Observations from personal experience are the best source of truth.
One thing I have been a bit nervous about as I travel as a life style is health care. Especially at 63. 2 experiences have lessened my worry.
Today I am in Palma de Mallorca and was “crowned” by Dr. Jose Orgaz with 3 dental implants. I chose him 6 months ago after determining Thailand wasn’t any cheaper and I liked the fact that he was qualifed to do oral surgery and dental crowns as well so there would be no finger pointing. Well today his work was completed and I feel much better about his work vs. the implant I had in Chicago where I did not like that there was a problem with the implant being set in place and the dentist and surgeon blamed each other. I could not recommend Dr. Jose more although I hope to never have to use him again. Best of all he was half the price of the cost in Chicago. I think I’m sold on these medical vacations.
The second experience is a 12 day proactive visit to a Naturopathic Hospital in southern Nepal not far from Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.
Here I received daily treatments of alternating hot and cold compresses to the belly, arms, torso, as well as hot mud massages, mud baths, and hot and cold soakings. All this designed to get the body fluids moving and into a self healing mode.
My trekking buddy, Lance Collins from Southern California, now living and working as a sacral cranial therapist ( who learned from a natural osteopathic doctor in Columbus, Ohio) in a Buddhist Monastary near Chang Rai, Thailand led me here and was already in the middle of a 12 day fast when I arrived. I simply thought this would be an interesting experience but as it went on and I did my own 6 day fast I came to feel how therapeutic, natural, and proactive towards good health this approach is.
The program included 3 personal doctor consultations daily with vital signs being measured and customized treatments and diet. Upon initial review the doctors were concerned at my low pulse rate of 53. They sent me on a bus into town where I had an EKG, Echocardiogram and thyroid test. While sitting in the hospital I read that extreme exercise could cause a low pulse rate and I am thinking that 30 days of 6-9 hours walking up and down the Himalayas would qualify as extreme. Sure enough, the examining doctor agreed.
I had no major health issues going in besides high blood pressure but after dropping below 200 lbs I felt so good i decided to stop taking my blood pressure medicine and my pressure remained below 120/80.
There were people here with all kinds of diseases but in this part of the world this is a fairly normal approach to health care. NATURAL THERAPY LETTING THE BODY SELF HEAL BEFORE TRYING DRUGS AND SURGERY!
Lance explained that Gandhi did this for a month each year and had it put into the Indian Constitution that the government would fund Aryuvedic Hospitals and provide scholarships to deserving young students.
Perhaps some will think I am crazy or at least a bit off, but I am quite comfortable now continuing my travels without US health insurance. Oh and the last point is the cost.
My private room, medical attention, treatments, and food (when I was eating) came out to about $16 per day. The EKG, Echocardiogram, and Thyroid test was $40.
April 2018