At the Ajijic Clinic
Recently I went to the Ajijic Clinic, a small private clinic/hospital located on the main highway in Ajijic. Kelly has been going to a similar clinic, the Maskaras Clinic a few kilometers further east in Riberas de Pilar, and he has been very happy with the health care he has received from Dr. Garcia, the director there.
I chose the Ajijic Clinic because I needed to go to a dermatologist and a friend of mine recommended the one at this clinic. Dra. Reyes comes out from Guadalajara a couple of times a week. She speaks English more correctly than I speak Spanish but I am perhaps the more fluent. When she suggested that we could speak Spanglish, I felt right at home, as I often make that very suggestion! We communicated perfectly from then on, in Spanglish.
On my first visit, she examined me and was able to assure me that I only had benign moles and such on my body. We scheduled a second visit for a liquid nitrogen session to remove a bunch of these from my face and neck for cosmetic reasons. She said it wasn't too painful.
When I went back for the procedure, I lay on an examining table, and she and a nurse were on either side of me. The nurse, Lulu, was very friendly and outgoing. She has a little English but we stayed pretty much in Spanish.
As the doctora sprayed the nitrogen on the various spots, she and Lulu kept up a running conversation which I joined at times. When two Mexican women estan platicando (are chatting) I am lucky to follow a third of it, but it wasn't hard to pick out ex-esposo (ex-spouse) so I commented on that. I don't remember exactly how the conversation jumped but I learned that when Mexican men find a woman attractive they may call her a mamacita and the reverse is true too: a good-looking fellow may be called a papacito. I will listen for these words in conversations I overhear. I told them the English expression "red hot mama," which they both chortled at.
All this lively banter helped distract me, which was good, because the stings of the nitrogen did hurt at times. I'm glad to have that behind me.
I would definitely go back to that clinic in the future. In fact, I will be there next month for a CPR class that a Canadian woman I know has set up.
A friend of mine just had knee surgery at the Ajijic Clinic and she could not say enough good things about the quality of the doctors and of the care she received during her few days there. A specialist came out for Guadalajara for the surgery, and she was in the clinic for a few days after. She commented on how very caring the people were.
Costs: An office visit with the doctor was 350 pesos, about $32 US. The procedure was 800 pesos. Not bad. And I didn't have to wait more than about 5 minutes to see the doctor either time!
I chose the Ajijic Clinic because I needed to go to a dermatologist and a friend of mine recommended the one at this clinic. Dra. Reyes comes out from Guadalajara a couple of times a week. She speaks English more correctly than I speak Spanish but I am perhaps the more fluent. When she suggested that we could speak Spanglish, I felt right at home, as I often make that very suggestion! We communicated perfectly from then on, in Spanglish.
On my first visit, she examined me and was able to assure me that I only had benign moles and such on my body. We scheduled a second visit for a liquid nitrogen session to remove a bunch of these from my face and neck for cosmetic reasons. She said it wasn't too painful.
When I went back for the procedure, I lay on an examining table, and she and a nurse were on either side of me. The nurse, Lulu, was very friendly and outgoing. She has a little English but we stayed pretty much in Spanish.
As the doctora sprayed the nitrogen on the various spots, she and Lulu kept up a running conversation which I joined at times. When two Mexican women estan platicando (are chatting) I am lucky to follow a third of it, but it wasn't hard to pick out ex-esposo (ex-spouse) so I commented on that. I don't remember exactly how the conversation jumped but I learned that when Mexican men find a woman attractive they may call her a mamacita and the reverse is true too: a good-looking fellow may be called a papacito. I will listen for these words in conversations I overhear. I told them the English expression "red hot mama," which they both chortled at.
All this lively banter helped distract me, which was good, because the stings of the nitrogen did hurt at times. I'm glad to have that behind me.
I would definitely go back to that clinic in the future. In fact, I will be there next month for a CPR class that a Canadian woman I know has set up.
A friend of mine just had knee surgery at the Ajijic Clinic and she could not say enough good things about the quality of the doctors and of the care she received during her few days there. A specialist came out for Guadalajara for the surgery, and she was in the clinic for a few days after. She commented on how very caring the people were.
Costs: An office visit with the doctor was 350 pesos, about $32 US. The procedure was 800 pesos. Not bad. And I didn't have to wait more than about 5 minutes to see the doctor either time!
Labels: Ajijic, health care in Mexico
posted by Rosana Hart @ Saturday, March 31, 2007
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