Heading to Colombia for Tummy Tuck, Breast Reduction and Lift, and Lipo. Cali, CO

It's been 3 weeks today. I remain very confident in Dr Zapata's work. He was almost twice the cost, but when you're talking Colombia, that's only a few thousand more and he has a fantastic reputation down there. I didn't like that his office takes a cut of my habitation expenses though. It's standard down there though, but I still don't like that. And, accommodations with other doctors were less expensive too. For that reason, if you contact the owner of the home that I stayed in directly, it will save you a lot of money. And...she gives amazing massages too. Better than the ones I got through the doctors office. The owner of the home is Elsa Giralda. There is a "nurse" there 24 hours a day with you. Disclaimer, the nurses are not real nurses. They may have studied for a year, if that. But..they know how to help you after you have surgery so that's most important. To call Elsa from the US dial +57 314 890 2194.

I figure I might as well take a few moments to tell you all a little bit about what it was like to come down as a Amercian to Colombia in case you are considering it.
Although I lived in Spain for a year, have lots of South American friends and also spent time once before in Chile, I was not prepared for it. I was picked up at the airport by the people who own the house, which was set up by my doctor. Although I had sent my itinerary ahead of time, they went to international arrivals instead of domestic as they must have assumed I didn't have a domestic lay over or realized how that works. It took us possibly 1.5 hours to leave the airport after the found me. For a city of 3 million people, you'd expect parking garages at an airport. There was no such thing. People, traffic standing still, and honking horns were everywhere. We walked a long way to a dirt parking lot and then came my first experience with their long lines. We had to wait in line to leave the dirt lot because there isn't an automated ticket system. It's two guys and a book and they record every car coming in and out with their pens into a book. The car the owners of my house were driving was filthy and without air conditioning, so the windows were down the 45 minute drive to their house with putrid smells coming in. I've travelled in Asia, Africa, all over Europe, South America, Australia and the US, and I wasn't prepared for the lack of efficiency and organization that permeated throughout the trip. Now let me surprise you by saying that in time, I really enjoyed my time here. I looked at it as lessons to be learned, an adventure to be had, and character gained. I'm still here now, and can't sleep, and haven't been able to sleep well the whole time, because their pillows absolutely and totally suck. Apparently that's a South American thing (so says my husband). Bring your pillow! In the end, I'm glad I came and got it here because they nurses and the house that I'm staying in tended to my every need whereas at home that would have been impossible. My physician seems to have done a great job. I'll post pictures later. I wrote before that I was so scared because I looked so fat coming out. I just figured they weren't able to help such a fatty like me:) I look much better almost 2 weeks out now. I will also share the phone number of the house I stayed at in case any of you want to reach out the house directly instead of going through the doctor's office, which takes a big cut. A couple words about language barriers and how it affected things. For me, if was a huge problem and I speak pretty OK Spanish. I can understand most things. And it was still an issue. If you don't speak Spanish, you absolutely must go with a doctor who speaks Spanish or has someone in their office who does. Also, look for a place to stay that has English speaking care takers. It's a big deal. Also, regarding the city selection. I came to Cali because Dr. Zapata is here. However, if you felt the physicians would be equally worked, I'd pick Bogota or Medellin over Cali. Cali has a high crime rate and the people here are extremely pre-cautious and it's pretty pervasive. I'm not talking a careful culture. I'm taking a paranoid culture, and perhaps for good reason. I'm not sure I'd pick cartagena although it's the most vacation-like. I wanted to be close to the areas that are known for high quality medicine in case of an emergency.

I'll be so upset if this was all for nada. Any thoughts?