Hello, my fellow warriors, and welcome back to the Den. If you’ve been following along, either here on the blog, or on some of my social media accounts, then you know that I’ve been having difficulty due to a broken arm. And it was a severe break, We don’t have insurance, for a couple of reasons, and treatment and surgery here in the states is outrageously expensive, not to mention the insane amount of red tape you have to jump through. So, seeing as it’s the season of miracles, I thought I would share mine.
First, let me give you an idea of how bad this break was. For those of you that have some knowledge of joint and bone structure, or for those of you who are just curious, I had what is called a radial distus fracture, more commonly known as a broken wrist. Now, most of us know that we have two bones in our forearm, the radius and the ulna. I broke both of them. Badly. When I went to the emergency room immediately after the accident, the wrist was reset (the medical field calls this a reduction) and put into a splint. Less than two weeks later at the doctor’s office, the x-rays showed one of the bones wasn’t seated correctly, and it looked like surgery would be necessary. So off to the er I went where the wrist had to be reducted a second time, and back into a splint I went. A couple weeks after that, things were looking good, according to the doctor, and a hard cast was put on my arm. I was still having discomfort, but given the severity of the break, I figured that was normal.
Two weeks later, all that changed. One of the bones had shifted, and surgery became a requirement for the wrist to heal properly. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the surgery in the states. So with my Spouse’s help, I found a doctor and hospital in Mexicali, MX half to a third of what I would have been charged here, with zero red tape. That’s right, no games, no garbage, no authorizations or approvals. Just honest health care professionals trying their best to help their patients.
So this post is from me to them. This is my review, and my Thank You, for taking care of me when no one else would. Now, I live close to the border as it is, so I was already very familiar with taking a quick trip across the border to pick up medications. I’ve never had any issues. So if you need medical attention, surgery, etc., and have concerns about crossing the border, don’t worry. It’s not an issue, and never has been for me. It’s always an adventure, and generally a fun one. Plus, medically, many of the doctors are trained and certified in the states, so the knowledge is at least as good as anything you will find on this side of the border.
The doctor who took care of me was Dr. Juan Antonio Bustamonte with Hospital de la Familia in Mexicali, Baja, MX. I contacted his office on Monday, December 8, 2025, and spoke with Carlo. Over the course of a few hours explained the diagnosis, provided access to my records for Dr. Bustamonte to see what he could do. Before the end of the day, I was scheduled for surgery on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 10, 2025, with transportation able to be provided (I only live an hour away from Mexicali). The following day started in a little bit of a rush, with me putting in a request to the medical records department of the group I had been going to for a copy of my ct scan. While I was working on that Carlo contacted me and asked if I could be ready to come down that afternoon for a pre-op consult with Dr. Bustamonte, and again, transportation would be provided.
Late that afternoon, my ride, Oscar, and his wife, arrived to pick me up. We drove through the border down into Mexicali so I could meet my doctor. I found Dr. Bustamonte to be personable, extremely knowledgeable and very caring. He looked at the ct-scan I provided, took one last X-ray and found that it wasn’t just one bone that was dislocated; both of them were! I didn’t need one plate in my wrist, I needed two! So with a plan now firmly in place, and pre-op instructions in hand, Oscar picked me up again, and helped me get a hotel room for the night, Carlo helping coordinate everything as Oscar speaks limited English, and I speak limited Spanish.
The next morning I was up early, and checked out of the hotel. Oscar picked me up and took me to the lab for pre-op testing, then helped me get checked in to the hospital. After that, the staff got me back to a room where I was able to prep for surgery, and had final tests and scans to make sure my body would handle the surgery well.
At this point, I want to talk about the hospital, which is currently undergoing upgrades and construction. The hospital is small, but very clean, bright and well lit. In many ways, it did remind me of the way hospitals were in the 70s (maybe even the 50s and 60s), simple, but effective with all the necessities, and modern equipment. The halls were wide, no pictures or ornamentation, no family waiting areas or vending machines everywhere. The patient rooms are good sized, with plenty of room for family and loved ones, and private, so no one is waiting in the hallways getting in the way of staff. Quite frankly, none of this was a downside to me. I would rather have a hospital focusing on the care of it’s patients, then whether or not it needs a remodel to look prettier.
As is normal, I don’t remember the surgery. I was taken back to my room about six-and-a-half hours after surgery and recovery. Due to the nerve block, I couldn’t feel anything in my arm, and trying to move was impossible (it was like having a bag of jelly hanging from my side that I couldn’t feel). I was well cared for by the staff, and after a few hours, was able to sleep for a short time. After a couple hours though, the nerve block wore off, and every ounce of pain I hadn’t felt before came back at once. I felt like I had had a rod shoved through my forearm, then my arm shoved into a barrel of hot coals! I have to thank my nurse, Cecilia, who did everything she could to help me. She used a translation app to to communicate with me, called doctors, brought me ice packs and loosened and re-wrapped my bandages to make sure we could keep the swelling from hurting me to much.
I was supposed to leave and go back home that day, but due to the severity of the pain the previous night, Dr. Bustamonte thought it would be a good idea for me to stay another day to make sure that my pain was manageable and under control. My nurses, Frida and Valeria checked on me regularly, and again, I was well taken care of and had everything I needed. My second night, I was taken care of as well as the first. My nurse, Eduardo, was incredibly friendly and informative. When he gave me my nighttime pain meds, he sat down and monitored my oxygen levels to make sure they remained steady. We chatted about the differences between the American unemployment system and the Mexican one, we talked about the differences between American hospitals and the one they are continuing to build in Mexicali (a quick note on that: unlike American facilities, there are no tech positions, no nursing assistants. You either have a nursing license, or you have been at the hospital for over 10 years and are REALLY good at what you do.)
Most of the staff ones I interacted with, including transportation (wheelchairs) and housekeeping were engaging and friendly. I saw more smiles than I think I ever have at any American facility. And I have to give special thanks to the nutrition department for going out of their way to ensure that I had good food, food that I like, to eat. So much so they sent someone to my room to ask me for them. If something came up that I didn’t like, they would come up to find a substitution that would work (ie. When pasta and tomato soup was on the menu, I had spaghetti, when pancakes were for breakfast, they made me an omelet).
Now, Warriors, I’m not going to tell you that this was a fabulous trip, or that this was a 5-star resort. It’s not. It’s a hospital. You’re not there for vacation. You’re there for a procedure, whatever that may be. You are not in the United States. Some things will be different. That’s ok. The benefits are worth it. The team I worked with was incredible, and if I was ever in a position where I needed care again, I would absolutely go again.
I want to thank my entire team for all their help. They deserve, so here goes:
My surgeons:
Dr. Juan Antonio Bustamonte
Dr. Pedro Castillo
My Anesthesiologist:
Dr. Veronica Torres
My nursing team:
Cecilia
Frida
Eduardo
Valeria
To the rest of the surgery team who I didn’t meet, a big thank you to you as well.
I also need to give a big thank you to Carlo for organizing everything, and Oscar for doing all the transportation and driving outside the hospital.
I also want to say that none of the people involved asked me to do this. I’m not getting paid to write my experience. I am doing this because I have seen the American medical system and the fiasco that it is. I’ve seen it as a patient, I’ve worked in it from the insurance end, and I know people who have worked in the facilities. The system is a wreck. I had my surgery scheduled, completed and I was back home with no displacement, and no discomfort from a displaced joint (surgery and healing discomfort, yes, but discomfort from my joint being out of whack?, no) and a better diagnosis than I got here, and it happened within five (5) days. Done. I’m sharing my story for the person who doesn’t know that this is even a possibility, for the person who might be hesitant. I’m sharing it so that you know that a corrupt, distorted system is not the only option.
Blessed Be
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