Hola Amigos,
We are Mike & Kim Altman of PV-Health.com – providers of international health insurance and emergency medical evacuation services.
The first thing we did after moving to Puerto Vallarta in was joining ExPats in Vallarta. Moving to a foreign country comes with challenges and the ExPat’s mission of expats helping expats has been invaluable. Besides, they are a lot of fun!
One of the best parts of living the expat lifestyle is exploring Mexico beyond the Bay of Banderas. Mexico is a beautiful country chocked full of marvels. And, because we enjoy sharing tales of our adventures and misadventures, we thought sharing some of the lessons we learned here might help you avoid some of the pitfalls of our hard knocks.
For us, our most memorable stories tell of those days when things go wrong and not too long ago, while I was exploring the back roads of Guanajuato. things went very wrong!
We are Mike & Kim Altman of PV-Health.com – providers of international health insurance and emergency medical evacuation services.
The first thing we did after moving to Puerto Vallarta in was joining ExPats in Vallarta. Moving to a foreign country comes with challenges and the ExPat’s mission of expats helping expats has been invaluable. Besides, they are a lot of fun!
One of the best parts of living the expat lifestyle is exploring Mexico beyond the Bay of Banderas. Mexico is a beautiful country chocked full of marvels. And, because we enjoy sharing tales of our adventures and misadventures, we thought sharing some of the lessons we learned here might help you avoid some of the pitfalls of our hard knocks.
For us, our most memorable stories tell of those days when things go wrong and not too long ago, while I was exploring the back roads of Guanajuato. things went very wrong!
One minute I was walking along the Paseo de La Presa, admiring the beauty of Guanajuato, and suddenly I was staring up at the sky. I had slipped and fallen on my backside, knocking the wind (and the sense) out of me.
It took several moments for me to figure out what happened and to start breathing again. I’ve been breathing for more than seven decades and really didn’t care for doing without oxygen!
True to form, a caring Mexican (the only kind they make), came to my aid. She gently pushed me back down as my embarrassment had me trying to scramble to my feet before anyone noticed. I was in no condition to get up, although my bruised ego disputed the fact.
My ego wasn’t the only thing bruised. Somehow, my right knee and left elbow were skinned and bleeding and I had a goose egg the size of a mango on the back of my head. I assured the Good Samaritan that I was okay while allowing her to help me to a seat on a park bench. When she saw that I was going to survive, she let me shoo her away with my thanks, "Muchas gracias, señora."
I have a question for you: Are you supposed to see stars in the daytime?
The nausea was getting to me so I spent a good part of the afternoon on that park bench. Once I felt up to it I got back on the path to the casita, where I tried to explain to my bride that I looked far worse than I felt.
Kim did not buy into my male bravado. She asked a string of health-related questions then got to the one question I knew was coming, “Were you carrying your Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card?”
She has this thing about letting her husband (me) who only has “Bar Spanish” go wandering off on his own through the back streets of Mexico. Maybe it’s because I have a habit of getting lost that she insists I carry a Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card on me wherever I go.
Because I don’t want to see stars in the daytime, I always do what Kim asks.
What happened to me could have been much worse. If that mango-sized knot on my skull and nausea that came with it had rendered me unconscious, I would have ended up in a Mexican hospital where the people are great, but the technology may not be up to snuff. If you are like me and you prefer to choose where you receive medical care, a medevac card could be as important as your ICE card.
We recommend that everyone carry two cards: One is a Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card you can get by clicking the link below. The second card you should always carry is an Air Rescue Card. The ICE card will help first responders and the trauma team treat your medical condition appropriately and your Air Rescue Card will get you to the hospital you choose back home.
The Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card is FREE and PV-Health.com offers a 40% discount on your Air Rescue Card!
So do one easy-peasy thing: Click Here to get a free Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card and a 40% discount on the Air Rescue Card for emergency medevac worldwide.
These are the two cards I always carry and recommend you do too!
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