As you begin thinking and planning about moving abroad for retirement, one of the big issues is health care. Good bad or indifferent, we all have notions about the quality of health care where we are and what it might be like where ever we end up. Anybody who is looking to live in another country and says they are not concerned about health care is nuts. I happen to think that American health care is great… the delivery system via a hamstrung insurance system is horrible, but the quality of care is excellent.
My biggest gripe is that US doctors rarely spend enough time with you and that leads to future medical problems instead of fixing them before they become problematic. For that reason I have three doctors; one for "everyday" concerns and my annual check-up; my neurologist because I have had a history of epilepsy since I was a child; and a third holistic practitioner that I go to a few times per year and pay through the nose for, but she keeps me on track and spends a minimum of thirty minutes with me to answer all of my questions and suggest alternative approaches to keeping me healthy.
Other than my epilepsy I have been pretty healthy my whole life -- I have never broken a bone and have yet to have any type of surgery. When my cholesterol began creeping up my GP prescribed a statin drug that I immediately tossed in the garbage. I instead ate oatmeal for every breakfast and lived on beans in various forms, fish, broccoli and salads for two months. I dropped my cholesterol from 254 to 209 in eight weeks.
Well, three weeks ago, while volunteering at a back-to-school wellness event with a couple of colleagues, all was going well when I collapsed around 11:15 a.m. I woke up to find two EMTs and my colleagues hovering over me and I was being wheeled out to an ambulance. My colleagues informed the EMTs of my history of epilepsy (I had a seizure in November 1979 and a second one in February 2009) and coupled with the short-term memory loss I was experiencing, they naturally concluded that I had had another seizure. As I was recovering on the way to the emergency room I came to the same conclusion. The ER ran an EKG, did a CAT scan and did other routine tests and ultimately released me after a few hours.
Once I got home and the gravity of the matter began to sink in, I was absolutely devastated. After my last seizure I couldn't drive for a year. It was a total pain in the ass but having to go without driving now that I am living alone would be very difficult. I admit it is an ego thing because I don't like having to depend on others… it makes me feel useless and lacking control over my life. The next morning I noticed that the pill box I use to hold my collection of prescription medicines and supplements was missing my seizure medication.
I use two pill boxes (one for morning and one for evening) that hold two weeks of medications each and I was 11 days through the boxes -- 11 days without taking my anti-seizure pills. So, not only was I exhausted from working hard and getting very little sleep, I had unwittingly gone cold turkey from my meds. On the one hand this is good news, but on the other hand I still might have to quit driving depending on what the doc said.
Not only would this have a big impact on my November travel plans since I would have to use public transportation instead of driving -- this could be a total game changer. What would the inability to drive do to my retirement plans? Would I have to live in a city instead of on the water? Would I have to give up my plans of moving abroad altogether?
Waiting a week to get in to see my neurologist seemed an eternity as I dealt with various waves of emotions. I went from just starting to feel good about my life again after losing Andrea to feeling depressed and full of self pity at the prospect of seeing the rest of my life altered -- again! I did not want to put off my Panama trip so I asked the folks at International Living to suggest a reliable guide. I provided a general outline of what I wanted to do and see, and received an estimate of approximately $2500.00 for ten days. That may not be a bad price, but it is more than what I wanted to pay.
After describing my collapse and the week that led up to the event, my neurologist said he does not believe I had a seizure. He is not exactly sure what happened and ordered up a series of tests to first rule out heart problems (an echocardiogram and a 24-hour ambulatory heart monitor) and to get a fresh reading on my brain (an ambulatory EEG). Fortunately his admin was able to get these scheduled for the same time so I was able to complete the echocardiogram this past Monday morning and get wired up for 24 hours for the other two tests, and returned on Tuesday morning to get un-wired.
Hopefully all these tests will be revealing since I am sure I will still bear some significant cost even after what the insurance pays. The most immediate and critical impact of my doctor's conclusion is that I can still drive. I will go see my in-laws this weekend (they live about an hour or so south of me) and do some long-term shopping just in case he changes his mind. I am convinced that the lack of medication and border-line exhaustion caused a collapse and I am not concerned about a relapse.
Anyway, that fact that I can continue to drive has put me back into Panama trip research mode. I am now down to flying American via Miami for only 30,000 miles and will pick up a rental car at the Panama City airport. I can get a Suzuki Jimmy from Thrifty for about $200 for the ten days and a bit less for a Toyota Yaris. Gas prices are about the same I pay in Florida. I am still placing flights on hold until I am 100% sure I want to move forward with this trip. American allows you to place five-day holds so I have been leap frogging my holds with the intent of actually booking when I return from Key West.
The next task is to make up an itinerary and book hotels. I may want a guide around the canal and in Panama City to make sure I get the most of it. I have the names of a few real estate folks that I will ask to show me a few representative properties in several areas along both coasts. I am really getting excited as I get closer to my trip.
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