A Health Care Experience In Panama.

July 9, 2013

Last year my ankle was terribly swollen and in major pain.

It had been that way for a week. It was not a sprain since it had started suddenly while I was sitting.

Immediate Attention Needed

I was leaving for the States in a few day, so I needed to attend to it immediately.

I went to a private clinic in David Panama, the Mae Lewis Clinic. It is a more expensive option, but it is usually fast, which is what I needed.

I arrived at the clinic with no appointment. I was ushered into to see a doctor within 15 minutes. 10 minutes later I was getting my ankle x-rayed. 10 minutes after that I saw a specialist. Turns out my fears of rheumatoid arthritis or some chronic condition, were groundless.

My ankle was infected.

I had a few infected cuts on my leg, and those infections had settled into my ankle. I didn't even know a joint could get an infection that way.

The English-speaking specialist (whose dad was from Seattle via Norway) said the infection had settled into my ankle because, as the x-ray showed, my ankle had incurred much trauma over time. I remember many of those traumas. They were inflicted by forwards trouncing on my feet and ankles during my years playing soccer as a full back.

Prescription: antibiotics, which I picked up at the clinic's pharmacy

Total time spent at clinic : 1 hour

Money spent: $30

My husband talks about 2 recent visits to the hospital in Puerto Armuelles, Panama

Information on Health Care in Panama

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