GETTING READY FOR THE ADVENTURE

Now I will tell you how I started about three months ago to obtain what I needed medically for the trip and how my planes were progressing. First I tapped everyone that I could in order to find someone who knew someone in a different country who may be willing to help. This was a long shot and time consuming but the first group that needs to be tapped. You will be amazed how some many people really want to help. My nurse who gives me the shots here in Florida is from Medellin and she is helping me by getting in touch with her doctor and her nursing friends to help me get the shots and blood tests. Maybe even a cat scan. My girl friend Barbara Lolli, who happens to be a terrific immigration attorney, (if you need info regarding her services, please let me know) is helping me get in contact with doctors in Peru and Guatemala. My other doctor has relatives in Spain who he will be contacting for me. My oncologist has an old associate oncologist who lives in Costa Rica who I will be seeing. And my son who has employees in Thailand and Japan and will ask them to make introductions to doctors for me and also be translators when I go to the doctors.

INSURANCE NOTE: To begin getting ready for the trip, I started looking into medical insurance for the trip, not that foreign medical insurance will pay for preexisting conditions, but they will pay for anything that occurs in the various countries that American insurance will not pay for. Like sport related accidents, colds, covid, etc. American insurance will pay for medical emergencies only. Some will even get you home if you get sick or if you are injured. Look into what your insurance coverage includes. I am on my husbands medical insurance from his employment. We did this even though we both could have gone on Medicare and it sure would have been a hell of a lot cheaper, but Medicare did not cover Ibrance. Ibrance alone would have cost me in a year over $10,000.00. The manufacturer of the pill gives coupons to insured individuals which lower the co-pay to zero, but if you are on Medicare they do not. So, if you are old and on Medicare the pharmaceutical company does not care if you cannot afford your medication, nor does Medicare. One way to thin the herd.

BUT THEN, the saving grace came my way…. Remote Year, is affiliated with a company named International SOS, a “great” company that helps you find your medication, get your treatments and find doctors that you will need in various countries. They have 28 offices around the world and they made and is making my life so much easier and I cannot say enough about them.

The company International SOS sent me a list of all the countries that I am going to visit indicating whether or not each country had the medication, Ibrance, and what the cost in each country. They also sent a list in a different correspondence stating whether the shot Falsodex was available in each of the countries and the cost. What a savings in time and effort for any traveler. SOS then indicated that they were then ready to get me appointments with doctors in order to get the shots administered while in the different countries. This was going too well and then the other shoe fell.