<– Back to Ecuador 2025 | Jump to the song
Why I’m seeing a doctor
Some of you might not know, but one of the reasons we came to Ecuador was so that I could consult with a Rheumatologist and get a diagnosis for my auto-immune condition. Back in the U.S. it takes 3 – 6 months to find out if I can even see a specialist, and then another 3 – 6 months to get an appointment. And that isn’t even counting the costs that aren’t covered by insurance.
By comparison, here in Ecuador I can make an appointment with a great, experienced specialist within a week and the whole thing, including tests and treatment plans, only costs a few hundred dollars — and that is without insurance. Medical tourism at its finest.
We got a referral for a rheumatologist here in Cuenca a month or so ago and have been communicating with a local facilitator who helped us coordinate with the doctor, and who also goes to the appointments to provide translation.
I had been working on some pretty extensive documentation of my entire case history that I sent ahead to the doctor so that she would be familiar with everything that is going on. It included all of the tests and results that had already been done in the U.S. I also had the document translated into Spanish.
So, by the time we had my appointment at 8:30 AM this morning most of the heavy lifting had already been done and I was looking forward to getting to work on figuring out exactly how to tackle my chronic health issues.
The appointment
Diana, our facilitator, met us in front of Mt. Sinai Hospital and we went up to the doctor’s office for the consultation. She reviewed my documentation and asked a lot of questions. One thing that came up was that, over the years, I should have taken a lot more pictures whenever I had a flare up.
Today I was probably doing the best I’ve been since I went to the hospital back in July/August so there wasn’t a ton to see in terms of swelling and redness.
She ordered a bunch of tests and sent us downstairs to their lab. Some urine .. some blood. The usual stuff. Overall there were about twenty three different tests they were going to run. Some of the autoimmune-related tests were a bit more expensive (the highest was $90), but some of the standard blood work tests were in the $2.50 – $3.50 range.
The results of the tests would be available online after 4:00 PM, so after we finished at the hospital we grabbed a quick snack at the cafe just outside the hospital.
Gracie’s Naturals
From the hospital we caught a taxi to the Central Historical district to our old stomping grounds on Calle Calle Hermano Miguel. We have some friends who are originally from Shanghai who have a shop called “Gracie’s Naturals”.
Gracie was in the shop today and her husband was still at home, but we had a great time re-connecting with her. The last time we were in Cuenca we introduced them to Patricio’s Tai Chi class, which they were still attending when time allowed.
We picked up a bar of soap and some tofu and made our way a few doors down to Café Ñucallacta, another old haunt that we used to come to a lot during our last trip. We had a couple drinks and a big vegan breakfast plate. The beans were on point.
It started raining like crazy right as the cafe was closing. There were no taxi’s available so we ducked into a restaurant we went to back in 2023; Warmikuna Cocina Taller.
It is a restaurant that focuses on traditional Andean cuisine. We had some really great dishes that I don’t remember the name of. But you can see the images here. The corn and potato soup and quinoa salad were both fantastic.
After the rain died down we caught a cab down the hill so I could drop by the Tai Chi class.
Visiting the Tai Chi Class
Ruhi went to do some work at Sinfonía while I went to the park and sat down behind the Tai Chi group focusing on some Qi Gong and upper body basics. After Maestro showed up I got to also revisit some tan tui, the first few movements of the Chen 18, and a bit of ba duan jin (qi gong).
When class finished I went back over to Sinfonía to meet up with Ruhi and finished up some of this blog and reviewed the test results that came back. I couldn’t understand all of it, since it was in Spanish, but I forwarded it to our facilitator, Diana, who was going to coordinate our next appointment with the doctor.
So, hopefully the 7 page PDF of all my test results will provide some clarity, or at least a direction to move in. In the meantime, the first day of my medical consultative journey is underway and here’s hoping for good results down the line.
Good night!
Today’s Song: Time to See the Doctor
Lyrics:
Chorus:
Time to see the doctor (the doctor)
Been waiting for so long (so long!)
The rheumatologist, a diagnosis,
To help my bod fix whats wrong
One of the reasons we came to Cuenca
Was to see a rheumatologist
Autoimmune flaring hard
Health care failing back in the U.S.
Our medical facilitator
Made an appointment for today
8:30 AM at the hospital
Located just down the way
Chorus x2
Doctor was great. Knew her stuff
Asked lots of questions to get to the crux
Down to the lab to get some tests
Results coming later so time to rest
From there we saw an old friend
Gracie’s Naturals around the bend
Then a bite at Café Ñucallacta
With wifi fast for the work we have to … do
Chorus x2
In the afternoon I went to the park
To visit my Tai Chi friends
Movin’ qi,
Breathing deep
Time to let the healing begin!
Chorus x4