About three weeks ago, I stepped off a ramp at a local grocery and my left knee gave way. The drop off was hardly more then a few inches but the pain told me I had done something bad to that knee.
I made an appointment at our assigned Ebais and the doctor examined it thoroughly, prescribed one shot of morphine and a round of anti-inflammatory meds. Everything was going well until one week letter I further damaged the knee. I was pulling shut a metal gate and I guess I put too much weight on my left leg. The pain this time was quite bad.
I decided to make an appointment with a MediSmart doctor. MediSmart is a discount medical plan (not insurance) that we use in conjunction with Costa Rica’s socialized medical system.
On line, you can search for a doctor whose practice is in the area you are looking for and you can further narrow it down to the town/city/province you want that service to be located in. I found a doctor whose qualifications were (I thought) GP - general practitioner - and made an appointment at Clinica Helenica Grecia. This is where I also see my eye doctor and my dermatologist.
The doctor (actually “doctora” in Spanish) was very nice. She took down my history and I explained my knee problem. Then she said, “Well, Diana, we have a little problem. I am a [g]eneral surgeon and a [p]roctologist!” We had a good laugh. It was really funny. So much for my “GP” interpretation. She then made an appointment for the next day with an orthopaedic surgeon so I got moved right up to a specialist. And I wasn’t charged for my visit with her.
The next day, I limped into my appointment with Dr. Baltodano. He (a “doctor” as in English) was excellent and explained everything so thoroughly. Here is the drawing he did to explain how a knee is structured and what can cause knee problems:
Recommended treatment until I had x-rays and ultrasound completed: RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation. The compression part turned out to be a toe to thigh thick stocking! He also prescribed three courses of anti-inflammatory shots 48 hours apart and five days of pain killers.
Cost of this visit: 55,000 CRC (about $139 U.S.).
Cost of the injections and medications: 35,000 CRC (about $88 U.S.).
It’s important to mention that Dr. Baltodano is bilingual. When one’s Spanish skills are not up to medical terminology, this is very important.
Stay tuned for Part 2 - x-rays and ultrasound!
Click on images to enlarge.
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