[Gocamino] abbreviated Camino and medical help...

Sat Jan 3 12:50:00 PST 2009

 Tim,
I am a nurse practitioner and concur.? For the pilgrim to have flown home with that condition could have been a fatal event.? 
Spain gives excellent care.? 
Travel insurance that includes health care is inexpensive and it will reimburse, but the care is cheap to begin with.? I have used both medical and dental care in Spain and it was so cheap that I deemed it not worth the hassle of filling out all the forms, although they would have.? I used travel insurance through American Express, Travel Guard and I think one other major company.? Coverage on American Express was limited to 30-days when I used it.? I urge all pilgrims to check with their health insurance carriers re: coverage and if not available in Europe, ask for suggestions and follow them.? My husband is also being treated for several conditions but is very stable. I myself am 61 years old and am an avid traveler.? Security and peace of mind is worth the few extra dollars-- AT ANY AGE.? If budget is that tight that one cannot afford health insurance supplements, they should be considering a shorter camino or delaying until they have adequate funds.? Nothing is more foolish than get over there and fail to get help because of money.? With any trip, it's worth researching the health care that is available in the area to be explored and learn something about how to access it before going overseas.? Even astronauts have to learn and be prepared to care and treat each other.? Ditto for the professional mountain climbers and other explorers.? Many don't think that anything is going to happen because of the short time spent overseas, but the camino will often stress one, throwing them over the edge.? ...even a seemily well-prepared pilgrim and those who have done it before, because its conditions are hard to duplicate and it varies so much.? Each year sees differing climate.? Sometimes one is lucky and the trail sees rather mild climate throughout or at least anticipated climate, but the unexpected can happen.? We are at nature's mercy when we are out there and it will impact our bodily functions.? My advice for pilgrims is to respect it and be prepared.? 

-Joanie

-----Original Message-----
From: Tim <tim at errecaldia.com>
To: Sil <sillydoll at gmail.com>; Gocamino at oakapple.net
Sent: Sat, 3 Jan 2009 12:07 pm
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] abbreviated Camino and medical help...

hi,
    Sil I think you have missed my point or perhaps I didn't explain 
clearly.  It is obviously necessary for all travellers to EU to have 
either their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or, if from outside 
the EU, to be carrying appropriate health insurance indemnifying them 
against all medical costs while travelling.  To do anything else is 
foolish.  My point was that as long as you have this insurance medical 
treatment within France and Spain and most of the rest of the EU is up 
to if not better than that in the US and that there is very little by 
way of a language problem.  Flying home with a serious medical condition 
is very dangerous.  In this case Wes did not know he had the problem 
which could have proved fatal in the lower pressure of an aircraft cabin.
Take care
Tim

Sil wrote:

> Wes and Rita, I think you wise to return home.  Spain is a 1st World 
> Country with an excellent medical service but, had the DVT travelled 
> to the arteries, Wes would have been in serious trouble.  Unless you 
> had extensive travel insurance, you could have been in for a long stay 
> in a Spanish hospital and huge medical bill. 
> I am so pleased that Wes recovered and that you are planning to return 
> in the spring.
> Hugs,
> Sil
>
> 2009/1/3 Tim <tim at errecaldia.com <mailto:tim at errecaldia.com>>
>
>     Hi,
>        I missed your original post, I must have been busy over the festive
>     season and then saw the names.  I thought to myself that must be the
>     people who stayed with me in September, went back, checked your
>     original
>     post saw that it was and hence this mail which has two purposes.
>     Firstly to say that I'm glad 'all's well that ends well' and that
>     there
>     were to nasty ongoing repercussions.  The second purpose is to assure
>     all of you from outside Europe especially the US and to a degree
>     Canada
>     that you are not entering a medical wilderness when you visit us in
>     France or Spain.  Far from it, France is reputed to have one of
>     the best
>     medical systems in the world if not in fact the best, and Spain
>     does not
>     lag far behind.  Many of the practitioners speak English, treatment is
>     easy to come by, the standards are very high, and it is much cheaper
>     than the US
>        An American friend who lives two doors away from me in St Jean Pied
>     de Port explained to me that most US citizens have been brainwashed by
>     the American medical establishment into believing that so called
>     'socialist' medicine is primitive and doesn't work.  Please accept my
>     assurances that this is just not the case, the flight home for Wes
>     ended
>     safely the next time it might not be such a happy outcome.
>        I hope that you can call by and see me when you make your return
>     this year, and would like to wish all Gocamino contributors Bonne
>     Annee.
>     Regards
>     Tim Proctor
>
>
>     Wes & Rita wrote:
>
>     >Thanks for all the responses to our update on our medical
>     emergency on the Camino.  Why did we not seek help in Spain?
>      Sheer panic.  Not knowing much Spanish and not knowing what was
>     going on, all we could think about was getting home and seeing our
>     own, much trusted, physician who had previously treated Wes for
>     high blood pressure (my assumption at the time being that it had
>     something to do with that).  Surely we would never have made a
>     transatlantic flight if we had dreamed it might be what it turned
>     out to be -- a pulmonary embolism.  If we were to face another
>     medical problem while on the Camino (oh please, no, not again!),
>     and knowing now what good experiences folks had in seeking medical
>     help in Spain, we would definitely seek help wherever we were.
>     >
>     >And thanks for all the information about wintry conditions in the
>     high country in April.  We are moving our starting date into May
>     as a result.  We were trying to avoid the crowds but crossing the
>     Pyrennees in deep snow does not appeal!  I am grateful for all of
>     you perigrinos who have been so helpful and supportive!
>     >
>     >Rita and Wes
>     >_______________________________________________
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>     >
>     >
>     >
>
>
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Sil
> http://amawalker.blogspot.com/
> www.vfpilgrims.blogspot.com <http://www.vfpilgrims.blogspot.com>

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