"Dr. Aceves was wonderful. His staff is awesome. Dr. A checked on me 3 times a day every day and gave me a hug when I left. I've had more experiences with doctors and surgeons than I care to think about, and Dr. A is by far one of the best I've encountered.
Dr. Campos, however, is my new favorite fellow on this planet! He was SO caring, and compassionate; he worried and fussed over me as much as my own mother would have.
The entire experience was very enlightening just to see how a medical procedure SHOULD be handled when done by experts who are caring and compassionate instead of ego-centric. These were some of the first physicians I've met who didn't have the mistaken belief that they were gods.
The ONLY negative thing I have to say is that the day shift nurses didn't empty my bedpan often enough. They wanted it to stay in the toilet so they could measure fluids but I was going more than there was room for! That was my only frustration the entire time I was there. When I rang for a nurse, I never had to wait more than 20 seconds - NO EXAGGERATION. The nurse's station was 4 feet from my door and Dr. Campos was sitting there every day from 8AM until at least 6 PM. Most of the nurses spoke good English; the doctors are FLUENT.
It was horribly hot when I was there (105) but they kept the hospital nice and cool. One time I felt a little warm and they brought me a fan right away. When I had problems connecting to the internet with my laptop, they brought down their IT guy and he had it up and running in less than 5 minutes.
Everything that they did, they explained in full detail so there were no surprises. I am SO glad that I opted to use Dr. Aceves where I could recuperate in a full hospital, instead of a hotel. I was monitored constantly - temperature, blood pressure, blood sugar - and any aches or pains were attended to immediately.
If I could go back and do it over again, there are only a few things I would change:
1) I would not have gone alone. When I was feeling really raw after surgery, it would have been so nice to have someone to wet a washrag so I could wipe my face, or to rub my tummy when it hurt. (What can I say? My mom spoiled me)
2) I took WAY too much stuff with me. I would take my smallest purse, my cellphone, my heating pad and a good book. NOTHING ELSE! I wore home the same clothes that I wore there, and I lived in their gowns the whole time. I had a bunch of needless stuff that was TOO HEAVY to fight with on the trip home.
3) I would have arranged for a 1st class seat for the way home. Coach is no way to travel when you've just had major surgery. I WAS smart enough to arrange for a wheelchair on all legs of my trip so at least I didn't have to hike miles across airports to change planes.
Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing."
