What can I say! It was 8:30PM on New Year’s Day and my new doctor, Dra Jocelyn Goetz ( the one who cured my gut issue within a few weeks ) is at a party with her new husband. She checked in to see how I was doing…….long story short she called an ear specialist at home that night and I now have an appointment at 2:30PM January 2nd at the Alhma Hospital!
This would never happen in Canada. I have been thinking about Helen Keller for the past two days and all she endured. I have no reason to complain. Yet within a short one hour period, I have hope to hear again.
This was her email to her patients.
January 2nd ended up being a very long day for us. In the end we were gone for seven hours. Fortunately Aunty Ferne was able to come and sit with the girls for a while, let them do their business and feed them lunch and treats. That gave me the freedom to do what needed to be done and not worry about the girls. Truth be known the three of them have a mutual love affair.
Colin had his third visit with our chiropractor, Dr. Alan and I my second. Look at his face as he bears down using the drop table. Colin is standing much straighter and always walks better after seeing the good doctor. I was not expecting much from the treatment but my constantly cracking neck is much more stable. We will both see him again in two weeks. Cost per session is 500MXN or about $38.35CAD. He was our choice here in Mazatlan after learning that at least two retired American chiropractors go to him for their treatments.
My next appointment was not until 2:30PM so we went to a restaurant for lunch. Colin is always hungry – he processes protein quickly. Colin had a great meal and I did not. The place didn’t even have the ingredients to make a margarita, they had run out 😳 Then suddenly we were running late as we had an appointment at the bank. For some reason I was shut out of my account. Despite working for 45 minutes our guy could not make it happen but we did get a bundle of cash and a few other things sorted out. I probably will have to back next week.
We had to press on as we had to get to the Alhma hospital for my appointment with Dr. Jorge Palafox. I felt so bad being 5 minutes late but he was very gracious about it. At this point my hearing was so bad I could not hear him at all and Colin had to speak for me. He took a brief history. He said that I should have seen an ENT specialist first before he could check my hearing 😯 Confusion! I did not need my hearing checked but my ears checked for wax. Then he pulled out a long cord and attached it to his laptop which he turned to face me. He put the end in my ear – ahh, a camera! we could all see that my ears were totally impacted.
Full, full, full of wax 🙁 So what about my November 20th and 25th check with Dr. Garcia who said that my ears were clear. Also my GP doctor back in Canada for the last 18 months who also said that my ears were clear each time I asked. Long story short he could not help me at all as the wax was too deep for him to get to. I needed more specialized help. He gave me two options, the first one being another ear doctor in the hospital but late Friday afternoon, she was already gone. The second choice is the doctor he thought was best suited to help me but he was across town at a different hospital.
Colin and I regrouped and he called this other hospital to make me an appointment and I lucked out and was told to come ASAP as they could see me and was #4 in line for an appointment. Not quite sure what that meant but off we went.
So we called and hopped into yet another Didi. In the end we took six Didi’s on this day. Total cost was 272 MXN or $20.85CAD. Certainly much less than driving a car from place to place and saving us a great deal of time. Might as well add in the cost to travel from the Isla to Mazatlan and back was a grand total of 60MXN or $4.60CAD.
This time we were going to the Cemeq Hospital which is where I had my right knee meniscus surgery back in January of 2020. As a matter of fact we sat in the very same chairs yesterday that we had on January 2, 2020 – exactly 6 years later. But this time I was seeing Dr. Gustavo Berrospe – an Otorrinolaringologo! Quite the Mexican name for an ENT specialist.
We waited only about 15 minutes before we were ushered into his office. What a lovely person and a true professional. By now my head was spinning with trying to hear what was going on. He insisted I stop doing what I was doing to try and hear by clearing my ears by holding my nose and blowing air thru my ears. Dangerous, I know that but I was desperate to hear. Again with Colins help, a history was taken and I was quickly moved to another area in the office where I was sat in a chair in front of a large TV monitor.
After quickly checking my nose and mouth he hooked me up.
Both ears were totally full of wax. Colin was taking the photos from the side which did not give the best image of screen but you get the idea re the amount of wax.
This is an otoscope, what most doctors use to check for wax. But they only see the first little bit of the ear canal.
Older people like my dad did and most seniors have hearing issues. Why do doctors not get a simple $40.00 – $80.00 instrument that can be easily hooked up to any computer? Proper diagnosis!! There are now relatively cheap digital otoscopes that can be connected to a computer. This device is particularly useful also in a medical office where any ear pathology can be easily shown to a patient. It certainly would have saved me from going for over a week with no sound.
Of course this is a more sophisticated set up.
The doctor was able to vacuum out the wax bit by bit through that tiny clear tube. Colin said he could see gobs of wax coming out.
My wax was pushed right down far, tight against the tympanic membrane, totally blocking my hearing. No way would a regular otoscope be able to see the wax.
Here you can see that I now have a clear middle ear canal.
Thirty minutes later I could hear again. There was no pain involved nor any discomfort. Although the sound was different between the two ears, louder on the right side. They were adjusting. It took until today for my ears to settle down. I have been tired all day but between all the candling and this treatment I have to expect that. Ears are sensitive. The doctor suggested I come back in six months to see what was happening with the wax in my ears. I may only need to have the procedure done annually but best to check again in six months. Cost was a very reasonably 1200MXN or $92.05CAD.
The first ear doctor did not charge me anything even though I asked. He said he did not help me. Well he certainly did as I never would have found Dr. Berrospe.
We were both quite exhausted and so happy to get home. I can’t recall ever leaving the girls alone for seven hours before. Thanks again Fernanda. The girls were rather vocal on our return but soon settled down.
It is always wonderful to get home to the Isla as it is so very peaceful here. I served wine and limonada up on our hill overlooking the ocean.
We sat and watched the moon come up. Nice to see so many on the beach.
I think that I am done with my health issues. First my veins, then my gut and finally my waxed out ears. I am good and ready to coast through 2026 😎
