Every autumn, in California, we start hearing about the
upcoming flu season and the need to get vaccinated before it starts. I normally
haven’t done so, not because I’m an anti-vaxxer, but because I usually leave
for southernmost South America, where summer is starting and flu treatment is a
low priority. That was the case again this year, except that I returned from
Buenos Aires to Oakland for most of December and January before returning to
Chile last week.
So far, my time here hasn’t worked out exactly as expected
because, just a couple days after arriving, I got slammed by a vicious bug that
left me nearly prostrate. I am guessing – call it informed speculation – that my
airport odyssey from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Lima to Santiago
exposed me to something that vaccination might have fought off. I managed to see a
few necessary contacts before it really overpowered me, and I’ve spent most of the
time since in a reclining position – even sitting at the keyboard has exhausted
me.
I didn’t really want to go the hospital, but after waiting
it out for a few days, I let my friend Marializ Maldonado arrange a house call through Médicos a Domicilio Cuba Vida,
an organization of Chilean-licensed Cuban doctors operating in Santiago. The
very existence of the service surprised me, as physician house calls are a
thing of the past in the United States – I don’t recall one since I was a child
in Washington State, though I did get nurse’s visits after heart surgery a few
years ago in California.
It was barely an hour from when Marializ phoned until the
doctor and her assistant arrived, with state-of-the-art gear for measuring
vital signs, and asking all the relevant questions about my medical history –
even though she gave the visual impression that she might have interrupted a
shopping spree at Victoria’s Secret. The diagnosis was bronchitis, and she
wrote several prescriptions, including antibiotics, a strong cough syrup and an
inhaler. The cost was a modest 30,000 pesos, less than US$50 at the current
exchange rate; the prescriptions were another 22,000 pesos (roughly US$35), but
it’s reimbursable through my travel insurance.
Fortunately, at home in California, I live only a few blocks
from my regular health care provider’s hospital, so house calls are hardly
necessary. It was a pleasure to learn, though, that such services are still
available at a reasonable cost. I would recommend the service to anybody
visiting Santiago, though it’s unclear whether or not they have
English-speaking doctors.
On a tangential note, the Cuban presence in Chile has become
palpable in recent years, especially on the music scene. Only yesterday, as I
went to board the Metro in the central Plaza de Armas, there was an excellent son-style group playing
in the bandshell (pictured above). The crowd of spectators was small but appreciative.
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