Chamie

This is my response to an e-mail from a friend asking me about my experience. It tells my story well.

HI!
I have mixed reviews. As RN's we have certain expectations about healthcare and how things should work. From that standpoint, I was a little surprised about how relaxed and unconventional the atmosphere was. I guess the best way for me to describe it is to tell you my story. So here it goes:
I am from Illinois so I flew into SanDiego on a Monday afternoon. My husband and I stayed at a nice hotel that night that had free limo service back to the airport. The next morning we took the limo back to the airport and waited at JetBlue Terminal 9 as directed. It was there that we met several other people waiting to go to Jerusalem Hospital. What a relief! The first couple we met was a woman and her daughter. The woman was going back to Jerusalem hospital a year after she had gastric sleeve surgery and had lost 100lbs- she was now going to have a "mommy makeover." She was also accompanying her daughter who was going to have the gastric sleeve done as well. In fact, her husband had gastric sleeve done at Jerusalem 6 months earlier and had lost almost 100lbs since. Meeting them and knowing that they had felt comfortable enought to return as many times as they did was very comforting to me. There were 12 people total in the van. Most were getting the gastric sleeve but me and another young lady were getting the band. The ride to Jerusalem Hospital was uneventful. Going through border patrol was surprisingly quick and effortless. I will have to say that the drivers in Mexico were crazy! I felt like we were on the Audubon! The poverty is also quite striking as you enter Tijuana. The next surprise you will encounter is that Jerusalem Hospital is located in a strip mall next to a Staples. It is a small clinic, but clean. As we were dropped off at the clinic they tagged all of our luggage. We then filled out some simple paperwork and signed a consent form. It was shortly thereafter that we were brought into a treatment room individually where our blood was drawn. As a nurse you might be surprised that the nurse used a syringe & needle and[i] not [/i]a vacutainer or butterfly to draw blood, but I can assure you that she was very competent at her job. After my blood was drawn they took me and a few others upstairs to a main treatment room where we waited to be cleared by cardiology. An elderly cardiologist then called me into a private room where he performed a EKG and obtained a brief history. After I was cleared, the nurse (Lupita) took me and the other gal getting a band into a semi-private (small) room and started our IV's & hung a liter of LR. She was very good. After that she gave us our gowns and had us change. We then met with Dr. Almanza- his english is limited, but not bad, and through his assistant, he answered any questions that we had. We were then escorted back to the main treatment room where we waited for surgery. You will see that main treatment room alot! It has big comfortable red plush chairs and a flat screen TV on the wall with a bathroom off to the side. I believe there were 8 of us in that room at one time. In fact, Lupita wrapped our legs with ACE wraps (like TED hose) while we were all in there together. Yes, there are both men and women in that room, but you are very well covered and soon lose all modesty. It is al this point that you wait for surgery. I believe that they do the Lap Bands- lowest BMI first, followed by the gastric sleeves. You feel like you wait forever, but soon they are calling your name. When they came to get me they brought me back down stairs to the OR. Yes- I [b]walked[/b] into the OR. I was directed to the operating table and the anesthesiologist introduced himself. He was very nice- and he spoke perfect English with little to no dialect. I was soon off to dreamland and the next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room (I still dont know how I got there as there were no gurneys). After a brief stay there I was brought to a semi-private room where I recovered a little longer. I was in NO pain at all. In fact, I was a little concerned that maybe I had been fooled and didnt get a LapBand after all!!! After a short while in the room with the other gal who got a band we were brought back out to that main treatment room with the red chairs. I spent a couple of hours there where they gave me more IV fluids and started me on po intake- We were all given popsicles. I had a bit of a sore throat, but the popsicle was wonderful. It was at that point that I started to finally believe that I had had surgery. Gas pain started and I was almost convinced that I was having a heart attack- the pain was in my chest. In fact, I leaned over to the other gal who had had a band and asked her if she was experiencing the same thing and she was......Whew!! The evening nurse who was keeping an eye on us did not speak any english. I was a bit frustrated with this, but we did ok. Then, those of us who had bands were discharged to either the Recovery House or to the Hotel Ticuan. Because my husband was accompanying me we were driven back to Hotel Ticuan. It was very nice. I was then off to bed. The next morning my husband and I had breakfast (I had chicken broth, coffee and tea- free from the hotel as they have a deal with Jerusalem Hospital) and were off to get our barium swallows. We were driven to an outpatient x-ray center where a quick barium swallow was performed and we were released. We were then driven back to the airport. Getting through border patrol was a little bit of a longer process going back to the states. Watch out for all of the peddlers!! But we were back at the airport before we knew it.
All-in-all it was a pretty uncomplicated process. Would I do it again? Yes. Did I like everything- no. I am still tyrying to get an operative report and have yet to be successful. Their first response was to sent me a generic, operative protocol/order set. So I responded with a firm reply that it was unacceptable and I would be expecting an official report within a week. Well, it has been 6......weeks.
I would love to answer any questions that you have.