We were taken to a private room where I changed into my (breezy) hospital gown and (very attractive) paper cloth slippers and had my blood taken for the remaining blood tests. By noon we were ready to wheel me into the OR. I remember my mom breaking down into tears as I was being wheeled down the hallway and Joya was trying to comfort her. THIS is why they shouldn't put emphasis on death in the list of possible complications!
Once in the OR, I was moved from my gurney up onto the (very skinny) surgical table (how did my fat butt fit on there?) while trying to keep my hospital gown from flying open and revealing the lack of underwear that they insisted I not wear. They fitted my legs with stockings to prevent any blood clots from forming and then proceeded to revv up the happy gas. Last thing I remember was me giggling and then being told that the surgery was 'no laughing matter'. Then I was out.
I woke up very very briefly at one point after the surgery, looked over at a woman in the recovery room next to me and asked "Who the hell is that??". So embarrassing.
I believe I was in recovery for something like 4-6 hours before they let me go back to my room where mom was waiting for me. I don't remember a whole lot of this night, I was very drugged and very happy to be on the other side of the surgery. On the 'losers bench' as I would call it. The following 3 days were very long and painful. I had a lot of gas pain in my left shoulder and under my left ribcage - so I received a lot of morphine through my IV to keep the pain under control. On day 3, Jorge, who's name is now 'Asshole' but we will get to that later on, took me down to the X-ray room where they performed a leak test. I was to swallow 1 oz of the most horrible fluid known to man kind and stand still while they x-rayed my torso to see if the fluid was leaking out of my new pouch. Passed with flying colours! I was released to start sucking on ice and drink capfulls of water. Day 4, I went back to the nh Krystal resort to spend 4 days recovering before returning home. On my arrival to the resort, I was greeted by bagboys and a security guard. I spoke briefly with the security guard who had asked me where I was coming from. I explained that I was a Joya patient and I'd just had surgery - I remember his reaction being one of complete surprise. He told me that I looked amazing and not tired or weak like all of the other Joya patients. That made me feel great! He ended up calling me later that night and asked me out on a date. We went out for the evening to Nuevo Vallarta to a beach and sat and talked for a few hours before he returned me to my resort. We kept in contact after that and I have seen him once since then. Mom and I spent 3 days in the resort and ended up leaving 1 day early because of some issues that were going on back home.
I wrote a review on Dr Joya's guestbook/testimonials page a couple of years ago:
The total cost for the surgery/expenses was $12,500USD and that included my tests, surgeon fees, surgery, anesthesiologist, transportation, airfare, hospital (4 nights) and 4 nights in the nH Krystal (5 star resort on the coast on Banderas Bay). I contacted Gerald gerald@drjoya.com and he went through all of the requirements over the phone, I paid my $1000 deposit and got all of the paperwork to fill out which included medical history and pych. evaluation, also booked my plane tickets while I was on the phone to make sure I got a date/time that was best for me.
I arrived in PV three days before surgery so that I could have a bit of fun in Mexico first The day before surgery, Nathalie (Joya's assistant) came by the resort and gave me some money and some information about the surgery so I could read over it the night before. The day of surgery, I took a taxi to the hospital (about 2 mins away) and met Nathalie in the front office, we went over some paperwork and got weighed and then prepped for surgery (bloodwork etc.. apparently I'm an A-!). Dr Joya came in to see me right before surgery and he held my hand and talked to me a bit and made me feel really comfortable. I was wheeled into the OR I woke up in the recovery room and there were a couple of nurses around me making sure that I was okay and that I woke up so I could go into my room. Later that night, I woke up (finally) and was wheeled into my room by a couple of really sweet nurses who kept holding my hand and telling me that I did great in surgery! Recovery went really well, I had minimal pain, if I needed assistance or medication I didn't have to wait forever for a nurse.. nurses come in every hour to check and make sure you're doing okay.. they will give you pain meds no questions asked! The room had a private air conditioning with remote control and a beautiful view of the outside.. also had it's own television with 80 channels (a lot were in English, even). Every day after surgery, the nurses come in to check on you but Dr Jorge Martinez would be the doctor taking care of you after surgery, he comes in to check the bandages and make sure you're doing okay and he talks to everyone to make them feel a bit more comfortable. I was in the hospital for 4 days and then released to the resort to continue recovering.. the resort is absolutely stunning. For the three days that I was in the resort, Dr Jorge still came to check up on me every morning and check my bandages and whatnot. After the 3 days are up, I felt pretty much back to normal.
.. Nathalie gave me all of the paperwork from surgery including blood work results, gastric bypass diet, an explanation of what happened during surgery etc etc. I took a taxi back to the airport and flew back home.. no discomfort or anything from surgery.
I'd say I was feeling back to normal within 4-5 days after surgery.. bending down was a little bit hard for a couple more days after that but all in all.. not too shabby Dr Joya and his staff were excellent, the surgery went amazing, they made sure I was always comfortable... I have absolutely nothing to complain about. I received far better care in Mexico than I ever have in the US or Canada.. highhlyyyy recommend Dr Joya. If you are serious about getting surgery in Mexico I would definitely consider giving Gerald a call/email to find out more information.
This was taken 1 day before my RNY:
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