I Hurt Myself Today

[alohagal]

Like everything else I really am not worried about infection at this point. Being in the medical field I definitely know what to look for. Keeping it nice and clean...I am on antibiotic treatment from first day. I will probably remove the stitches myself I have decided. Heck I can buy hypodermic needles right off the shelf if I needed, at the farmacia...amazing!

I have extended my stay through the 14 of July...which is 10 days longer than originally planned. So, I will HAVE to miss the whale shark festival...even though it is awfully tempting not too. Don't think my two girls want me MIA that long...or maybe they do. One never knows for sure.

Mary

 

[MMM]

I'd echo Scubawife's advice but acknowledge your professional training. I hope it works for you.

On the question of health insurance, I have $100,000 one time out of country coverage through my employer insurance plan plus I have DAN plus additional OOC coverage.

When I was in a Cozumel ER a few months ago for a non-diving related incident, they would not even look at me w/o an immediate significant deposit against my credit card. Nor would they release me w/o payment in full. No discussions with primary or secondary insurer. In fact when my primary insurer wished to discuss with surgeon, latter was in surgery and too busy to discuss. I don't doubt it. So had I stayed and had the surgery, I'd have needed sufficient capacity on my credit card (which I did) to have the surgery w/o approval from insurer, if need be.

Instead, I had them load me up on narcotics and send me back to Canada. Word to the wise: if you have a non-diving related injury (in spite of DAN coverage) have the wherewithwall to fund it. My bill for ER pick up, stitches to my face, X-rays, cast, orthopedics and surgical consult, pain meds, meals and an ER room for one night was slightly less than $2,000. Had I opted for the surgery - probably around $20,000. Yes insurance would have picked it up eventually but not before they let me leave the hospital. No complaints about the care though - it was exemplery. Although I don't know how many elbow replacements are done on Coz and hence my reluctance to stick around. You also need to think about willingness of at-home surgeons willing to take on the post-op care of work by another surgeon. Although I did relish the thought of getting it in a warm climate...

 

[DandyDon]

Oh come on Don! With all the trips you take and all the writeups of yours that get printed in the Chapbook, we know you've got bucks!

I did use to contribute to Chapbook didn't I? Been long time. Glad you liked Fantasy Island as I was hardly a seasoned traveling diver then.

When you're sitting in an ER with a contorted limb or gushing wound and waiting for a secondary insurance provider to vouch for your payment before they'll treat you, you might rethink that.

Forget about medical emergencies, in today's world I wouldn't travel anywhere without the cash and credit with me to get by for at least a week and to pay for a return trip home. If I can't afford to do that then I probably should be rethinking if I can afford the trip.

Well, maybe I shouldn't leave home? :shocked2: But at least I do have some coverages when I do leave now. Used to take off on luck only. ilot:

Not meant to scare you, but as someone who went through a couple months of dealing with a very nasty deep infection (acquired in bacterial infested cenotes and ocean... not in Cozumel) I would really caution you to rethink jumping in with freshly removed stitches. I had very tender but basically healed burn, all was well until day 2 of diving in contaminated water... 2 days later my leg was a big red mess from the knee to ankle, could hardly walk and I won't even describe the actual wound site... went to a doctor, one look and her first question was, "how many days were you diving? Then she listed off dive sites, ocean and cenotes, asking which ones I'd been too... The meds I was given are used here only in hospital when bad infections are contracted to open wounds.

When you go to get the stitches out, please let the doctor know your plans and ask them if you should have any concerns about "water quality" and bacterial infections in the places you plan to be diving. Even if they say no, watch for signs of infection and take it seriously.

PS - if you want to extend a few more days, the Whaleshark Festival is in Isla Mujeres July 15-19. Welcome to Whale Shark Festival 2009| Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Yeah, the Cenotes are pretty cleaned up now, but not sterile at all - and the ocean certainly has its bugs. We lose fishermen every year in Texas to ocean infections they didn't take seriously. I treated a diver in Key Largo for a little scrape once with my little first aid kit and warned him that if it looked worse in the morning - "go to the ER, as you don't have time for an appointment!" Then I learned he was a physician and shut up.

I'd echo Scubawife's advice but acknowledge your professional training. I hope it works for you.

On the question of health insurance, I have $100,000 one time out of country coverage through my employer insurance plan plus I have DAN plus additional OOC coverage.

When I was in a Cozumel ER a few months ago for a non-diving related incident, they would not even look at me w/o an immediate significant deposit against my credit card. Nor would they release me w/o payment in full. No discussions with primary or secondary insurer. In fact when my primary insurer wished to discuss with surgeon, latter was in surgery and too busy to discuss. I don't doubt it. So had I stayed and had the surgery, I'd have needed sufficient capacity on my credit card (which I did) to have the surgery w/o approval from insurer, if need be.

Instead, I had them load me up on narcotics and send me back to Canada. Word to the wise: if you have a non-diving related injury (in spite of DAN coverage) have the wherewithwall to fund it. My bill for ER pick up, stitches to my face, X-rays, cast, orthopedics and surgical consult, pain meds, meals and an ER room for one night was slightly less than $2,000. Had I opted for the surgery - probably around $20,000. Yes insurance would have picked it up eventually but not before they let me leave the hospital. No complaints about the care though - it was exemplery. Although I don't know how many elbow replacements are done on Coz and hence my reluctance to stick around. You also need to think about willingness of at-home surgeons willing to take on the post-op care of work by another surgeon. Although I did relish the thought of getting it in a warm climate...

Ok, for me - I'm calling DAN on the way to treatment and for anything the first $5,000 wouldn't cover, I'd want to get back as far as Houston anyway. It is best to travel with a friend who will back you up on the phone calls if you aren't up to them at them time, but sometimes you just do what you can.

 

[wedivebc]

I broke my ankle on a liveaboard trip once. Made it to a large metropolitan Canadian hospital on a Friday and they couldn't fix me up for 4 days as there wouldn't be an ortho in till Tuesday. (Nationalized healthcare anyone???) I came home instead and got fixed up rightaway.
.

I love how Americans visit other countries then gripe when things there are different that they are back home.

 

[peterbj7]

Down here in Belize I got an infection in a knee when i was kneeling on sand underwater teaching a student. Normally I wear a full suit, but that time I just had on shorts. It wouldn't heal, and over a week or two turned into a STAFF infection that wouldn't go. It had to be treated very aggressively over three months, and now over a year later I still have the marks.

As to the way insurance is handled, down here there is a scheme to support the local Chamber. The diver pays an additional $1 per dive which goes direct to the Chamber, or many dive shops make a fixed monthly payment based on their estimated throughput. If you are diving with such an operator and need medical help (not just for DCS, but anything at all) then the Chamber does NOT require you to pay up front. They treat you to conclusion, then recover from your insurer (or you, if you weren't insured). If you're not with such an operator they reserve the right to require payment up-front, though I don't think they often do that.

Most operators participate in the scheme so it's a pretty safe bet that you'll have this extra level of cover. In any case, Belize was a British colony and the culture here follows British far more than American. Medical help is cheap (incredibly cheap by US standards) and given free at the point/time of delivery. It would be illegal here (as in the UK) to deny medical assistance because you didn't have proof of ability to pay.

 

[Diver Lori]

I love how Americans visit other countries then gripe when things there are different that they are back home.

If waiting 4 days to get your leg set is fine for you, then good. It's not fine for me and I hope we avoid what your country did not!

 

[DandyDon]

If waiting 4 days to get your leg set is fine for you, then good. It's not fine for me and I hope we avoid what your country did not!

Not at all, and DAN Travel Assist is available to all members, even those who may only have the $29 membership if there are any, so as to get the injured to proper facilities.

 

[scubawife]

Not at all, and DAN Travel Assist is available to all members, even those who may only have the $29 membership if there are any, so as to get the injured to proper facilities.

Don, have you or anyone you've traveled with ever been in a situation that they had to rely on that? While we all understand and appreciate the benefits of our DAN, (or other dive medical insurance, or travel insurance), I think the point most are making is that there are times when whatever medical needs you may have won't allow for the time needed to make calls and have an insurance companies work out agreeable terms with a local medical provider, or take the extra time to get to whatever specific facility will deal with them. Whatever coverage anyone has is great, but you really should have a contingency plan and expect the worst. Not every medical facility or every doctor worldwide is going to want to deal with your insurance. If luck and an 800 number are your plan, I really do hope that works out for you if you ever need it.

 

[DandyDon]

Don, have you or anyone you've traveled with ever been in a situation that they had to rely on that? While we all understand and appreciate the benefits of our DAN, (or other dive medical insurance, or travel insurance), I think the point most are making is that there are times when whatever medical needs you may have won't allow for the time needed to make calls and have an insurance companies work out agreeable terms with a local medical provider, or take the extra time to get to whatever specific facility will deal with them. Whatever coverage anyone has is great, but you really should have a contingency plan and expect the worst. Not every medical facility or every doctor worldwide is going to want to deal with your insurance. If luck and an 800 number are your plan, I really do hope that works out for you if you ever need it.

Yep. One medi-evaced from Cozumel to Miami after an unexplained but severe hit, and other medi-evaced from Exuma to Ft.Lauderdale after a heart attack.

I'm sure your approach is safer, but I doubt that many of the Coz tourist divers have those resources. Many of us can travel with luck and an 800 number or stay home. It's certainly best to have a travel buddy who can assist on the calls needed to make things work in the event that you are unable to do so, but when caca hits the fan, you do the best you can.

You do need to call the correct numbers, collect in many cases. I remember one fellow getting upset because he didn't call the correct number. They're on your ID card.

 

[alohagal]

Hello all,

Last night I was trying to post and just when I hit the send button...Playa Del Carmen had a blackout! I ended up changing hotels about 2:30 AM. That was quite an adventure. My dive flashlight came in quite handy. There was only one staff member on duty when the lights went out around 11:00 PM and it became hotter than hades in the room. More like sitting in a car on a sunny afternoon with all the windows rolled up. No cross air to be had. I walked down the street about 10 blocks to La Tortuga and Hacienda Real Del Caribe. Their section of town had the lights back on. So, I decided to walk back to my hotel and pack. Thank goodness for me handy dandy flashlight, walking down the street it was pitch black. The poor hotel amigo only had a lighter and other guests had light from their cell phone.

So, I am packing my stuff, with my flashlight in a glass of water. I finally get everything dumped into bags and take a cab to my "new" hotel. Find out their lights and AC went out as well. (wasn't out earlier when I walked there at 11PM) It became a city wide blackout.

So, they are running around trying to make the few customers they had happy. In the meantime it is now after 2AM and I am swimming (yes, with my hand in chlorinated water) in the closed for the night pool waiting to get a room. I look up from the courtyard and all these beautiful stars were out. It was kind of magical really.

They had some rooms with AC working off a generator. I was given a very lovely room and the lights came on about 4:30 AM. Slept in late this morning...when AC was at its finest output!

Seems like the last few days has been spent dealing with logistics! My fingers are still quite swollen as expected. Wound is looking clean and infection free. I could regale this thread with stories of infections...no doubt about it. I see it all the time in hospital.

But, I am enjoying myself way too much. Swimming more today in the lovely chlorine pool. (which is essentially the same antiseptic I am dumping on my wound hourly) MERTHIOLATE!

Mary