
Posted by: | CommentsA new friend of mine who has recently started blogging wouldn’t approve of my practice of popping Ciproflaxin with a Early Times chaser when diarrhea lasts longer than 5 days. Peter prefers a more delicate, natural touch:
In basic terms, antibiotics are non-discriminatory and will kill the good bacteria in your body along with the bad. In the case of your digestive system, this means that the bacteria that helps you digest is taken out of commission. Probiotics offers you a faster way to rebuild your digestive system without having to eat loads of cultured yogurt. In the States, Probiotics are easily found in markets with a health food section (Whole Foods), Pharmacies, GNC.com, etc.
Fast forward to Guatemala and a stomach that was not feeling right. By not “feeling right”, I am talking about mild digestive discomfort vs. taking up residence in the bathroom. I know that Guatemala City has GNC stores, but in Antigua my known options were more limited. However, I was able to get a recommendation for Probiotics (see below) from a well respected Antigua pharmacy that did the trick in a few days. The type of Probiotic used in this product is called….
Continue reading at GuatHealth
HealthCare for the Family in Antigua
Posted by: | CommentsEven the servants expats living like locals get quality health care in Guate:
Dorian has the beginning stages of bronchitis, Dante has an upper respiratory infection, also just starting and as we thought we were done, the doctor told ME to get up on the table. “I know how moms are,” he said, “You’re coughing, too and if you don’t take care of yourself, you’re going to be sicker and sicker and reinfect your kids.” I have bronchitis, too.
The grand total for the consult for four people (Irving had one too) . . . Q150, or about $35. With medicine, it came to the grand total of $50, since my meds were free and the boys got theirs at a reduced price right there in the doctor’s office. Not bad!!
Yet Another Racist Comments on Hygiene
Posted by: | CommentsYou would think the Peace Corps would weed out these sick people:
My bro’ John just sent me this awesome article from the Washington Post that talks about the “No Toilet, No Bride” program. The Indian government is trying to encourage women to refuse marriage until their betrothed promises to provide them with… a toilet. Yep, India has the second largest population in the world, and more than HALF of their people still poop in the fields. Reminds me a lot of rural Guatemala, and one of the reasons we’re here: to educate people on the dangers of not having sanitary human waste disposal systems. We as Americans take sanitary sewers for granted, but many of us don’t even understand their importance. It’s not just about smell and the occasional gooey mess you step in after dark. Without proper disposal, the entire population is exposed to some pretty horrible health risks, from low-grade stuff like diarrhea and parasites, through more serious stuff like ameobic dysentery, all the way up to the really nasty ones like cholera (which killed some people in my village just 8 years ago!). (Editor emphasis)
Of course, like almost every other problem we’ve analyzed here on the blog, it’s all about education. It’s easy to take this for granted if you’re from the US or Europe, because the education system is so relatively strong on some basic points and the systems and processes are in place and basically reliable. I don’t agree with much of their worldview, but I think Jim and Emily are doing some great work educating people on fundamental, life-changing behaviors-work that is not sexy but will change lives. Now all we need is someone to follow up on Jim and Emily’s work with Aristotelian logic and some courses on Austrian economics, and they’ll be set!
Despite what you liberals think, it’s not their skin color that’s the problem, or how much land they have or don’t have, or how much land their neighbor has (or what he’s doing or not doing with it), the Catholic Church, what happened to your great grandfather’s great grandfather, the Devil from the North or Don Marco’s contempt for little brown people; it’s education. Or as GI Joe says, “Knowledge is half the battle”.
The Expat Transformation
Posted by: | CommentsGuest Post
When I first arrived in Guatemala, I was pretty fresh from Canada, though I’d come through Mexico by bus. I had the typical attitudes that most foreigners have and never imagined how much things would change in 7 years. To give you a glimpse, here are a few before and afters . . .
Before: I nearly had a heart attack when coming around a corner and bumping into an armed guard.
Now: I find it odd if a store doesn’t have a guard and shotguns don’t phase me at all.
Before: I couldn’t IMAGINE driving in Guatemalan traffic.
Now: My husband and I are seriously looking at buying a car . . . which I would drive . . . and the thought doesn’t phase me a bit.
Before: If you’d told me I could survive more than two days without a shower, much less water, I’d have laughed in your face.
Now: I’ve successfully survived up to 15 days without running water.
Before: I felt sorry for the children begging in restaurants and bars.
Now: I’ve seen those same kids in their private school uniforms on the bus.
Before: I’d never spent a night in a hospital.
Now: I’ve spent several days and nights in the public hospital here.
Before: I paid whatever they told me in the market because I felt embarrassed to try and knock the price down.
Now: I never accept the first price given and I’m pretty good at negotiating for my potatoes and tomatoes.
Before: My Spanish teacher told me I was too stupid to learn the language in 3 weeks of lessons. I could still barely count in Spanish.
Now: I’m fluent. Unless you ask my mother-in-law, who will promptly tell you I speak no Spanish at all. 
Before: I was going places, no interest in ever settling down with a guy, and thought only about kids in the distant future.
Now: Here I am, with a house! And a guy! And TWO kids. 
And you know what? It’s not so bad at all.
Yup, things sure do change!
Genesis is a freelance writer and lives with her husband and two sons just outside of Antigua. She blogs at Expat Mom.
Reason #87 I Love Antigua
Posted by: | CommentsOur first six months here, which coincided with the dry season, passed without any illness in our family (if you ignore regular bouts of explosive diarrhea). We’re halfway through the rainy season and allergy/cold type symptoms are severe. So much so that I dug into the luggage and found some Amoxicillin I got the last time I had a sinus infection (in DF, Mexico).
As it turns out I only had 3 days’ worth, and my internist always told me to take it for 10 days, so I went to see a MD for an examination and his expert opinion my favorite Farmacia (yeah, the one where you can buy almost anything), and asked for twenty 500mg tablets of Amoxicllin. The total was about half my co-pay on a premium BlueCross/BlueShield plan in Phoenix:
If you pay with plastic, they add 15%.
Things You Might See at a Medical Clinic in Guate
Posted by: | CommentsThis is unbelievable…
A lady came with her symptoms card my wife had filled out for her. It said, “Milk coming out of armpit.” After answering several clarifying questions and frustrated that the doctor and I weren’t exactly understanding, she lifted up her shirt, squeezed her armpit, and sure enough, milk came out!
And this is funny…
In one village in the mountains of Huehuetenango we were surprised that our first day only a few people came. Usually we have long lines of people and work all day. The doctors were frustrated and we had a second day scheduled to come back to the village. Everybody was asking if it was even worth the long, bumpy, 4×4 only trip to get there. We came back a second day and found a long line waiting for us. They told us that the people who went the first day were the guinea pigs to see if anybody died. A few years before the government announced that they would be giving free vaccinations sponsored by the Mormon church. However, “Latter Day Saints” translated to “Saints of the Last Days.” These people (for whom spanish is a second language if spoken at all) understood that the government was coming out to euthanize them all. For that reason the government is never allowed to come into their village and our medical clinic was ill attended. After seeing that people who took our medicine did not die overnight, the people gave us their confidence.
Now I’m beginning to understand why Jimmy doesn’t one his twins born in rural Guate. Read the whole thing over at Sweaty Peten.
FL Hospital Cleared in Illegal’s Deportation
Posted by: | CommentsThe New York Times is reporting that the jury in the aforementioned case has found in favor of the hospital.
In a benchmark case dealing with the obligations of hospitals toward uninsured illegal immigrants, a jury in Stuart, Fla., decided Monday that Martin Memorial Medical Center did not act unreasonably when it chartered a plane and repatriated a severely brain-injured Guatemalan patient against the will of his guardian.
I wonder if this case will be appealed; probably.
Florida Deports Illegal Guate Patient
Posted by: | CommentsThere is a story bouncing around the Guate news circuit which is enraging the Left and the pro-illegal immigrant crowd (would it be fair to say ‘pro-criminal’ crowd?).
The story can be summarized thusly: A Guatemalan immigrated to the US illegally, was subsequently injured in a car accident, and remained in a Florida hospital for 3 years, racking up millions of dollars in expenses. The FL hospital, with the approval of a state court and the Guatemalan government, eventually chartered a private jet and flew him home to Guatemala, where he now lives with his mother in Huehue.
Therefore, the headlines you’ll read along the lines of, “Disgustingly Wealthy Florida Hospital Secretly Deports Suffering Guatemalan Man in the Middle of the Night”, aren’t exactly true; he was ordered deported by a state court and the hospital paid for a sweet ride home! (If boys from the embassy ever come to my house to take me back to the states for the crime of criticizing the Messiah, do you think I’ll get a private jet home?)
Anyway, attorneys for the Guatemalan man have sued the hospital and a state court that authorized the move. So, here are the questions I have for readers:
- Should illegal immigrants to the US get free, long-term intensive care?
- Should a state be able to deport a illegal alien?
- Since the US has long maintained what is effectively an ‘open borders’ policy, should the country take some responsibility for the collateral expenses?
It seems to me the answer to the first question is ‘no’. Since the government cannot (and should not) provide unlimited health services to anyone, it should not do so for those who break our laws and come to the country illegally. That having been said, there is a moral obligation to provide emergency care to anyone who needs it, to the extent the provider is capable of doing so. The difficulty arises in determining when that emergency ends, and then what should be done at that point. You can’t exactly wheel a guy to the curb and say, “Feliz tarde!”. Sending an illegal to his home country seems more than reasonable.
As to the second question, I think a state lacks the power to deport a foreign citizen, even if they are illegal. They could certainly be imprisoned, but deportation is almost certainly a federal issue. Too bad the federal government doesn’t care. Maybe Florida should have wheeled him up to the closest Army post, pushed him across the line and said, “If he’s a federal case, you take him.”.
As to the third question, if the federal government (or states that share a border with Mexico) are negligent in protecting the territory of the United States, then there is some obligation for them to provide for what are easily predicted consequences. Therefore if legislators and the Executive have intentionally permitted aliens to cross (illegally) for years, then they have assumed some responsibility for that behavior. What does that mean? Does it mean that if a drunk illegal rapes and kills my daughter, would the politicians who approved of his being in the US should share in the liability for that?
The questions and answers are complex. Obviously it makes too much sense to just close the border to illegals and implement a just policy which allows more people to come and go, so that’s not going to happen. The states, if they cared, might beef up their borders, but I suspect the feds would put a stop to that (if nothing else, by sending 100% of the states’ national guard units to Afghanistan).
What questions did I miss? What answers do you think I missed? Stop by the RumBar tonight for lively discussion and FREE Jambalya.
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