OK. I have to jump in. I'm SICK of horror stories!!! And bad information.
We spent the last 10+ winters in a family compound in Zihuatanejo that had two RV spaces, nice ones. We had neighbors. About half the time we'd meet up in San Carlos and loosely (we liked to stay in different places in Patzcuaro) travel down together. October 2015, we were a day ahead of them.
About to leave Los Pinos in Tepic and wanting to make Patzcuaro, she got up really early to walk their three large dogs. She stepped in a hole and broke her leg, very badly. He was asleep with fans on, so it was a long time until he found her.
After a few missteps (the red cross for one) the bomberos stabilized her leg with an inflatable cast and sent them to the Orthopedic Hospital in Tepic. She was made comfortable and had surgery the next morning. It was a beautiful room-a nice couch that he could have slept on (but he had 3 dogs to attend) and a large flat screen TV. 11 screws and 2 plates later, she was released the same afternoon as her surgery, but they requested that they stick around for a week so they could check her. Total bill, get ready, $2990 USD.
With a fistful of x-rays and a LARGE bottle of pain pills they arrived in Zihuatanejo a week later with two primary instructions: DO NOT touch the ground with that leg for 6 weeks, and then take the x-rays to an orthopedic surgeon in Zihuatanejo and have a screw removed, he'll know which one just by looking at the pictures.
After 6 weeks she started hobbling around on it a little, then a little more. After 8 weeks we drug her into the Clinica Mediciel here in town. The doctor looked at the x-rays, told her NOT to walk on that foot, and did new x-rays that showed the need for that screw was over and that she had bent the screw already. Return in 3 hours and I'll have an orthopedic surgeon here and I'll assist him in taking it out.
He sat in the waiting area and I got to translate, narrate to her and watch. Fascinating. It took about an hour with a local. Never in my life have I wanted more to push two men out of the way and clean out the head of a screw and show them how to use a screwdriver!!!
They sent us on our way with a bottle of antibiotics, and another of pain pills and instructions to have me take out the stitches in a week and not to walk on it for another 6 weeks. Bill? $487 USD
In October of 2016 she still had a funky looking leg and ankle and occasionally wrapped them. In October of 2017 it looked good and she had complete confidence in it.
Total cost was under $3,500 USD. I'm sorry, but if you can afford to come to Mexico you can afford that kind of bill. And yes, pain pills ARE available in Mexico, you just have to really need them.
