Botflies in Mexico

This is the larvae of course 

The fly is just a good sized ugly fly. Everyone said the eggs are transferred by mosquitoes but I see no reason why the fly itself couldn't inject the egg. I got mine in Belize and hear they drive all the grazing animals crazy. I don't doubt it at all as I went through the 6-8 week growth period with one in my scalp.

Went to one doctor in Seattle and he said it's just a little red. Went back and he said it's just a little bump. Went back again and my doctor had moved to another clinic. Another doctor and we started over. Neither had any idea and didn't ask about my travels. When the larvae get bigger they feel like someone is sticking pins in your skin .... usually at night making it hard to sleep. After 2 days with a hot towel it finally popped out. I took it to Swedish hospital  emergency and they had no clue. Mine was gray and not brown like above. That experience was unpleasant enough to make me hesitate to return to southern Mexico.

Botflies are obligate parasites of vertebrates: their larvae must undergo development inside a warm-blooded host. Epidemiology and Ecology: The distribution of Dermatobia hominis botfly includes Mexico, Central and South America. In the U.S., cases usually occur in travelers who have visited endemic areas

Bot Flies, aka Torsalo or Dermatobia hominis

To see a specialist in Tecoman

I'd only been to Tecoman passing through to the Michoacan coast or to go to the beaches of El Real and Boca de Pascuales so I didn't really know my way around or how large the city is. Tecoman is not small, it's not a rectangular grid and it's very spread out.

Lorena had found a foot specialist for Maria that might give different options to skin grafts which were logistically and financially impossible. I relied on Lorena to get us there but she only had an address, no directions, didn't know Tecoman and the doctor was not answering his phone. It was near Cruz Roja so after asking many times we finally found the 600 block of Morelos which was about 15-20 blocks from town center.  Finally the doctor called back and said he would be in his office around 2-2:30 but it was noon and we were already 4th in line.

I had planned on running over to Boca de Pascuales to check out the surf but my city orientation was non existent at this point so I decided to walk back in the direction of the plaza and Mercado. Tecoman is totally flat so there is no vantage point except from upper levels of buildings and that seemed to be 2 stories at most. The city was once the Colima capital so is old but I found very few remains except for a few adobe structures still standing, often protruding into sidewalk space.

Was told the Mercado's name is Cuauhtémoc and is next to the plaza. It's interior is small and dark but lots of outside booths, stores and restaurants. There's a whole market area on the blocks surrounding the Mercado. A large modern church sits on the plaza and I hear it was finished in 2010 .... after the old one was damaged by the 2003 earthquake.  Can't find fotos of the old

Tecoman Plaza from the 2nd floor of the Municipal building

Street booths near the Plaza

Sidewalk store in the Mercado

A walk only street with booths and restaurants 

The famous Tuba vendor of Colima

One of my old Pascuales surf fotos - another day

A very long day in Colima after stopping at Burger King and Soriana in Manzanillo.  Soriana has started their school discount for many of the things kids will need for the following year.  We got back at 7:30

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

A sad note about my neighbor's family

I took some neighbors and their 84 year old grandmother to the Jaluco Centro de Salud 2 days ago because she couldn't sleep due to pain in her legs. She has had a circulation problem for months but due to money concerns and being stoic, she hasn't seen a doctor. The doctor at Centro de Salud said she needed to go to Emergency at the General Hospital in Manzanillo so after gathering things together and informing family off we went. Grandma ended up spending the afternoon on an IV and it was later determined she needed better care so will spend a few days in Euchari Clinic.

Jaluco Centro de Salud

We found out yesterday that she needs to see a specialist in Colima because blood clots are cutting off circulation. If she can't get circulation back they will want to amputate. Of course the stoic grandma wants to die with both her legs in the company of her family and is not very pleased with all this medical attention. I had to tell the grand daughter that doctors won't insist and the decision will be up to grandma. If she wants to wait it out in one piece I don't know what they can do for the pain. There's probably something.

Very sad because she is a sweet, smart and handsome old girl

A sick 9 year old neighbor

I have a sick 9 year old neighbor and I hope if it's as serious as it sounds we've caught it in time. Her dad worked for me about a year building my house and the whole family and I spend a lot of time together. She has always been extremely thin but with lots of energy and good in school. A little over a month ago she started getting depressed, not playing much and having crying spells. Mom was worried and asked me about doctors and I thought of Dr Rosa who has an office in town but also works at the free clinic where we live.

Dr Rosa sent us for blood tests at the local lab and was unhappy with the results so we went to the Cihuatlan lab a few days later. The diagnosis is that she has an imbalance of white blood cells which can be caused by a number of things including leukemia. Dr Rosa said she needed to have a blood marrow test at a hospital in Guadalajara. That would have been a very time consuming and expensive trip so we decided to get a second opinion.

Today we went to Doctor Crespo in Barra de Navidad because he was the only one I could think of and the family only uses Centro de Salud or Seguro Popular. Mom and sister in law immediately said he was expensive but I was driving so we went. Very nice doctor and he spent about a half hour talking, examining and going over her blood tests. His opinion was the same but referred us to the State Cancer Clinic in Colima which will be a much quicker and less expensive trip. He even told us how to get in without an appointment ... and charged us nothing. We'll drive up later in the week.

Yari on the beach

Yari, mom and baby