To The Clinic In A Crazy Ambulance
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2007
1
105
221
Trip End
Ongoing
Cusco,
Peru
Saturday, April 12, 2008
An ambulance arrived to pick me up which i thought was an absolute classic. My first and hopefully last time in an ambulance. The doctor and his translator arrived to the hostel with oxygen tank, masks the whole deal. Altitude is normally the cause of a patient calling a doctor. Anyway, we go out to the ambulance which i think they wanted to transport me to the surgery in but tied to a stretcher
Cusco crazy ambulance
. I just sat up whilst they blared their sirens through the peak hour Cusco traffic. I have been travelling with the bump for months, i am sure nothing will happen to me on the way to the doctors. Ironically the song playing on the ambulance radio was...... wait for it....... Born To Be Alive. bahahahaha. I lay down on the surgery bed and the doctor turned on the latin American daytime tv channel on the tv at the end of my bed. Joy! A while later he came back and did a prod and poke then ordered some basic blood, urine and stool tests. He had no idea what was causing a bump this big and it was obvious by the look on his face. They asked if i had travel insurance and of course when i said yes, they went ahead and planned loads of ridiculous tests. The nurses who took my blood (there were three of them) dropped the syringe of blood all over herself, her staff and their uniforms. Bad move. There were many things wrong with this picture of patient care in Peruvian doctorīs surgeries. The list just grew and grew and we trusted no-one. The innitial tests came back that i had guardia and salmonella, two travellers diseases picked up from bad hygeine handling by food handlers or from bad water. Could be possible yes. Then the doctors order a scan be done at another location to check out the bump.
We go by the crazy ambulance again to the Clinic Pardo which is a big, public Peruvian stykle hospital where every man and his dog go to be treated
My Doctor Luna
. The equipment is poor, the specialists lacking and the waiting times are long. Exception on the waiting time if you are a foreigner with chi-ching!!! travellers insurance. So, i get an appointment for an ultra sound and a cat scan.The two tests are haphazardly performed and i canīt get my results because the hospital has no computer ink or film for itīs x-ray machines. Film would be in next week. We were due to go on an non-refundable Inka trail trek to Macchu Pichu in acouple of days and those spaces are very difficult to arrange.The tourist appointed doctor who speaks English called me into his office to tell me i have a parasitic cyst in my abdomen and that surgery would have to be done immediately, tomorrow to remove it. "Hold on we said, are you sure?" well, not really was the general reply from the good doctor. Itīs my 30th Birthday in two days and i was not really up for that diagnosis. Next they changed their minds and said it was an ovarian cyst of gigantic proportions. The measurements they told us did not seem like they were physically possible to be existing inside my body.
So, we go back to the original Salude health clinic where they tell me the same diagnosis, except add on that they suspect it could be cancerous. Nice one. Some of the diagnosis is difficult to understand because it is in mainly Spanish. Additionally they tell me straight up that they have a surgeon who is da,da-na!!! also the gynacologist and also the oncologist wouldnīt you know. They tell me that they will have to take my ovary and fallopian tubes and that it doesnīt matter because i have another one. Well, we needed some time to do some of our own research before i would agree to open surgery in Peru. Conditions were not perfect in the hospital
In Peruvian hospital
. Dirty areas, no waste disposal system, old needles discarded on office desks, cracks in the walls, artworks of naked women on the walls (good choice for a hospital) and the doctor had a cuckoo clock chime as his cell phone ring tone. It was really a hospital operating in the dark ages.We made some phone calls and looked at the possible options which included calling the Australian travel insurance company and finding out more about the diagnosis. We were trying to get a second doctorīs opinion because it seemed as though the surgery was trying to get some money out of us by getting me on the operating table. This was a scary thought, as i didnīt want to take any chances with my reproductive system. The nurses would tell me behind the doctorīs backs to "go home to your country" and we had really no idea what to believe because of the language barrier. We had some more tests done on my 30th birthday which was a bit of a bugger because it kind of ruined my birthday that i had planned to make into a grand event. Nadine had tied up balloons to our room at Casa de la Gringa and written Happy Birthday signs plus bought some party food and a very scary clown pinata filled with goodies. Plus a whole lemon meringue pie too. I was not really in the party mood when i was waiting to find out if i had cancer or not. Unfortunately we had to give up our spaces on the Inka Trail Trek to Macchu Pichu too and we were disappointed at this
wheel chair
. Intuitively, i really didnīt think the cyst was cancerous but i knew the cyst had to come out. The real problem was that the cyst could break inside and damage my organs, a very dangerous situation. The cysyt was pressing on my intestines and kidney and i was supposed to be in pain but felt none. The ayahuasca ceremonies had kept the cyst safe i believed and also that i was going to be fine. I was relaxed and calm about the whole ordeal. After a bit more messing around with test results and the travel insurance agency and catching a glimpse of the operating theatre room, i decided to find a new doctor after two weeks of mess. I had begun to get tired of prayer time at the hospital shrine and wheelchair races down the hallways.My new doctor came in the form of Dr Luna, Lesley and her son Simonīs personal doctor who had just come back from his holidays. Dr Luna was a suave-o cool cat who drove a sports car (rare in Cusco), sported a moustache that curled up at the ends, a full head of black wavy hair and some funky vintage style jackets with the leather elbows. Plus, he was very friendly and billed my insurance company directly. Dr Luna saw me privately in my room then took me to a specialist female doctor who did accurate tests that were sent away to Lima for results to be made correctly. The verdict was made by trustworthy Dr Luna and the specialist that i should fly home to Australia for surgery, the risk was too great and there could have been some major complications, the cyst was found to be abnormally large.
We fit in a tour to the Sacred Valley taking in some ruins, Pisac and Ollytantambo towns but i was not really up for it. Macchu Pichu would have to wait.
cat scans
The specialist managed to over- ride the original doctorīs reports that stated that i was unable to fly because of the effect of pressure on the cyst which in turn, satisfied the Australian travel insurance company. The company turned out to be a crock of crap anyway. They only paid for me to fly from Cusco to Lima to Los Angeles in the US. For the rest of the journey i used my return flight i had already bought to get home. Before leaving i stocked up on alpaca gear and souvenirs and also got some more custom leather shoes made becasue i was flying home. Nadine would stay in Cusco, a traveller friendly city with all the creature comforts while i was away. I had to phone mum to let her know i would be coming home to stay with her and to ask if she could she look after me while i recovered. Of course she was happy to have me home.
Five flights, long stop overs, a whole weekend and two hours in Australian customs later, mum was picking me up from the Brisbane airport. Now, to get in to the Gold Coast public hospital system straight away...........
People have said that trurning 30 brings about a lot of drastic changes and i believe it to be true.
