P., 68, had already had the twinge in the right half of his chest in Switzerland. As a co-driver in the field, the window was often down, so that a more or less strong wind was constantly blowing on his body.
When he got home, he drank cold milk. That helped, the pain went away. But only for a certain time. He didn’t go to the doctor because the stress of his job left him no time for it.
Three years ago, he emigrated to Costa Rica with his partner. Since then, they have been living stress-free in a beautiful house with a large garden in the San José area.
However, the stinging in the chest does not stop. And always drinking cold milk cannot be the solution in the long term.
Costa Rica: The first stay in a hospital
It’s that time again on a Monday. This time the pain is worse than usual. His partner even notices a slight yellowing. You get into the car. Despite the pain, he drives himself; she has not yet had her driver’s license transferred.
Ten minutes later they are in the CIMA hospital emergency room.
He is examined, palpated, ultrasound. Then they are found: Gallstones, seven millimeters in size. Doctor R. is called and decides quickly: the gall bladder and stones have to come out tomorrow morning.
His gall bladder will be removed laparoscopically on Tuesday and he will be back at home on Thursday.
Postoperative aftercare
For five days, P. received a call every day asking how he was doing and whether he was in pain. He doesn’t have them. He can eat and drink almost anything and is already working in the garden again.
The costs. 9800 dollars, medication is extra. He does not have to worry about billing; the hospital bills his private health insurance company (Cigna) directly. He has a Cigna Gold card (costs 6000 dollars a year) and only pays a 10% excess.
In Switzerland, P. had to pay 650 Swiss francs a month, with an annual deductible of 2,500 francs plus a 10% co-payment for hospitalization.
By the way, the food order at the hospital went like this: The nurse has an app on her smartphone, which she used to ask P. in Spanish what he would like to eat, whereupon he ordered in German.