Hello everyone!

I'm new to the board and I have my surgery scheduled for a week from today :laugh0:. I had a few questions about the hospital which I feel silly asking Monica about, so I was hoping you all could help me. Does the hospital have air conditioning? I've read about some people taking fans, which made me question this. Mexicali is an INFERNO this time of year so I need to be prepared! Also, is there like a cafeteria or something in hospital for my mom to eat from? And if so, were you told if the food decent? Where did you all have your "Last Meal" and was it any good? Was there a variety to choose from?

Thank you all for your time to read this, it's greatly appreciated!

Good luck on your surgery. Doc A is awesome! Yes the hospital is air conditioned, I was actually freezing in my room, had to ask for extra blankets! The cafeteria food is good, and well priced. I had my last meal at the Lucerne where we stayed cause I had no transportation, I had a sirloin with mashed potatoes and my last diet coke. I was very good, huge portion and $25.00. They also had wonderful mexican food, but thats not my favorite. I know others that have gone to Mexicali have gone to other restaurants, but I cant tell you about them.

The hospital is air conditioned; however, if you're not cool enough, they will provide you with a fan - you don't have to bring your own. My last meal was at the Lucerna as well. I had salmon. When I went with my DF for his surgery last week, I ate in the cafeteria - the food is great (what little I could eat) and very reasonably priced and large portions. They have to go boxes too. The ladies in the cafeteria as REALLY REALLY nice - as is everyone in the hospital.

My last meal was Burger King at the mall.

I've heard from everyone that the food in the cafeteria is really good and very reasonable. the Lucerna is beautiful. There are several places to choose from there to have a meal.

I just had my VSG there on July 7th, so it's fresh in my mind!

Yes, they have airconditioning. My DH was cool enough, but after the surgery I had hot flashes. The nurses immediately brought me a fan & it was a life saver!

The cafeteria food looked & smelled amazing! My DH said is was indeed VERY good food. And it was not expensive at all...I think he paid about $6.00 US for each meal (including his drink) & he got a lot of food for that.

My offical last meal was from the Lucerna room service...a bowl of potato and bacon soup! It was yummy! DH had a club sandwich with fries & I kid you not, that thing was HUGE. It was reasonably priced as well.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. :001_smile:

Hi and welcome to our forums! Like others, I found the hospital to be too cold. I had at least three blankets piled on top of me. I had my last meal at the hotel as well. I had filet mignon and hubby had salmon, both were delicious. He ate at the cafeteria the whole time I was in the hospital. I had to laugh when he commented to Dr. Aceves how surprised he was that they served some of the best Mexican food he has had in forever. I was like, "honey, your in Mexico, what did you expect?" LOL.

Too funny -- and the quantities are huge -- I ordered a cheese enchilada -- I got 4 of them, plus refried beans, rice and a green salad. I ate 1/2 of one, got the rest to go and gave it to Shannon's mom who was waiting in her room while she was in surgery - I think the total cost was $3.40 US. Crazy!

It was, but I was shocked when we first got there and I saw the menu prices. I didn't realize they were in peso's. I was like, $300.00 for a sandwich, honey, we didn't bring enough money!! Then hubby set me straight, I felt like an idiot, lol.

Most places will have both the US price and the pesos price on the receipt - in the cafeteria - the screen is split and you can see both prices. Be aware, change is given in pesos, not US dollars - so try to bring small bills - $1 or $5 so you end up with less pesos when you head home.

If you want to know how to figure US dollars - take the pesos (e.g. $488.00) and divide by the current exchange rate - (at the time we were there - $13.50; although it changes daily) and that will give you the US dollars.

We took a fan, only because we always travel with a fan. My wife and I both like the cheap noisy kind so we don't wake up to any small noises.

We are so inslaved to the fan, we have a special bag and fan just for travel.

We DIDN'T need it for cooling, at all.

HI--

Here is something to consider----The exchange rate from dollars to pesos changes almost daily. THEY at the hospital DO NOT update the exchange rate....SOOOOOO my advise would be get about 40.00 exchanged to pesos before crossing and pay in pesos---that way you know the exchange rate and you can use a caculator to figure it out. Just a thought...I did love the food there when VA had her surgery!

When I was at the mall, it drove me nuts to see the prices. I saw a shirt that was like $400 but they told me in American $$ it was like $14. It was hard for me to figure out the prices.

Hello all,

I have just secured a date in August for sleeving with Dr. Aceves. I will admit, the idea of the surgery is much more tangible for me than the dream that it was only a week ago now that I know it is steadily approaching. This is my first post. However, I have been reading several of the threads and found them very useful in my research. Thank you for sharing so much information with each other and the rest of us as well.

The following question is for those of you that decided to venture out of the country for surgery. Is there any concern about medical liability when traveling outside the US? This is my first (and hopefully last) time to do this kind of surgery and my husband expressed the possible liability as a concern. We both plea ignorant to this issue and wondered if anyone out there could give some guidance.

Thank you so much for your help.

Hello all,

I have just secured a date in August for sleeving with Dr. Aceves. I will admit, the idea of the surgery is much more tangible for me than the dream that it was only a week ago now that I know it is steadily approaching. This is my first post. However, I have been reading several of the threads and found them very useful in my research. Thank you for sharing so much information with each other and the rest of us as well.

The following question is for those of you that decided to venture out of the country for surgery. Is there any concern about medical liability when traveling outside the US? This is my first (and hopefully last) time to do this kind of surgery and my husband expressed the possible liability as a concern. We both plea ignorant to this issue and wondered if anyone out there could give some guidance.

Thank you so much for your help.

WELCOME Reddress - glad you decided to come out in public --LOL

What are you referring to as possible liability?

Thank you for your warm greetings, VegasAngel!

I don't want to put words in my husbands mouth but I will try to explain...

I will be paying for this out of pocket and we do have a concern about whether insurance will cover any adverse effects of having this surgery might have. What if I end up in the hospital much like yourself? It is difficult to come up with this kind of money out of pocket but it would be drastically more challenging to come up with potetially hundreds of thousands of more dollars if I had to pay out of pocket for leaks or, heaven forbid, something horrendous should happen where I am being fed through a feeding tube for the remainder of my life.

I realize that these are our nerves talking here but I just want to feel as confident as possible with this. I am excited, nervous, and my mind is playing through ALL of the possible scenarios. Again, thank you for all of your help and support.

I understand. I had the band. I still worry about expenses of revision. I know I will most likely need a revision one day and it will cost me money. It is just what we have to live with in the end.

Post op expense for problems is a genuine concern....go to someone who has proven to have rare problems with this, is about as good as you can do. Now if you have a problem and it is life threatening most insurance companies don't really have a choice but to pay for it.

Think of it this way. If you were jogging and you slipped and fell and broke your leg, do you think the insurance company could say they aren't paying because you caused it yourself while jogging? Not really. Insurance companies have to pay for people who smoke all of the time. Doesn't mean they paid for your smokes, but they still have to pay for medical necessary things.