Orthopedic Testimonials

DALE & TERRI E. - Single Hip Replacement

Hello Tim !! We are off to Seattle this morning and I wanted to take this time to thank you. Actually that sounds so empty, as it does not convey the depth of my gratitude. In a time that one does not know who to trust or put one's faith in, you and your team have proved that what you say is what you get. It's been a very long couple of years for Dale and I trying to get medical help and now we are on the eve of Dale finally getting some proper care so that he may lead a more normal life without pain.

 

Living in one of the most prosperous countries in the world and not having medical insurance is devastating and humbling. Constantly living with excruciating pain tends to take away one's zest for life and diminish one's soul. I feel that you have given us the chance we needed to get Dale healed and our life back on track. For this, I will be eternally grateful!

 

I am sincere in the thought that someday I would like to meet you in person and thank you properly. Until then please know you have made an impact in our lives....Terri

PATRICIA H. - Hip Resurfacing

I enjoyed working with Med Journeys very much and having such excellent care during my trip to India and the surgery.  Many many people are curious about it and everyone asks me questions. I am giving you a glowing report.  Prabha. Med Journeys manager in India , was exceptional and I will consider her my friend as well as being just an amazing person.  What an asset to your company!  I don't know if any other facilitating companies do what you folks do but I will say that Med Journeys gets an A+.

 

My hip is feeling very good.  I have to remind myself to just keep it slow for another two weeks and not to over do.  Life is pretty good once again".

KARON K. - Double Knee Replacement

I recently accompanied my wife Karon on a journey to India so that she could have a Bilateral Knee Replacement performed on her. You're probably thinking "OUCH!" at the idea of a 16,000 mile roundtrip combined with double knee surgery. But wait - it gets better: The operation was performed by a surgeon who we had never met; we stayed 25 days with a family who we did not know, in a country as foreign to us, as a 10 day fair without rain. You just might ask, "WHY". Well, the truth is, why not.

 

Karon's first surgery for Arthritis was over 13 years ago. At that time, we had health insurance from my winter job, which I held for the health insurance benefits. However, due to pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes and arthritis, we have not been able to get health insurance under any circumstances for over 10 years. We have spent $20,000 out of pocket over the last 6 years for minor Arthritic Surgery and $3,000 for 6 shots that offered little or no help. Meanwhile, Karon's condition deteriorated nearly 50% with each successive year. She desperately needed to have both knees replaced. The cost, estimated by her orthopedic surgeon: $100,000 to $140,000. Again, you're probably thinking "OUCH!" So, despite Karon's physical pain, the financial pain forced us to put off the operation.

 

Well, about three years ago, we saw a TV program about Medical Tourism. Since that first show, we have seen several follow up news articles that discussed surgery overseas as an alternative to taking a big hit on your retirement savings or even selling off your home in order to receive needed medical care. Through the internet, I began to make some inquiries directly with the various hospitals overseas. At first, I looked at several alternative countries, such as Mexico . However for orthopedic surgery, India offered numerous internationally certified hospitals. A comforting fact is that in the United States there are nearly 45,000 doctors of Indian origin.

 

When we began this quest, the price quoted was less than $12,000 for both knees. This of course was a lot different than $140,000. I thought about trying to organize this solution on my own. After all, as concessionaires who dealing with the numerous responsibilities we have, it comes naturally for most of us to "just get it done" and handle things by ourselves. That's what I was doing. But there were several things that became bothersome to us. We would be in a country we had never been to before, by ourselves, having major surgery by who knows, without any support, 8,000 miles away from home. All kinds of what ifs began to quash my hopes of doing this on my own. So it was with reluctance that I also inquired with a few medical tourism companies.

 

A gentleman by the name of Tim Wallace , from one of those medical tourism companies, Med Journeys, from the U.S., would contact me every now and then, ask how things were going and if he could assist me with any questions I might have. Over the next 2 years we developed a relationship and would converse either by phone or email. I first asked him how much extra it would cost us for his services. He said, everything was paid for by the hosting hospital and surgeon. Of course I was going to check this out. After all, we all ready had the quotes from the various hospitals. The difference, it turned out, was negligible. So, in November, we contracted with Med Journeys for Karon's surgery.

 

Although the Dollar has taken a beating this last year against the Indian Rupee, the increased cost that resulted was only about $2,000. I was prepared for that. The surgeon from The Fortis Hospital , Dr. RajaGopal, highly recommended the Zimmer Knee Replacement for women. This additional price began to take us out of our comfort zone. I spoke with Mr. Wallace, and Med Journeys negotiated a fair price for us.

 

What sold us on contracting with Med Journeys was the fact we had our own Indian Host Manager, or Personal Concierge, assigned to us, who, was with us every step of the way. Our host's name was Ms. Prabha Chawla, a very lovely and caring person. We first met her upon arrival in New Delhi . She was available to us 24 hours a day. When you are in a country you are not familiar with, around people and places you know nothing about, it is certainly comforting having such a wonderful resource available.

 

Our total package price was about $20,000 and included everything imaginable: round trip air from Orlando to New Delhi, India; transportation to and from the airport; transportation by private car to and from the hospital; a deluxe hospital room that accommodated me as well as Karon; all medical procedures ; all medications; a therapist who came to the guest house daily; guest house (what a treat) for the remainder of our stay - including 3 meals a day; assistance with all paperwork, doctors appointments, visa's; our own prepaid cell phone that was good for calls back home at .10 a minute; and, of course, Ms. Prabha. Nothing was left undone.

 

Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj was as modern, clean and as high tech as anything we have at home. The nurses and staff go beyond accommodating when it comes to making a Westerner feel well, almost pampered. They provide a post-op nurse around the clock. The facility even has Wi Fi that allowed me to stay connected back home. After our first meeting with Dr. Rajgopal, Karon commented that he was the first Orthopedic Surgeon who spoke to her and not about her. She felt very comfortable after her first of several meetings with both the doctor and his staff of doctors and therapist. We give our heart felt thanks to the wonderful hospital and medical staff. They truly made us feel respected and, most importantly, well taken care of.

 

Our guesthouse was The CharterHouse, home to the Bhutani family. Mr. and Mrs. Bhutani, their son, his wife, and their two children. Yep, it truly felt like home. Our room was more like a small apartment rather than a hotel room. Their home is truly beautiful by any standards and we felt privileged to share in their home. The real treat was the family, and we had an instant report with every member. The daughter-in-law took care of special accommodations after surgery and arranged for a nurse to give Karon the prescribed daily shots. Nothing went unattended. We kept in contact with Ms. Prabha daily. At the CharterHouse, we had three meals a day - the same food the family ate. We had a driver and a car available 24 hours a day. Our laundry attended to for a minor sum. And here too, we had wireless internet access.

 

With Karon on the mend it was time to explore Delhi , India and the surrounding areas. One of my dearest friends since 3 rd grade, Kenny Cooper and I were speaking on the phone of our pending trip to India I said he should join us. He said that sounds great and flew out for our last two weeks in India . This did afford me the opportunity for several day trips around Delhi and of course Agra and the magnificent Taj Mahal.

 

I find the people of India to be without any reservations some of the most blessed people in the world. India 's culture goes back over 1,200 years. As a westerner, you receive a lot of stares and second looks. Not being bashful, I would smile and greet the person with the second look. Oh my goodness - we would share a conversation until I wished to end it.

 

Mark Twain once wrote, " India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition our most valuable and most instructive materials in history of man are treasured in India only." He also wrote, "so far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits in its rounds. Nothing has been forgotten nothing over looked."

 

On our day trips I decided, they don't use steering wheels in India , just a big round HORN. Yes there are cows and bulls walking peacefully around with the traffic. We saw snake charmers on the street corners where the traffic jams up. Elephants and camels hauling various items. We saw men on bicycles hauling a thousand pounds of metal rebar. Women digging trenches and building fences. We saw thousands of people riding their only mass transit for now - the blue bus powered by compressed natural gas. Thousands of Vespa-like three wheel cabs also powered by compressed natural gas. There are over 1.1 BILLION people in India , over 15 million alone in Delhi . India has over 1,600 languages or dialects and the one thing that allows them to converse is English. We also saw in Delhi a new mass transit system under construction, as modern as tomorrow. Skyscrapers, any large metro area in the US would be proud to have as part of their skyline. India proudly embraces its past - preserving cultural and architectural treasures for any traveler to delight in.  Yet, India simultaneously forges ahead with development and modernization.  This dichotomy can only work in a nation like India - where sincerity and ambition are not mutually exclusive.  Somehow, India  brings the past and future together in the present.  And it does so with ease.

 

We are now home. Karon has left her cane beside her chair and only uses it to get my attention. As a bonus, we have a lifetime of memories from our great journey to India . We are now truly looking forward to a successful summer fair season.