Has It Really Been Almost Five Years?

I'm almost ashamed to admit it's been years since I've added a post to this blog! We have continued our ex-pat journey for five years now in beautiful Cuenca, without any regrets. In all truthfulness, I couldn't remember my blog address, despite multiple attempts at trying to retrieve it. I stumbled on it a few hours ago on a friend's message board on Facebook, and I was so excited! What a blast it was going back, reliving the excitement we felt at the beginning of our journey, wondering if we were going to "make it". It seems like almost yesterday, and at the same time, ages ago. What a journey it has been! The beauty of this place still enchants us! We still live on our beloved Tomebamba River, so grateful the Lord led us to this location. We still walking most everywhere. Over the years, our area along the river has seen many restaurants spring up, much to our delight! The river walk has been further enhanced with the addition of gorgeous wall art, increased lighting, and beautiful pavers covering the walkways and bike paths. There's been the addition of a police station with a large influx of bike riding police officers patrolling the area, keeping it safe. This same police station offers free bicycles on Sunday mornings in exchange for your ID! It's wonderful watching locals and tourists alike enjoying the special beauty of this place. Friends have come and gone over the years, but we continue to enjoy meeting new people all the time. We especially love our "new" church for the past 3 years, the Adventista Sur iglesia. Our dear friend Mary led us there, and after 10 minutes, we knew we had found our "home". We were engulfed in hugs and kisses from some of the sweetest people we have ever met! That first sabbath, one of the bilingual members, much to our surprise, moved to the platform to translate the sermon for us! We have come to love singing in Spanish, listening to the mission story, and watching the beautiful ninos come forward for the children's story. Over the years we've helped teach the children English, both of us have preached not only at this church but at one of our sister churches in El Valle. We've worked with the Quiet Hour Team when they visited, and I volunteered on the pediatric unit at the local hospital. I've done vegetarian cooking classes, and our latest endeavor is evangelism to the English speaking members of our community. We continue to study our Spanish, and our comprehension has improved greatly. I'm conversant, but am not satisfied with where I am. Ken has some hearing loss, so it's much harder for him, but not one to be shy, he plunges ahead with his Spanglish and sign language, and does a very nice job of making himself understood! We have our permanent residency now, so we are able to spend a good number of months with our children and grandchildren in the States along with our friends that mean so much to us. We love every minute of our time there, and then look forward to returning to our life in Cuenca. We feel so blessed that we have the best of both worlds! We enjoy having folks visit us here, and this summer, we hope to have our granddaughter Aydan visit us for the first time! Aydan is 10 years old, and her teacher and her husband have been on mission trips to Ecuador and love it here. They have offered to bring Aydan to us and we are very excited! She is the first of our grand kids to express an interest in visiting, and we hope this will foster a love of travel! We're encouraging our little writer to do her own blog detailing her experiences while here. It is getting late, and there is so much more to share. I'm so happy to have reconnected with my "old friend", and plan on continuing this dialogue! Scratching my head, has it really been five years???

Mixed Emotions

Here we are, fourteen months later, on a Delta flight from Atlanta Georgia, at 9:00pm getting ready to land in Quito Ecuador. We were thrilled to be arriving in Quito only 5 hours and 25 minutes after we left! We found a great airfare on a non-stop flight. Now this is the life! Despite the good feelings about the easy flight, Ken and I were both experiencing mixed emotions about this trip back to Ecuador. For me, the realization that this would be the longest separation from the kids and grandchildren was weighing on me heavily, and was impacting Ken some too. After the long time away, was the bloom off the rose for us in Ecuador? We were dreading the thought of having to deal with immigration again in our effort to obtain our cedula, the national ID card. We were headed to the Hotel Bonanza, home to Nora, the facilitator we hired to complete our visa, and her husband Patrick. Dealing with Patrick via email over the past few months had not always been easy, and at times, down right bewildering. To their credit, Nora and Patrick seemed to have done the impossible, completed our visa. Now, we were dependent on them again to get this last step finished. We determined to be pleasant and cordial no matter what the circumstances. Ken's back was in bad shape, and I primarily was handling the carry-ons and the four overweight suitcases while he was being escorted in a wheelchair. We burst through the doors after going through immigration, relieved that our residency visa allowed us to move ahead through the resident's line. Standing there holding a sign that said "Leanne" was a pleasant looking man with a big smile. It was Patrick standing next to his wife's cousin, Ishmael. Patrick is from the US, and his wife Nora, is originally from Ecuador. They met and married in Florida, and returned to Ecuador 8 years ago with their young son Nicholas. Patrick was pleasant, helpful, and wouldn't let Ken or I touch a piece of luggage. It was surprisingly warm for an Andean evening and we learned we were their first guests to ride in their new, large, VW van. We chatted easily and arrived at the hotel about 15 minutes later. The large doors surrounding the hotel opened to reveal a large, lovely garden area,easy to distinguish despite the darkness. We were led to an outside room off the porch and gulped when the door opened to reveal a double bed. This was going to be a loonnnng night! Surprisingly, despite the undersized bed, we slept fairly well, at least for a little while. Right on cue, the Ecuadorian sun rose at 6:10am, and much to our surprise, shone down on us, startlingly us awake. Over our bed was a large, and I mean large skylight! We looked at each other and wondered aloud how long was this cedula process going to take?!

WE'RE BACK!

It's been a long time, more than a year, since I've written about our adventures in Ecuador. Most of you already know our youngest daughter became seriously ill last year, and without hesitation, I headed back to the US, South Carolina to be exact, to help care for her and our two precious grandchildren. Ken followed six weeks later because we expected our residency visa to be ready at any time. When it was obvious that wasn't going to happen he headed home too. Thankfully, Raelyn is doing wonderfully now, and even blessed us with another grandchild, Logan! Ecuador takes their immigration laws very seriously. Unlike the US, they work hard at preventing illegal aliens from flooding their country. In recent years, Columbians, Peruvians,Cubans and Chinese have been coming in droves. To crack down on this, every few months it seemed, new laws were added, and other laws changed, making it increasingly difficult to keep up and remain compliant. When we left Ecuador abruptly to help our daughter, we essentially made it impossible to return to Ecuador in less than a year without our residency visa. Our attorney, marginal when we were in country, became totally incompetent once we left. What should have been completed within a few months of our leaving took 14 months! Family and friends thought we were absolutely nuts for continuing to work through the problems. To the Ecuadorian government's credit, they have kept their standards high, yet have restructured the process so that attorneys are no longer required. This of course happened after we finally got our residency visa completed! They have even added bilinguil staff to assist the large number of Americans and Canadians looking for a better life in Ecuador. In September alone, there were 3000 English speaking visitors to Ecuador. Many believe this is directly related to the political situation in the US. Don't want to bore you with all the details. We had to fire our attorney, (no easy feat as she didn't want to be fired!), get a power of attorney to get her off the case and transfer authority to our newly hired facilitator, (no more lawyers for us!), and delay after delay until finally August 30th, our new visa was inserted into our passports and returned to us so we could return to Ecuador. Next step, getting our cedula!

Our First Visitor

I looked nervously down the ramp watching for my friend Debbie to walk through the doors that exit customs and welcome her to Quito, Ecuador's capital. There she was at almost midnight, wearing a hat that resembles Cuenca's famous "Pamana" hat!

Debbie and I have known each other longer than I've known my husband. She's a free spirit, and I told Ken, if I was a betting woman, I'd bet Debbie will be our first guest!

The flights from the States to Quito take all day. The flight to Cuenca is not available until the following day. Since this was Debbie's first trip to Latin America, and she knows no Spanish, I took the 55 minute hop to Quito to meet her. I made arrangements to spend the night at the Hostal de La Mancha, a charming, clean hotel with great views, and reasonably priced rooms. Right on cue, the hotel's driver was there holding up a small sign with Debbie's name and a big smile. Unfortunately, Debbie's luggage did not arrive, but good natured Debbie took it all in stride. We yakked the entire way to the hotel.

We arrived the next day in Cuenca, and Debbie loved "her room".

I told her she was worth every penny of the $2.00 we spent for the roses we lovingly placed in the vase in her room!

As a special treat, we decided to take Debbie to a beautiful spa resort in Vilacamba, the "valley of longevity. Senior adults in this verdent, picturesque valley live longer on average and are more physically active than their counterparts in other parts of the world. The beauty of the area, the hilly terrain, the mild weather, and fresh food obviously contribute to the vigor of the aged in this southern region of Ecuador.

Ken and I had a room next door to Debbie's. Our front porch had two wonderful hammocks, with spectacular views.

The grounds were colorfully and lushly landscaped with rich vegetation, ponds, natural stone walkways and a beautiful, relaxing pool surrounded by rocks and boulders.

Izhcayluna is the perfect place to escape the real world. You can be as laid back or active as you choose. Ken and I did a little of both. Debbie opted for the ultimate in relaxation and pampering. We girls started our day with an early morning outdoor yoga class. Later, while Debbie lounged by the pool, Ken and I did a little exploring of the hiking trails. All of us opted for massages everyday. Our last day there, Debbie and I not only enjoyed a 75 minute massage, but a natural facial as well. Ken enjoyed the full body massage and an additional leg and foot message.

In the evenings, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner in the outdoor restaurant and watched the different shades of green the mountains turned along with the pastel hues of the clouds as a result of the setting sun.

After dinner we enjoyed some vigorous games of ping pong and darts. I'm proud to report the girls won a game or two!

Our accommodations cost $30.00 per night. Debbie's room, the same size as ours was $20.00. This included the buffet breakfast each morning. Our massages cost $18.00 for 75 minutes. Our facials were $12.00, as was Ken's foot massage. We felt like we were treated like royalty for a very reasonable price. A wonderful time was had by all, and Ken and I agreed we would return some day.

On returning to Cuenca, Debbie and I had a wonderful time. We ate out, took the double decker bus tour, and visited the indigenous markets where Debbie shopped for beautiful and unique items for her shop in NC. We also spent a day with our friend and driver Juan in Chordelah, or "silver town" as it's known.

Once Debbie's roses died, she decided it was time for her to leave! She's hoping to return again to Cuenca late next year. We're looking forward to it!

My Personal Experience With The Healthcare System in Cuenca

The stabbing pain in my back began as I stood up and headed to bed. The pain intensity continued to increase and radiated to my groin. It continued for most of the night, and the next day, at 5:00pm with the pain intensifying again, I made an appointment to see internist Dr. Martinez.

Dr. Martinez did his undergraduate studies in Michigan and attended medical school at the University of Cuenca. His wife manages his office and she proudly shared with Ken and I how passionate her husband is about medicine. Ken and I both agreed it shows.

After examining me Dr. Martinez surmised as did I, that I was dealing with a kidney stone. He gave me sublingual pain medication, that miraculously lessened my pain,wrote me a script for a CAT scan and a urine analysis and told me to go right to the hospital and bring him back the results as soon as the tests were completed. I couldn't believe my ears!

At St. Inez hospital, I was treated immediately. Within an hour, still in shock from the excellent, timely care I received, I headed back to the Dr's. office, test results in hand!

The tests confirmed I did indeed have a kidney stone. The good Dr. asked me if I had been drinking "agua con gas" (sparkling water loaded with minerals)and I fessed up I
had. This more than likely was the cause of my problem.

My stone is no more, praise the Lord, thanks to imbibing lots and lots of water and flushing the little thing out.

What were my total medical costs? Dr. Martinez's office visit cost $30.00. The CAT scan of my abdomen was $150, and my urine analysis $3.00. Total... $183.

The care I received was timely, high quality and for a very reasonable cost. A CAT scan in the US, depending upon where you live, averages from $1000 to $8000! Kind of makes you go hmmmmmm, doesn't it?!

Attending Church in Cuenca

We have been attending an Adventist church for the past month. It is located on Mariscal Lamar, smack dab in the center of a business district. During the week, when the church doors are closed, it looks like a storefront. Sabbath morning the doors are flung open, and remain that way. The sound of singing and preaching fill the avenue.

This is no storefront, but a lovely tiled iglesia that holds 200 plus members. Every Sabbath the pews have been filled. The platform is unique, and resembles the tomb Christ arose from! In front of the "tomb" are large vases filled every week with beautiful fresh flowers.

We were told there are four Adventist churches in Cuenca. We have yet to meet the pastor, but have enjoyed the fire and passion of the lay preachers we heard. Keep in mind that we are not yet fluent in Spanish. Some preachers project the scripture on the screen, and we look them up in our English bible. It makes it much easier to follow along and understand what's being said. I bring pen and paper with me and jot down words I don't understand and look them up when I get home. This not only increases our understanding of the message, but helps improve our vocabulary.

We've noticed the deacons all dress in orange vests. Like in the States, they take up the collection, and at the end of the service, dismiss us by rows, greeting us warmly with a "Feliz Sabado".

Last Sabbath the scriptures were not projected on the screen. Because the books of the Bible sound so very different in Spanish, I was having a hard time looking them up and following along. A sweet lady sitting next to us, and her daughter behind her, seeing our struggle, looked up the scriptures, handed us their Spanish bible, and helped us find them in our English bible. One of the elders on the platform this week used to live in the States, and returned with his young family to his beloved Cuenca approximately two years ago. Fabian has three children. We met his precocious daughter Genesis, 9 years old. She speaks perfect English. They invited us to return at 4:30pm for the weekly youth program. We had to decline this week because we were helping Kenny, but look forward to visiting next week.

I mentioned to Fabian I was going to look for tabs for my Bible with the books in Spanish. He insisted that he would take care of that for me and bring them next Sabbath. He knows where to get them. We thought that was very thoughtful and generous.

God's people are scattered all over this earth, and it's wonderful to feel like "home" no matter where you are!

Medical Care in Cuenca

It's been a while since I've blogged. We've been caring for our friend Kenny who had a double knee replacement. The total cost for his two new knees, four day hospital stay, meds, and physician fee.......$8600! That's right, his wonderful doctor even told him if he pays directly to the manufacturer for his knees, he can save $450! When was the last time your doctor or hospital offered you the opportunity to save some money?! If Ken had the procedure in Hawaii, it would have cost $66,000. To say his insurance provider was happy with his decision to have it done in Cuenca is an understatement.

The procedure was done at a new, clean modern hospital called Mt. Sinai. It appears to be a part of Humana. Kenny's room was very large with a comfortable futon and.....monogrammed sheets. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. Kenny's doctor agreed to allow the staff, after administering meds, to leave the empty bottles with Kenny so he could research them on line and compare them to their English equivalent. The surgeon had done 150 knee replacements prior to Kenny's. He provided excellent post operative care. Physicians here do most of the hands on after care. Not only did he personally dress Kenny's knees post op, he also put on and changed his thigh high compression hose.

Kenny was on the operating table for 6.5 hours. To his surprise, he was given spinal anesthesia instead of general. He was awake and alert post op, and feeling great. His recovery was much more rapid in the absence of general anesthesia.

Two days prior to surgery, they allowed Kenny to donate a pint of his blood in the event he might need it. I was surprised they allowed that so close to surgery. Interestingly, because there are so many clinics and hospitals in Cuenca, blood is only allowed to be stored at the Red Cross. We had to give the surgeon our phone number in the event he needed us to pick up the blood and bring it to the hospital. Approximately 3 hours in to surgery, and immediately after we walked out of the gym, we got the call. We hurried to the Red Cross, I signed the register after giving them Kenny's blood donation receipt, and walked out with a little black plastic bag holding his blood. We took a cab to the hospital, found a nurse, and she gave the blood to the surgeon in the OR! Quite an interesting experience. The rationale for not storing blood at medical facilities is because there are so many, the amount of blood stored would be insufficient at each site for their needs. Only the few designated trauma sites in Cuenca have some excess on hand. I was very pleased to learn that, as that was a concern of mine.

Post operatively, Kenny is doing well. We had to go to a medical supply pharmacy and buy him a walker and bring it to his room so he could begin therapy. No huge hospital mark up here. As a matter of fact, before leaving the hospital, Kenny received a very detailed itemized bill. The average cost of one pill, ten cents. Lunch, two dollars and fifty cents.

Kenny is now rehabing at home with a physical therapist that sees him about 5 times per week. Her hourly cost? Fifteen dollars.

Ken and I were very impressed with our first close up look at medical care in Cuenca.