Seguro Popular

I've been tired lately and get dizzy spells .... so Lorena suggested I sign up for Seguro Popular. She got a list of requirements and I had them all.  You need a copy of your Passport, CURP, Visa Perrmanente and most recent electric bill. Find the SP office in the nearest Centro de Salud. They fill out everything and you just sign. They have a Pharmacy, do blood tests and it's all free. Someday we'll find out how the service is.

A tired Ambulance Day

I needed some cat and dog food, to charge my Cel and to check out prices on a back-pack sprayer. Lorena needed something which I don't remember and Vero needed some baby stuff from Farmacia Arias. Off we headed for a quick hour long trip.

At the last water crossing we came across Reina, a neighbor,  who told us that the old guy sitting on the side of the road slipped while crossing the water and fell. Lorena noticed he was crying from the pain. He was with his wife but very little she could do so we put our heads together and decided he needed a ride to Centro de Salud. Luckily people passing were helpful because he needed to be lifted into the car. Two moms, three kids and me were joined by this elderly couple into Melaque.

I got a wheel chair at Centro de Salud and again passer-bys helped move him from the car to the chair. Almost immediately the nurse determined he needed an X-Ray on his knee but Seguro Popular was not there so he had to go to Rayos-X's which is about 4 blocks away. More pain for him and more helpful people getting him into "the Ambulance".

We left he and his wife at the X-Ray shop while we did all our chores and came back about a half hour latter. He definitely had a broken knee and two X-Rays at 300 pesos a piece was 600 and she didn't have that much. Only option was to head back to Pinal Villa for the wife's money and Lorena and Vero had clothes in machines and hungry families.

I went back 20 minutes later to take her and her 600 pesos to the X-Ray shop and was relieved to find family there with a vehicle and ready to take over "the Ambulance" duties. All in the life of living in a small and relatively poor community.

Skin grafts

Maria has had what I thought was a serious foot infection and with treatment it was getting better.   It seems it hasn't been infected for a few months but she still has 'open sores' ..... and by open sores I mean you can see a bone and a few tendons. Doctor says at the age of 86 and thin as a rail she just does not have the energy to grow more skin like younger person might. I'll let you search for photos if you really want to see something similar.

Intentional missing picture

So after using 3 doctors in the area including Dr. Rosa for cleaning, dressing and pain control we finally visited the head doctor of Centro de Salud // Seguro Popular in his private practice.  He was the first to tell us that skin grafts were the only way to close her wounds. He even said that Seguro Popular would do it for free ..... but at their Guadalajara hospital.

Problem is Guadalajara is 5 hours away requiring an overnight in a hotel the day before, probably using a taxi, very possibly a second hotel stay after, lots of gas, maybe tolls, food .... so we are talking  5-6000+/- pesos a trip   Total treatment is 3 visits a month apart.

Now comes the money issue.  Family can't and won't contribute.  It's really a combination of both but one side of the family hasn't helped with small things in the past.   Really sad and I can't help any more than I do. Maybe a "not free" doctor in Colima could cut the housing and gas out of the equation but it's still a couple thousand pesos.

I'm used to "if you really want it .... get it done".   Looks like this may not get done