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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 17335
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot n spicy
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A friend used air evacuation insurance. Bush plane flight to la Paz hospital, for eval, followed by air ambulance to USA. The insurer did not know
local air operators for air evac from unpaved strip, so peeps on the scene refered insurer's case Mgr to aerocalafia, and Bob's your uncle!
It works. But it ain't 911-speed. Takes at least 12 to 18 hours from calling insurer to patient in plane and wheels up, and someone on the scene
needs to work the phones and be persistent.
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Member Is Offline
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Quote: Originally posted by JZ  | With as many ppl we have on here it's very surprising no one knows which service is best for Baja, where they will land, when they can land, and how
long it takes to get there and leave.
[Edited on 6-16-2017 by JZ] |
I have only witnessed the help that SCORE has done for both racers and their crews and to civilians injured during a race.
On a personal note, several years ago we were diving at Kennedy's camp across the hills south of La Bufadora. While there a group of college kids and
a teacher from Ensenada were also diving. One of the kids had put his spear gun on a rock while he adjusted his wet suit. When he reached for the gun
it went off and shot the spear into his thigh. The teacher came to us for help so we pulled a plywood board from my truck and several of us went down
to the water and put him on it and brought him up and loaded him in my truck. One kid stayed with the boy in the back of my truck while I drove to
Ensenada to a hospital. The teacher showed me where to go. We waited while the doctors removed the spear. They had to cut his thigh open very
carefully as not to cut a main artery. All ended well.
I have been told by some that I should not have taken him to the hospital as I did but to let the teacher and his friends do it. I was told I may have
gotten in trouble if things didn't go right for the boy. I don't know, at the time our only concern was to get him to a hospital and help.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64490
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Good for you TW! Thank God that Mexico isn't run by blood sucking lawyers! (yet)
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666 | | Quote: Originally posted by JZ | | With as many ppl we have on here it's very surprising no one knows which service is best for Baja, where they will land, when they can land, and how
long it takes to get there and leave. |
Jizz,
Here are the answers:
it depends
that depends
it depends
that depends
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what brand of underwear do most nomads choose?
depends
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JZ
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9262
Registered: 10-3-2003
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by TMW | | Quote: Originally posted by JZ | With as many ppl we have on here it's very surprising no one knows which service is best for Baja, where they will land, when they can land, and how
long it takes to get there and leave.
[Edited on 6-16-2017 by JZ] |
I have only witnessed the help that SCORE has done for both racers and their crews and to civilians injured during a race.
On a personal note, several years ago we were diving at Kennedy's camp across the hills south of La Bufadora. While there a group of college kids and
a teacher from Ensenada were also diving. One of the kids had put his spear gun on a rock while he adjusted his wet suit. When he reached for the gun
it went off and shot the spear into his thigh. The teacher came to us for help so we pulled a plywood board from my truck and several of us went down
to the water and put him on it and brought him up and loaded him in my truck. One kid stayed with the boy in the back of my truck while I drove to
Ensenada to a hospital. The teacher showed me where to go. We waited while the doctors removed the spear. They had to cut his thigh open very
carefully as not to cut a main artery. All ended well.
I have been told by some that I should not have taken him to the hospital as I did but to let the teacher and his friends do it. I was told I may have
gotten in trouble if things didn't go right for the boy. I don't know, at the time our only concern was to get him to a hospital and help.
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Good for you man. Pretty awesome.
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BajaBreak
Nomad
Posts: 154
Registered: 12-20-2012
Member Is Offline
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Good on you, TMW. I could see how it could turn out bad, but I don't think I could not help someone in that situation. I'm sure there are some, or
many people in this world that could see someone in that situation and not help, just say something like, "Puedo ver que hay in lanza en tu pierna,
pero lo siento, necesito ir. Buena suerte con eso mi amigito, adios! Catch you on the flip side..."
I'm glad he was ok so I can laugh without guilt. A spear in the leg is a painful lesson to remember where your weapon is aimed. Ouch! That's got to be
a great campfire story!
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2716
Registered: 5-10-2011
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by John M | From AAA web-sites
Reading it, it sounded pretty good but when I saw the last line it made me wonder how to find out what those "restrictions and limitations" might be.
Travel Assistance AAA Premier members can receive Global Travel Emergency Assistance and Concierge Services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...
• Medical provider referrals, appointments and admission arrangements
• Emergency translation service arrangements
• Lost tickets and document replacement arrangements
• Prescription replacement arrangements
• Emergency medical transportation arrangements
• Emergency medical visitation arrangements
• Emergency cash transfer arrangements
...
Any costs associated with these services are paid by the member. ... Certain restrictions and limitations apply.
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John, no need to read all the way to the last line  . Just read the last word of
each item on the list - ARRANGEMENTS. They only arrange. You pay $$$. Just like it says in the line that I highlighted.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2716
Registered: 5-10-2011
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666 |
A friend used air evacuation insurance. Bush plane flight to la Paz hospital, for eval, followed by air ambulance to USA. The insurer did not know
local air operators for air evac from unpaved strip |
Seems to be a norm. I wonder what evac.
Amigo Pescador here dabbles in certain evac brokering, I see he keeps silence - must be for a good reason. Many of them (most?) won't land in
unmanned unpaved strips and won't fly in the night. Fix-winged aircraft with med equipment won't.
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BajaBreak
Nomad
Posts: 154
Registered: 12-20-2012
Member Is Offline
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It's all about the chopper for serious situations in Baja.
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pacificobob
Super Nomad
Posts: 2241
Registered: 4-23-2006
Member Is Offline
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bingo! noticed very many medevac helos on the ramps around baja? crickets..
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EnsenadaDr
Banned
Posts: 5027
Registered: 9-12-2011
Location: Baja California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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Everyone needs to sign up for Seguro Popular and get stabilized first in Mexico as well as have their hospital bills covered by the plan at virtually
no additional cost to you. At least no charge in Ensenada regardless of income.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2716
Registered: 5-10-2011
Member Is Offline
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Very few evac plans offer a chopper ride and those plans are expensive.
And then again, - how long it will take to clear it, with insurance reps who know nothing about Baja and think that Aero Calafia is a bush pilot.
Want to pay out of pocket - then it will be faster, but at 100-150 mph the flight to you will take 2-3 hours or more, plus another 3 hours to the US,
make it 8 hours total because there is still some pre-flight work with any aircraft.
Seguro Popular has little to do with this question. "Stabilize" means keeping you from dying, and Mexican hospitals have a duty to stabilize a
patient for free if he is not covered. Will they perform this duty or not - depends on a hospital. With stroke, snake bite, complicated fractures
and many other cases there isn't much to stabilize - you need an urgent and competent treatment.
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EnsenadaDr
Banned
Posts: 5027
Registered: 9-12-2011
Location: Baja California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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Stabilization can be critical in the cases you mention. A snakebite needs anti-venom. Waiting hours to coordinate a flight back to the U.S. wastes
precious time. Some hospitals in Mexico do carry anti-venom. Instead of looking to the bigger picture to get flown to another country for treatment,
look for the quickest and most often a life-saving one. Instead of waiting hours for treatment, a local hospital might be the answer. And yes,
Mexican hospitals might treat a patient, but if they are a private one the patient will be hard pressed to leave without payment. With stroke, a
member of this board went to a local Mexican hospital and was given heparin which helped open up the blood supply to the brain. The patient could not
move one of his arms. After the initial stabilization treatment with heparin, the patient moved his arm after circulation was restored. They were
then taken by ambulance to the United States and had months of physical therapy and is doing quite well. Broken bones also need stabilization, and at
times blood transfusions. They will perform the treatment if you have Seguro Popular and go to the local hospital that accepts Seguro Popular.
[Edited on 6-18-2017 by EnsenadaDr]
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BajaBreak
Nomad
Posts: 154
Registered: 12-20-2012
Member Is Offline
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No, but I know of some private helicopter charter companies in San Diego that do business with some of the folks that run high risk tours down Baja.
It's an interesting option to look into, so that if you knew what it cost and how long it would take ahead of time, it could be an option depending on
how far across the border you are.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2716
Registered: 5-10-2011
Member Is Offline
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Dr... administering plasminogen (after ischemic stroke) or anti-venom IS a treatment. They probably have all this in Ensenada.
The question is - how to get there from Central or South Baja within a few hours.
Heparin "might" help after stroke, but most likely it won't - randomized trials failed to show much benefit.
[Edited on 6-19-2017 by Alm]
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BajaBreak
Nomad
Posts: 154
Registered: 12-20-2012
Member Is Offline
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Snake Bites
I purchased a snake bite kit a few years ago and carry it in my car and when I go on trails, though luckily have never had to use it. It would seem
worth carrying to at least give you more time to find treatment before croaking.
It is just a couple deep suction cup type things and a small scalpel. If I recall right you just cut an X through the bite and apply the cups. Worth
the $5, and good peace of mind if you are alone and don't have a friend to suck the venom out cowboy style, or get bit where no one wants to put their
mouth...
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BajaBreak
Nomad
Posts: 154
Registered: 12-20-2012
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by lencho |
I carried those (The originals were "Cutter" brand), for many years till I started looking into recent research and decided they weren't worth
carrying.
The syringe-type extractors are supposedly more effective but before getting enthusiastic, you might want to read this review. |
I kind of had a feeling they may not be very effective, especially if not used immediately after the bite. Luckily I'm out of the high risk age group
and typically look where I walk, but it's usually the one you don't see.
But I've also had enough experience with enough doctors to know many have no shame in slandering other treatments or preventative measures to market
and promote their services.
Everyone should carry a decent first aid kit though, of course.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2716
Registered: 5-10-2011
Member Is Offline
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Snake-bite pump is of a limited value. It may reduce the amount of venom if used early after bite, but the only real treatment is anti-venom. Use
the pump immediately if you have it, and then get to the hospital ASAP.
Here is do's and dont's on rattler bite, with some funny myths busted:
http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-a-Rattlesnake-Bite
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dizzyspots
Senior Nomad
Posts: 603
Registered: 9-22-2008
Location: Mescal AZ
Member Is Offline
Mood: rather be on the beach at Gonzaga
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NO CUT AND SUCK>>>NO SUCTION CUPS>>>NO TOURNIQUETS>>>NO ICE PACKS snake bites are managed by immobilizing the bitten
extremity,,,making note of the perimeter of any area of swelling...quick transportation to a facility with anti-venin...oh yeah...do not try to
capture the snake...
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