A GTO Lab Test Story

[Jzmackenzie]

The following is an exert from my book. A kind proofreader suggested I share it on this list.

A Lab Test Story

Yes, there really are awful creatures who take up residence in the guts of people living in or visiting Mexico. The medicine required to kill these creatures costs about $18 (USD) for six pills and needs to be taken once a day for three days every three months. That is prohibitively expensive for a family living in rural areas. Nevertheless, cost is only the beginning of the problem; finding out what bug needs killing is a major hurdle that a rural person also cannot overcome.

My own personal lab test experience from when I was quite ill further explains why staying healthy is so hard in Mexico. To find out what ?bug? I had, I needed to produce a stool sample and have it examined by a lab technician. Everyone told me that such an examination would cost about $7 (USD). I went to a lab owned by my doctor?s friend. I was told that the owner was reliable, but I was very disappointed when she asked for three times the average $7 rate?equivalent to the cost of a day?s pay for a construction worker.

I also had to drive into her clinic to pick up a special cup, as a sterile glass jar was not good enough to use. So, I had to make two trips. Each took an hour and two gallons of gas. I was given no written instructions.

After I dropped off the first sample, on my second trip, the owner asked if the sample was over two hours old. I said that it was, and then she refused to take it. So, I returned the following day with a fresh sample. However, once again she asked for another sample. She finally accepted my third sample, delivered on the fourth trip.

I asked what day and what time I might get the results; I was feeling quite anxious as I was pretty sick and had been for several days. She replied, ?four o?clock? and held up four fingers. By that afternoon, I had made six trips and used 12 gallons of gas. I stood outside her office, in the hot sun, for an hour before she arrived. I was feeling very ill. My gut was letting me know that my blood sugar levels dropped too low, because I had not eaten properly due to the illness. The lab lady asked for my original receipt, so I went outside into my car and brought it back. She took it but refused to give me the results; she also refused to give the results to my physician over the phone or to e-mail them to my physician. She explained that a lab official would sign the results sometime before 7 p.m. and only then could I look at them! Words cannot describe the emotional upset I felt at that moment; I was too sick to think rationally. I simply left, physically shaking.

Why did she say to arrive at 4 p.m.? I have no idea. Why did she not explain the process upfront? I have no idea. What I do know is that I made a total of eight trips, that each trip took an hour, and that I paid for the lab work. It cost about $66 (USD), or the equivalent to a week?s worth of wages for a Mexican, to find out what kind of a bug was inside me. Had I come by bus, as most Mexicans do, I could not have captured the sample and made it to her lab in less than two hours.

Furthermore, had I been the parent of six or more children, I would have not had the time or money to treat my illness. This is why rural people lose ground in the race toward getting or staying healthy. Trying to deal with a medical issue under such impossible conditions is a pet peeve of mine, because I know that my neighbors have no options. I had options, and yet even I could not get treated humanely.

[doncoulter]

Thank you for sharing your experience, Jacquie. It certainly is unfortunate that what should be routine medical care sometimes turns into a horror story.

But I hope no one gets the impression that your story is typical of medical care here. In eleven years in Guanajuato, though blessed with generally good health, I've seen a variety of doctors, clinics, laboratories, and hospitals, and I've never had an experience remotely as awful as the one you relate. Occasionally I've had what I regard as mediocre care, but far more often I've received truly excellent medical attention here. One can get both good care and bad care just about anywhere, and that has been my experience in Mexico, in the United States, and elsewhere.

Finally, I must take issue with the contention that "awful creatures . . . take up residence in the guts of people living in or visiting Mexico" and that to kill them we need to take medicine "once a day for three days every three months." If I read you correctly, you're suggesting that everyone living here should routinely follow such a regimen. I've never heard of any doctor recommending this. I know some doctors who advise taking the so-called desparasitarse medicine once a year, just in case, but others don't recommend taking it at all in the absence of relevant symptoms.

Don