Checking on our options…no definitive decisions yet…Although, we do know this…

We know one thing for sure about our current situation…we are leaving Ecuador sooner than planned. I am running out of the only medication that works for my Afib and doesn’t cause me breathing problems. Ecuador doesn’t carry that drug here, and it’s not possible to have prescription drugs shipped to Ecuador, even though it’s not a narcotic.

I have enough pills to get us back to the US around mid-December, where I can get more when we arrive, either shipped via an online drug company, like ProgressiveRX, which I’ve used many times in the past, or by visiting an Urgent Care facility to get a new prescription.

We aim to get me a future appointment at the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, or Emory University, where they do robotic mitral valve repair. There is no way I am willing to have another open heart surgery after the traumatic experience I had in 2019. The recovery took me over a year.

Plus, I’ll be signing up for Medicare Part B and a supplement in the next few weeks, including a drug plan, since blood thinners are five times more expensive in the US than I paid here or would pay in many other countries.

On Wednesday, the cardiologist explained that I needed mitral valve surgery and should do it within a year. Waiting, at my age, makes no sense at all. But I’m seeking a second opinion in the US once I have the insurance in place. In the interim, the cardiologist explained I was safe waiting for a while.

Taking a blood thinner twice a day and the anti-arrhythmia drug should keep me safe while we figure all of this out. In the meantime, we are anxious to leave Ecuador and ensure I have the proper medication and…to leave when it is not much fun for us here.

We haven’t told the landlord, Igor, yet, but we will let him know once we book our airfare and a vacation home, depending on where we’re going and availability. We don’t expect a refund for the time we aren’t using, which is about 19 days. We have decided to fly out of a much bigger city than Manta, Guayaquil, a three-hour drive from here.

Yesterday, we contacted the car rental facility, and they’ve agreed we can leave the rental car in Guayaquil for an extra $67. Although we paid an inordinate amount for the car, we were grateful this charge wasn’t more. We won’t get a credit for the week we won’t use on the car rental contract. They don’t do that here.

The question many of you may be asking…Is our world journey over after 11 years? We can’t answer that right now. We have too much to figure out. We always knew that medical issues would eventually end our world travels. But the US is a vast place, and perhaps once I’ve had the surgery and recovered, we just may begin our tour of the US.

In any case, we have no plans to stop posting as long as we have readers interested in what we have to say. I will take you on the journey with me to get my mitral valve issue resolved and the subsequent recovery, as I did after the last open heart surgery.

Thank you all for your readership and continuing interest in the simple nuances of our daily lives. These experiences are not unlike those many of our worldwide readers are dealing with as, for many, a part of life as we age. Regardless of how hard I’ve tried to avert this scenario, heredity is more powerful than a positive attitude. I am hopeful for the future. I am the oldest living person on my mother’s side of the family, from which I inherited these health issues.

Thank you all for everything you’ve done to support us along the way.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, November 24, 2013: