Guest Blogger Manisha Pradhan writes to us from Gangtok. She shares her
experience with home stays in her post. Introducing today is Part 1 of
her blog - "Medical Care At A Home Away From Home". Do read on!
http://nomadcapitalist.com/2014/01/05/top-5-best-countries-medical-tourism/
Sipping
my cup of tea and leafing through the morning newspaper, today was the day I
had to make a few decisions. Living in Gangtok was like living in utopia- amidst
nature and friendly people. Whilst everything was going smoothly, my mother had
not been keeping too well lately. A train of visits to the doctors and I knew I
had to move her to a bigger and better city for her to be under proper care. I
finally made up my mind to move her to Delhi.
Little
did I know, that this event in my life would make me realize how much I needed
a ‘home”. Having booked ourselves in a decent hotel close to the hospital for
over two weeks, I increasingly found myself being stressed over things. I could
never point out why I felt the way I did until one day I realized that the
problem lay not in the hospital but where we were staying. I shared my concerns
with my friends and it was then that one of them recommended a home stay. I was
not very convinced that someone would let us stay at their place especially
with my ailing patient. On the other hand, we were spending a lot on post
operative care and it was not advisable to undertake the long journey back
home.
I
started looking at the range of homestays and talking with some of them. I was
convinced that if I had to survive the turmoil of long term medical care in a
new city, I just had to move my mother to a place that is “home”.
Our
stay lasted for two long months and needless to say I never regretted my
decision. I want to share a few points on why I chose a homestay over the hotel
closer to the hospital. To anyone looking for a homey place for a patient to
recover, this is what I discovered:
1.
Cost
Effective
Medical treatment is not easy and
the first thing that affects you is the cost. As much as I tried to budget, I
would always find myself being a little short of money. A decent hotel was the
primary reason that was eating into my pocket. A homestay on the other hand is
more economical and viable. I saw a large chunk of savings having moved to a homestay.
2.
A
home is a home after all
A hotel can give you comfort and
luxury but these two were the last things on my mind when it came to bringing
my mother back home after her surgery. She needed a place that could support
her new diet plan. A place where she could move about at her own pace and still
have the privacy. Most importantly, she did not want to be seen as an ailing
person in a place full of strangers. The homestay covered for all of the above
and more.
3.
Cleanliness
and Care
Cleanliness was of utmost importance
to us. Luckily my mother did not suffer too many side effects but when she did
we needed to clean up the mess as soon as she felt unwell. This was something
that came to us promptly at the homestay as compared to the hotel where
housekeeping had to be called in time and again. The hosts and the caretaker
were genuinely caring towards both of us.
I
can go on for a few more pages, but I need to retire and get back to my mother
who is asking for me. I promise to share some more in my next post, which
should be sooner than you think. In the meanwhile, I wanted to share that India
is one of the top 5 destinations for Medical Tourism in the World! You could have a look at
the following few websites to know more!
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