Brian Paul & Mary Hughett's Testimony
Parents to 3 so far
I wanted to write finally about my surgery trip! Please keep
in mind we had very many obstacles in our way from the start of our journey
before we were even funded, but now we are happily in the recovery
stage. All praises to our heavenly
Father in heaven who worked out everything for our good as He always does in
faithfulness with much mercy and grace!
We left for the airport on Sunday morning June 17th, Father's Day! We arrived
at the airport and checked in, only to find that we had a long wait as our flight
was delayed! We really both do not like flying at all, but it went pretty
smooth. We arrived in McAllen
about an hour later than we expected. We had already called Marcos to let him
know we’d be late and he called back and left a message telling us where the
shuttle would be, etc. It all worked out great; his mother-in-law was
there early to pick us up. Because she didn't speak any English, it was a quiet,
short ½ hour trip into Mexico
and to the hospital. Compared to hospitals in the US, I was shocked
at how little the hospital was! I was very nervous, hardly anyone was around
and no one spoke English so it was very hard to translate why we were
there. This may have been because it was a Sunday and also Father’s Day. Finally they put us in a room with a gown
and shower supplies. It was 8:00 pm and I realized I had not eaten anything
since 9:00 a.m. We were starving and I was just thinking that I would have to
wait until after surgery the next day to eat! So our mission was now to get
something to eat before my shower and bedtime! So after much back and forth
trying to get across what I needed, one of the nurses decided to call Cassandra
(Dr. Levi's wife) who speaks some English. She called the room; I explained
my need for food and she said she would have have Dr. Levi call me. After
waiting and not hearing from him I rather anxiously went to the nurse’s station
to translate “food”. It didn’t work too well so they ended up calling Cassandra
again for me to speak with her. She said she would talk to Dr. Levi again and about
20 minutes later he showed up in our room! He came in very politely with better
manners than any doctor here in the US! He was very helpful and took us to the little
taco place outside. He gave us directions to walk back when we were done.
They had really good carne asada tacos and all of it was only $5.00 in American
money! I was so happy to eat! We walked back to the hospital and I showered and
got in bed! It is very hot there, but there is air conditioning! Also
they give you Pantene shampoo/conditioner for your shower! I was amazed
at their cleanliness and hospitality! The nurses did not bother me all night long like at the hospitals in
the US
either! Though I did get rest, I was still overly anxious!
The nurse came in at 6:00 am to start an IV just as I was
told! They are excellent with needles, so if anyone is nervous about
that, don’t be! I didn't even feel it! They usually cannot find my
veins and I have to get poked ten times; you know what I mean! About an hour later
Dr. Levi came in with the specialist to check me out. This is only needed if you have any other
health problems. I told them about my high cholesterol and blood pressure
so I had to see the specialist, who was very kind. The specialist only took about 20 minutes and
then they wheeled me down to the surgery room! They helped me on the
table and asked me to curl up in the fetal position. I was worried that I
might fall off the table if I fell asleep!
They reassured me that I wouldn’t and also that I wouldn't feel the
epidural going in. I had asked about that. Then one young man said he was
getting my sleepy meds now! I usually talk a lot when I am nervous! I was
talking a little and asking for my husband and he said they were getting him
now. I saw Dr. Moreno leave to go get
him and must have fallen asleep! By the way, Dr. Moreno is very kind too! I
woke up at the beginning of surgery or so I thought. My husband said it was
towards the end, and that I had been in and out of being awake during surgery
and talking a lot! Then
Dr. Moreno gave
me more sleepy meds! I remember waking and saying that I was feeling
the
tugging a bit, but nothing painful. My husband told me that was Dr.
Perez
leaning on me during surgery! It seemed to go very quickly! I didn't
feel a
thing! I did think it was weird to not feel my legs but see them being
moved! I went back to my room with my pain syringe attached to my
gown
and a catheter still in. I was very tired and took the time to
rest. The
nurses came in to check my temp and blood pressure after surgery
several times but they still did not bother me as much as the nurses in
the states. The
hospital in Mexico is very
quiet compared to hospitals in the US. I was in room 1, right
next door to the emergency room and it was still quiet. About evening I did
need pain meds, as mine had worn off. They
couldn't understand me and I was getting a bit anxious as you can imagine! My husband was getting ready to find out how
to say, "I need pain meds" in Spanish, by calling his brother who
knows Spanish when Dr. Levi walked in and pushed my syringe for the pain meds!
So that worked out! See the nurse thought I wanted to have my epidural
out right then, and she kept telling me to wait until morning! I did have
a Spanish/English dictionary at home but forgot to bring it! I would
recommend one, unless you know basic Spanish. Or you could bring a few
index cards with the words: pain, eat food, and other little words in Spanish!
Later I finally got to have jello, mango juice (delicious!) and the best
chicken and rice soup. They would bring
my husband regular food and tell me in Spanish, YOU, nada! (meaning for me, nothing,
your husband yes!) It was cute! All of their food was excellent and home-cooked!
You get mango juice all the time. MMMMM!! After surgery the only little thing that
bothered me was when my pain meds would wear off and I could feel the catheter
(like if I needed to release) and it stung! But as soon as I got pain meds
everything was numb! It also stung to pee for the day after; I was glad when it
didn't sting any more! At 4:00 am the nurse came in to take out my IV,
catheter, and epidural! It wasn't bad at all; the only uncomfortable thing was
the tape sticking to you! I have to say I thought the catheter would
hurt coming out but I took a deep breath and exhaled when they took it out and
this helped a lot! It was a quick second of a sting maybe. At about
8:00 am I tried to get a shower as they want you to do that before you
leave. The tough part about getting to the shower was that I was dizzy
and a little nauseous, probably from being in bed since surgery and from all
the meds. I would get up and feel like sitting in the chair right away. Then
I would need to lie down on the couch and it took me a little while for my
shower. After my shower I felt better and didn't feel sick or dizzy!
It was just that initial getting up after surgery! I walked down the hall
and met the other couple who was there for a tubal reversal surgery too! She
was 44! That was encouraging to hear! I am 36! They were a
very kind couple from Maryland
and we had a nice conversation. Then we talked to Dr. Levi for a bit,
took a picture with him and said good bye! I told him to give our blessing to
Dr. Perez as I never got to meet him (my husband did but I didn’t). I have to say all the doctors and nurses
there are the same level as you and they don't put themselves up higher. I hope
that makes sense. They will give you all the time you need to talk, are very
kind and full of humility! I see how many Americans take for granted what
we have. They are so thankful and grateful down there; they have
definitely touched us! I would do it again if I had to. I am so thankful to
have had this experience. As we talked to Dr. Levi we found out he lived in Los Angeles
for some time
and then moved back. So he speaks perfect English and understands
everything. When he is there you will have no problems getting
things
communicated. I think because we arrived on a holiday and it was
a Sunday is why we had some communication problems. All
in all everything turned out great, and a week after my surgery, I am
feeling
great! The first week was the toughest, actually the first 4 days
were.
Taking my stitches out was a breeze! Once you take the stitches
out your
stomach begins to feel better right away. I am thankful for all
the
advice from Kelli and others from TLH. Something I look back at
and think
I should have done was to take more natural supplements before the
surgery to
speed up the healing process. I am doing
that now.
I give all the glory to our heavenly Father that I am whole
again. It does make a difference in you and how you feel once it is done!
I feel my marriage is better and my attitude is too! I think that there was
this burden of bitterness or sadness about what we had done (tubal ligation)
and the burden was released once I was whole again. The flight home was a bit more uncomfortable because of the surgery but nothing
unbearable! We just relaxed and took the pain meds on time. We were much
delayed leaving from Dallas!
We waited about a total of 5 hours at that airport and to get off the runway!
On our flight we had a Spanish class that had visited Mexico! It was
loud and my seat bumped a few times! I
sure was glad to be on the ground when we landed! I almost forgot to tell about
our day that we stayed in McAllen.
After we left the hospital we went back to McAllen, Texas. Crossing
the border wasn't bad at all for us. They just scanned our passports.
They did check a lunch bag that was in the front seat, but that is all.
We got to the Holiday Inn about 1:00pm. Our check in wasn't until 3:00pm.
Because they have free shuttle service, we had the guy take us to a Mexican
restaurant that the hotel staff recommended.
We got there and found out we couldn’t eat there because my husband was wearing
a sleeveless shirt. He couldn't change because we were not checked in at
the hotel yet. So we walked slowwwwly across the street to the
supermarket to get a stool softener/laxative that I felt I would
need. Turns
out I didn’t need one after
all and had spent $16.00 on it to get the more natural one.
Anyway we
decided to call the shuttle and have them take us across to the mall so
Paul
could get a shirt. After trying to walk a bit, I finally rested while
Paul went
to get a wheel chair. This was heaven! He pushed me and he found
a nice
shirt on sale! YEAH! We then took the shuttle over to the steak
house instead.
I wasn't really hungry, but they had very good food and service!
They had
the best peach tea and strawberry tea. Then it was time to go back to
the hotel
and check in. We loved our room and the hotel! Our bed was soooo
comfortable
and there were lots of pillows! Yeah! They even had the pillows labeled
soft
and firm! They had a nice swimming pool, but we didn't go swimming (I
couldn't anyway). While I was resting, Paul decided to go
shopping. When he didn't come back for a while, I
started worrying, and this didn't help my mind any. Then I saw him coming
across the parking lot with his shopping bag from K-Mart (which is right across
the street). Bless his heart! He bought the kids something to take home and
he bought me a night gown, a watch, and a beautiful card! Our stay was
like a big DATE NIGHT! By the way that night the natural stool softener worked
a little too well and I woke up during the night needing to get to the
restroom. The next morning we ate our continental breakfast, rested and then
headed to the airport! It was nice having the free shuttle service! We
didn't have to have a rental car at all! The airport in Dallas was HUGE! It had a tram you take and
it is like a bunch of malls all together. They have everything! They have
many restaurants and shops! We didn't know our gate was changed to the
other side. So if you go to Dallas
make sure you check for your gate first and look at where you want to eat as
there are so many choices! We didn't know that when we ate, but we had a
long layover and lots of time to waste. After we got off the flight at 2:00am,
we had an hour and a half drive home. We stopped at Wal-Mart to get me
some extra pillows. Well,
we got home early in the
morning and a few hours later the kids came home! We missed each
other so
much! This was their first time away from us like that! It was a sweet
reunion! Even though we missed the kids, we did really enjoy the
trip without
them; it wasn’t just a surgery trip, it was a sweet rekindling
for us too! We are happy to be on our journey of "giving back
control” of our
fertility as well as many other areas to the Father in Heaven! We
are grateful to our Heavenly
Father and everyone in the TLH ministry for helping us make this
happen!
Blessings to all and prayers to all who may take this journey! Also we
appreciate the whole crew in Mexico;
our thanks go out to them! The doctors in Mexico are just as skilled as those
with the fancy technology in the states! My husband, Paul, said Dr. Perez has a very
steady hand. He watched the whole
surgery in amazement at Dr. Perez’s dedication to be able to be
guided by our heavenly Father and be a part of making people whole
again!
My tubal ligation was on 3-28-03 and my tubal reversal was
on 6-18-07.
I have 5cm on each side.
Blessings!
The Hughett family
Paul and Mary, Randy, Brandon Paul and Elizabeth Grace
and praying for more blessings!
