The Good Samaritan Doctor Lives - Lake Chapala Mexico

by Marie Dwyer-Bullock

www.focusonmexico.com

A good friend of ours found out he needed triple bypass surgery (2000). They had left Canada and were residents in Lake Chapala, and had IMSS insurance but weren’t yet illegible for major surgery coverage. John went to see the specialist (who at the time was the head of the IMSS in all of Mexico). John told the surgeon that he didn’t have coverage so his wife (a former nurse) was going to check in Canada and the U.S. to find out the cost of the same surgery and compare it to the cost in Mexico. In Canada the surgery would have cost him $88,000 Canadian (he had become a non-resident of Canada and was not eligible for health care coverage there), but he would have been on a waiting list and he was told he needed the surgery immediately. In the U.S. he could have had the surgery immediately, but the cost was $250,000 U.S. In Mexico the cost was $ll,000 (Canadian equivalent) and he could have it immediately. Then the surgeon told him: “John, if you can’t afford the surgery, I will do it anyway so don’t worry. The main thing is you need to have it done and soon.”

Needless to say, John was speechless. He told the doctor. I can pay. I just wanted to check out the cost to compare. John not only had the surgery and it was successful, but he and his wife became friends with the doctor.

John told us later that this doctor was paid about $30,000 U.S. equivalent in Mexico (as the head doctor for IMSS), but frequently flew to the States to perform surgeries and received $100,000 U.S. per operation. Why did he stay at IMSS instead of going into private practice? Simple. They needed him there. Yes, the doctors in Mexico are very caring indeed.

If you are interested in living in Mexico, I wholeheartedly recommend the Focus on Mexico 8-day Educational program. We have expert speakers who come and teach about real estate, health care, insurance, cost of living comparisons, US Taxes, banking and immigration law and more. We also manage to pack a lot of fun into the equation! Many people feel like they’ve been on vacation after they leave here, even though we give you a lot of information. By the end of the program you’ll have all the information necessary to decide if Mexico is for you or not. www.FocusOnMexico.com

What people want to hear is stories about living in Mexico!

By Marie Dwyer-Bullock
www.focusonmexico.com

When we first started Focus on Mexico we created a one hour Power Point Presentation about the various topics and information we thought people would want to know. Each year I would update the Presentation material based on the feedback of participants. And every year I did this, I fell in love with Mexico again, and deeper.

Then we went to Canada for two months and conducted 80 or more Presentations (many locations we had back to back – one in the afternoon and one in the evening) in various cities across the country. We were always so keen on giving people all the information they’d need to make a decision to decide if they wanted to check out Mexico. Then of course, we would offer them the opportunity to come with us on one of our Focus programs.

Well, the part that always thrilled us was at the end of the Presentations we would allow thirty minutes for questions and answers. Invariably when we had back to back sessions, the room would still be full from the first session and the hallway outside filled with people already here for the second session. Several times when we had exhausted everyone’s questions and we thanked them for coming, no one moved. We’d ask again, any more questions and still no one moved. So we’d ask if they would like another story and everyone said yes. It took us some time but we finally learned that what people wanted to hear, in additional to the information, was real life stories of what living in Mexico, in Lake Chapala were really like. They wanted to hear about the interactions with the Mexican people. They wanted to learn about the culture and the people. And then, once they had digested all of that, then and only then, were they ready to make the decision to come to Mexico and experience it for themselves. We found the more information and stories we gave people, the more help we offered, the higher percentage of people booked from that presentation.

Recognizing that through the web site we would have a much broader reach, we decided to change our whole approach. It has taken us two years to write all the material and (re)create our new programs. And as before, we have fallen in love with Mexico all over again. Within this web site you’ll hear my story of when I crossed the threshold to discover the Magic of the Lakeside; when I realized that I was no longer looking at the people, at the culture, at nature, but I had crossed over and now was part of the picture. For me (and for Ray), Mexico and her people touched my heart; for us – Mexico is home. Viva Mexico!

If you are interested in living in Mexico, I wholeheartedly recommend the Focus on Mexico 8-day Educational program. We have expert speakers who come and teach about real estate, health care, insurance, cost of living comparisons, US Taxes, banking and immigration law and more. We also manage to pack a lot of fun into the equation! Many people feel like they’ve been on vacation after they leave here, even though we give you a lot of information. By the end of the program you’ll have all the information necessary to decide if Mexico is for you or not. www.FocusOnMexico.com