FanStory.com - Vacation Trialsby lauralumummu

We were really looking forward to this year's vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Where we live is very cold with unrelenting snowstorms. We arrived to azure skies, beautiful tropical flowers, and gorgeous palm trees. We had the glorious Sierra Madre mountains on one side of our resort and the golden sands of the Pacific on the other.

The first few days were splendid as we caught up on our reading while relaxing at the pool or beach. I love swimming, so I was in my glory. The temperature was a little cooler than usual, and we had torrential rains one night.

The next day I started to cough and was running a temperature, then I was having trouble breathing. I told my husband I needed to go to the doctor as I couldn't catch my breath.

Luckily, there was a doctor at the resort. I thought I might not make it to his office as my breathing was so labored. The doctor asked me some questions. He decided I needed to go to the hospital. He suggested an ambulance which was expensive, so we took a cab to the emergency. He called ahead, and they were waiting for me.

My husband looked terrified as they gave me a battery of tests, a breathing mask, and medication in the emergency room. The doctor decided to admit me, saying I had pneumonia. Most people spoke a little English, and the hospital room was like a suite: it had a private bathroom and a sofa and free television. My kids in Canada were so worried, and my daughter feared it was the coronavirus. The fever lasted for two days, even though I was getting a lot of medication and IV antibiotics.

We have medical insurance with which the hospital business office was supposed to start a claim and do all the paperwork. Finally, after two long days and nights, my fever went down, and I was able to go back to the resort. They gave me antibiotics, an inhaler and discharged me.

We spent a lot of time talking to the insurance people, and everything was supposed to be taken care of. Two days later they called and said they had never heard of us. The hospital had called the wrong number. Eventually, we were able to get the right insurance company, and it seemed to be okay. It was a worry as we had to put an initial deposit on our credit card at the hospital.

It rained for three more days, and I just stayed in the room drinking tea and taking my medication. The last few days of our vacation, the sun came out and it was 28 degrees celsius. It was nice, but I really wanted to go home after our ordeal and see my kids.

Thankfully the plane ride was good and shorter than on the way there, because of trade winds. When we landed back in Canada, I felt like kissing the ground. I was so thankful. We live up north, so we had to take a shuttle from there. Our kids and grandkids greeted us with tears and thankfulness - - thank God we were home safe. I feel almost normal now, perhaps a little tired.

One last little note: my husband received an email scam that said they wanted to give us the exact amount of money that the hospital had put on our credit card. We knew it was a scam by the errors and because they asked for his information. We looked at our card statement online and saw everything was back and no holds.
There was a bunch of paperwork to fill out, waiting for us in the regular mail. I hope that's all over with now.

PS, I think it will take a lot for me to leave home in the future.