Update Oct 11 2PM: one day before FFS
Landed in BA yesterday. Amanda was waiting at the airport. It was fun to get to finally meet her in person after so many emails and a couple of phone conversations these last couple of months. Got settled in my apartment and bought a few groceries. Amanda had to get back to her office so I spent most of the afternoon on my own exploring a bit and trying to stay awake. I didn't get a full night sleep on the overnight plane trip, but didn't want to nap and throw off my sleep schedule.
Today has been busy so far. Amanda collected me in the morning for testing, testing and more testing. We went to a little clinic where first I got x-rays, then blood drawn, (after blood draw, you finally get coffee after overnight fasting, thank goodness!) then breast imagery, then EKG and examination by a cardiologist. All that before 11 am.
It all moved fairly quickly. For those used to the typical facility in the USA, this experience would have been a bit different. The building was older, examination rooms were small and furniture was simple and old. Even the elevator was tiny - only holding 3 slender people and had a manual door.
On the other hand, in spite of it being busy, I was amazed at how quickly and efficiently I was processed through all these tests. We literally came in and Amanda took a number like at the DMV and then she settled up the bill at the end. The largest receipt that I saw that she had was 550 pesos which is $36 US and that was for breast imagery I think. Quite a difference from what we are used to seeing in the US.
The breast imagery wasn't mammography, it was an ultrasound. The technician put the jelly on each of the girls one at a time and went over them to image them. Amanda stayed in the room to translate. It may have taken 5 minutes.
Argentine culture seems to be extremely casual. People greet each other warmly and I was surprised when the woman cardiologist greeted me with a mutual exchange of kisses on the left cheek. This was the same greeting as with my landlady here. Oops, getting sidetracked... I love traveling and experiencing other cultures!
I needed to produce my passport about 3-4 times during today's proceedings, so it was a good thing that I had not left it in the lockbox in the apartment.
Amanda and I take taxis to get to appointments. When I'm on my own, I've been walking around.
Later today Amanda comes to get me to meet Dr. Rossi to discuss tomorrow's surgery. Now that I'm here, it feels like things are accelerating at an ever faster pace. I suppose once surgery actually happens tomorrow then time will slow down as I go through the process of healing.
I hope that this blog is useful to those considering Argentina as a option for FFS. I'm trying to give you girls a bit of a feel for what it is like to come down here and do this in this country and medical system.
