BajaNomad

La Paz Doctor for Child's Broken Wrist

AAS - 12-28-2012 at 04:47 PM

So, I'm in the US, planning to fly back to Todos Santos Sunday and my daughter (age 10) broke her arm right above the wrist today. It's a nice clean break, and I am thinking of having the cast put on in La Paz at Fide Paz rather than postponing my return and getting the appointment here. Can anyone recommend a doctor? And, does this seem crazy? Should I stay and have it set here?

where is the child ??

captkw - 12-28-2012 at 04:50 PM

I would get here to the fastest med place I could find and pain meds ASAP..For gods sake !!!

DENNIS - 12-28-2012 at 04:56 PM

Where are you....and your daughter?
Capt is right. It has to be painful.

mtgoat666 - 12-28-2012 at 04:57 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by AAS
So, I'm in the US, planning to fly back to Todos Santos Sunday and my daughter (age 10) broke her arm right above the wrist today. It's a nice clean break, and I am thinking of having the cast put on in La Paz at Fide Paz rather than postponing my return and getting the appointment here. Can anyone recommend a doctor? And, does this seem crazy? Should I stay and have it set here?


yes, sounds crazy. go to ER and get arm fixed. if you have to delay your flight, then man up and be a parent! i pity the 10 yo girl whose parent will delay addressing a broken arm for several days!

I cannot fathom

captkw - 12-28-2012 at 04:59 PM

AAS - 12-28-2012 at 05:03 PM

Sorry, should have clarified. She has been seen in the ER. We have done xrays. It is a nice clean break, nothing major. Her arm is in a temporary splint and can't have a cast on it until Monday at the earliest because the swelling has to go down. She's also set with pain meds. I just wanted to have the actual cast put on when we return to Baja and figured that would be pretty straightforward in La Paz unless anyone thinks differently or has had a different experience.

Russ - 12-28-2012 at 05:09 PM

Thanks for the clarification! Take the exrays with you and almost any falcility can put a cast on. Fiberglass is much easier on her. Wish I could help on a location but someone will chime in soon.

Sandlefoot - 12-28-2012 at 05:26 PM

Fieda Paz can do it. There are several ortho doctors here that could do it. Mondragon off 16 de Febrero is one and there are several others in the phone book. A cast is pretty straight forward stuff, and the Dr's here are really pretty good for everything!!!

Happy Trails

Fide paz in la paz

captkw - 12-28-2012 at 05:27 PM

I have had awesome medical there and you/she will treated with care and respect..I highlyrecommend them !! but be adised try and get as much pain meds from the docter in the states...trust me on that !!! K&T .. If you need easy directions,,let me know.....

[Edited on 12-29-2012 by captkw]

AAS - 12-28-2012 at 05:37 PM

Thanks, all! That's what I thought.

A "nice, clean broken arm right above the wrist"??

EnsenadaDr - 12-28-2012 at 06:36 PM

Unless you have absolutely NO money for your child's healthcare in the U.S., I would not subject her to traveling unnecessarily to an airport, subject her to security, bumping into people, removing shoes and computers, or traveling on a plane. This seems to me to be cruel and unnecessary. There is one thing you didn't mention: PAIN. A fracture might look great on an X-ray but there could be pain if even bumped slightly. Also, a bone will start knitting together, so the longer you wait to set the fracture, the more likely it would be you would have to rebreak it to set it.

[Edited on 12-29-2012 by EnsenadaDr]

Well Said, EnsenadaDr

Gypsy Jan - 12-28-2012 at 06:55 PM

My thoughts exactly.

Cheers and Feliz Ano Nuevo, GJ

Terry28 - 12-29-2012 at 07:34 PM

That's damn near child abuse.....no excuses.

Marc - 12-30-2012 at 08:17 AM

I was left in agony for 24 hours because by my father didn't want to drive for 30 minutes from Lafayette to Oakland (Calif) one night to have my broken arm set. I was seven years old and I have never forgotten.

How anyone could think of not having this kid treated immediately is beyond me.

monoloco - 12-30-2012 at 08:26 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Marc
I was left in agony for 24 hours because by my father didn't want to drive for 30 minutes from Lafayette to Oakland (Calif) one night to have my broken arm set. I was seven years old and I have never forgotten.

How anyone could think of not having this kid treated immediately is beyond me.
Come on, she did have the kid treated, they put a splint on it and told her that they couldn't put a cast on it until the swelling went down. There is no reason that in the time they were waiting for the swelling to go down, they couldn't fly to La Paz and have a cast put on there. There are plenty of qualified doctors in La Paz.

EnsenadaDr - 12-30-2012 at 08:30 AM

I totally disagree. I hope there never comes a day that you break an arm or a leg and they let you lie there. I remember working in a skilled nursing facility and seeing an older woman in bed in pain because she had a broken hip and the doctors said she was too old to operate on. I was horrified. The point is traveling with a broken arm, in pain. I guess you still don't get it.
Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
Quote:
Originally posted by Marc
I was left in agony for 24 hours because by my father didn't want to drive for 30 minutes from Lafayette to Oakland (Calif) one night to have my broken arm set. I was seven years old and I have never forgotten.

How anyone could think of not having this kid treated immediately is beyond me.
Come on, she did have the kid treated, they put a splint on it and told her that they couldn't put a cast on it until the swelling went down. There is no reason that in the time they were waiting for the swelling to go down, they couldn't fly to La Paz and have a cast put on there. There are plenty of qualified doctors in La Paz.

monoloco - 12-30-2012 at 08:55 AM

We're talking about a few hour plane ride, the kid's been seen by a doctor, the fracture has been immobilized, and she has pain meds. I'd think she'd be fine as long as they don't make her carry a suitcase. By the way, I had a couple of broken bones as a kid and they weren't all that painful.

EnsenadaDr - 12-30-2012 at 08:58 AM

that's great...I'm glad you weren't my parent. What's wrong with getting it done in the US, and avoiding the traveling? Or is the US not acceptable...like I said, if the woman doesn't have the money or insurance, it's a whole different scenario. That's just my opinion, for what it's worth. BTW, I assisted in orthopedic surgery at the Military Hospital in Ensenada with the #1 Child Cancer Orthopedic Surgeon in Baja, and I saw plenty of kids come in with broken arms, legs, etc. and they were all screaming in pain. And this doctor didn't wait days to put a cast on.

[Edited on 12-30-2012 by EnsenadaDr]

monoloco - 12-30-2012 at 09:03 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
that's great...I'm glad you weren't my parent. What's wrong with getting it done in the US, and avoiding the traveling? Or is the US not acceptable...like I said, if the woman doesn't have the money or insurance, it's a whole different scenario. That's just my opinion, for what it's worth.
How is the kid going to be that much more uncomfortable sitting in an airline seat for 4 hours than she would be sitting at home? Why screw up travel plans to pay 10 times as much to have something done in the states? Also airlines don't let you cancel your reservations for free.

EnsenadaDr - 12-30-2012 at 09:08 AM

wow, so I see where your priorities lie...well good, you probably have plenty of money in the bank. I couldn't do that to a dog, and I am sure many on this board would agree with me. She should have asked the doctors, but I am sure they all said it wasn't a good idea, so she comes to a Baja board to get an ok. If you want to justify it, then there are others that answered the affirmative, The more you try to justify an inhumane act like that, the worse it looks.

monoloco - 12-30-2012 at 09:08 AM

Oh, by the way, I'm glad I didn't have a drama queen like you for a mother.

EnsenadaDr - 12-30-2012 at 09:10 AM

Guess what, my daughter 13 years old gave up living in Hawaii and going to school there to come back and live in Mexico with me. So I guess I can't be all that bad, and she is very mild mannered, nothing like her outspoken mother. She would be horrified if I told her this story.

DianaT - 12-30-2012 at 09:28 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
...... I saw plenty of kids come in with broken arms, legs, etc. and they were all screaming in pain. And this doctor didn't wait days to put a cast on.

[Edited on 12-30-2012 by EnsenadaDr]


I do not believe it is that uncommon for a splint to be used for a while because of swelling issues. I have seen students attend school with splints and the cast came later.

AAS --- I would suggest you ask you own doctor what he/she thinks about this situation.
I certainly don't know your particular situation, but I do know that kids can be cleared by their doctors to attend school with just a splint and I am not sure an airport is more dangerous than school. Have you asked your doctor?

[Edited on 12-30-2012 by DianaT]

monoloco - 12-30-2012 at 09:34 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
wow, so I see where your priorities lie...well good, you probably have plenty of money in the bank. I couldn't do that to a dog, and I am sure many on this board would agree with me. She should have asked the doctors, but I am sure they all said it wasn't a good idea, so she comes to a Baja board to get an ok. If you want to justify it, then there are others that answered the affirmative, The more you try to justify an inhumane act like that, the worse it looks.
It sounded to me like she came on the forum for a doctor recommendation in La Paz, the doctors said they couldn't do anything until Monday anyway. please explain how the girl would be so much more uncomfortable on a plane that it would constitute "an inhumane act"? I rest my case on you being a drama queen.

monoloco - 12-30-2012 at 10:30 AM

To the OP, St. Lukes in Todos Santos would probably be the easiest place to have a cast put on. That would save your daughter from enduring an "inhumane" car ride to La Paz.