My Second Home in Panama is my First Choice for Surgical Procedures
Baby Boomer Cherly Taplin Prefers Panama over U.S. for Surgical Travel
A five hour flight from Lafayette, Louisiana transports a couple to a different, more cosmopolitan world.
Cheryl Taplin spends about 10 days to three weeks every three months in her Panama City condo. “I’ve settled on Panama for our second home,” said Taplin, “We’ve been doing this for three years and it’s worked out really well for us. It allows us to go to other places as well. Panama is our launching pad to Central America.”
“I’m free to go back and forth between the States and Panama, which is what’s so nice about it, “she said,” Panama is so international. I get better groceries from the Indian and Chinese stores in Panama City than I can in Lafayette, and I bring some of the spices home with me to the States.”
Laser Eye Surgery in Panama
When it came time to have Lasik eye surgery, Taplin chose a Panamanian Doctor. “Even though the price was comparable to the United States, I was more impressed with the biographies of the doctors in Panama on the Ageless Wonders Panama website” said Taplin.
“It was very convenient for me to have my eye surgery in Panama because I didn’t’ have to worry about putting somebody else out. I have someone in Panama who helps me all the time,” she explained, “They have very inexpensive labor there. So I had day help. I had someone take me there and bring me back.”
But you don’t have to live there to get that type of personalized service. According to Taplin, if you’re a medical tourist all the transportation and personal care is included in the Ageless Wonders package.
“The process and the surgery were simple,” said Taplin, “My only regret is that I didn’t get this done sooner. I was near sighted and I couldn’t read menus; you know you have to whip out these little glasses whenever you go to a restaurant. And you keep losing the glasses, so that really started to bother me.”
“You see Lasik surgery advertised everywhere in the U.S., overseas, and on every inflight magazine, so I thought, why not. So I found the website for Ageless Wonders in Panama and filled out the form for an appointment,” said Taplin.
The Health Travel Experience in Panama
“I asked for an appointment on the day after I arrived in Panama and, allowing for one day of recovery, it was over,” said Taplin, “Never have I touched those reading glasses again. It was worth every single penny and then some. I don’t know what took me so long to get this done.”
“I met Eric, the owner of Ageless Wonders and my doctor Dr. Ilka De Obaldía. The staff and doctors all have such a good relationship that I really felt at home with them,” Taplin said, “Even the front desk receptionist spoke very good English; better than my Spanish.”
“They were all just wonderful,” she exclaimed, “The next time I’m in Panama I’m planning to have dinner with Dr. Ilka.”
“Dr. Ilka just made me feel like family,” said Taplin, “She’s young and so chic – very, very pretty and elegant looking. It’s so nice to meet someone as young as she is who is doing as well as she does. I will keep in touch. I’m very happy for her and I’ll always recommend her.”
“In fact when I was there my neighbor who was visiting from the U.S., was so impressed she scheduled her own appointment to have surgery with Dr. Ilka,” said Taplin, “That’s how people get to know one another and that’s how Ageless Wonders works.”
Baby Boomers in Panama Value a Friendly Community
“That’s the beauty of Panama,” said Taplin, “Everyone treats each other like one big happy family.” That feeling of community is important to Boomers whether traveling for surgical procedures or exploring options for living abroad.
