well tomorrow I begin my liquid preop diet for my surgery on the 8th. I am both thrilled it is finally here and reserved that it is finally here. My husband took me to IHOP tonight for that "final" meal. I think it was more for him than it was for me -but I did not loose the significance of those being my last pigs in a blanket for a long time to come. As always though, I ate too much and in the end, I missed the enjoyment of the food from being so overstuffed. One of my goals that I hope to get out of this journey is learning to appreciate the quality of my food much more than the quanity.

Today I have also had a somewhat heavy heart after reading the thread from daughterinlaw. My surgery is also scheduled with Dr. Alvarez in Mexico. For several hours I reflected on this lady's complications. I wish her only the best in her recovery. I think however, there was an immediate assumption by some that she was failed preop and postop by this physician. Someone commented that not all doctor's are ethical and will just take your money. I believe that may have been a rush to judgement on a doctor's charactor especially when the only clear facts stated in this thread were that this poor lady apparently did not follow any of her doctor's advice. Any person going to Mexico should have a clear understanding that preop and postop services from that doctor or facility are going to be very limited or most likely via phone or e-mail. That does not mean that they are non-existent or not vital to our health care. But this is another country we are embarking to and we MUST realize the consequences that come with that.

As for Dr. Alvarez and his staff, I can attest to the fact that his application is very thorough and does cover mental and emotional issues. As with any screening, if the applicant is not forthcoming then the real issues will never be addressed. He does have a very strict preop and postop diet. And once you have scheduled your surgery, his facility is very accommodating to ANY questions or concerns you have.

I believe for many of us however, including myself, one of the reasons we choose to go the path of a mexican doctor is to eliminate insurance bureacrats and physcological examiners from making our health care decisions for us. I dont know if we can have our cake and eat it too though so to speak. We want the freedom to make choices for our bodies, but as soon as something goes wrong (whether it is our fault or not) we cant then blame someone for giving us what we wanted in the first place.

I think that I am a pretty intelligent woman who has done my homework twice over. And whether or not most of you know it, alot of that included your personal experiences and your references to books and other avenues that I went down. Many thanks for sharing your joys, triumphs, and difficulties.

With all of this said, I am going to remain with my choice of Dr. Alvarez.

I guess my rambling is a sense of frustration that a doctor, whether he be mine or not, is coming close to being subtely villified for a patients obvious deception in presenting her readiness for this surgery and her inability or unwillingness to follow a predetermined care plan.

After I have my surgery I will certainly relay the good the bad and the ugly if there is any. That is what I came to this forum for and for the most part that is exactly what I have gotten from it.

Again, please keep me in your prayers as I begin this journey tomorrow. Please keep daughterinlaw and her family in your prayers, and please keep all of the doctor's that we put our faith, our future, and our lives in.

Lucygoose

good for you lucygoose! Well put. You will be fine. I will call on all my special Angels to care for you and your doctors. Prayers coming your way. and for daughterinlaw also.

I am scheduled with Dr. Alvarez as well on December 3rd. Your post was well said, as I too am praying for daughterinlaw. After reading her post I was alarmed initally, then re-examine my self and I am physically, mentally and emotionally prepared for this journey.

oh you beat me to it slimsleeve! You are sooo close. I wish you all the best. I am looking forward to waking up and having my Carnation Instant Breakfast tomorrow. Now that might be a different story come dinner time tomorrow. ha

As I stated before, I am very confident in my choice of surgeons and facilities. My biggest anxieties come from the fact that I will be flying for one thing - and traveling alone for another. My husband will be staying home with our special needs son.

God has put on my heart for quiet some time that I needed to have a quiet/ healing spiritual retreat. I really do think he opened up all of the right doors for me to take this step in healing with just him to trust. It's a wonderful feeling to do just that.

NOW IF HE CAN JUST MAKE SURE I DONT MISS MY PLANES!!! LOL