There’s No One Like Venezuelan Doctors!

I have always thought there is no one like Venezuelan doctors! I have been ill since childhood and have spent more than half my life in clinics and hospitals, and I know hundreds of Venezuelan doctors to whom we must take off our hats for their professionalism, experience and humanity.

At the age of twelve, when I had acute peritonitis, my life was saved by a distinguished pediatrician (Agustín Zubillaga), now deceased, the teacher of many pediatricians who today work with great dedication in our hospitals and clinics, some of whom still teach at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

As for dentists, with my double set of teeth coming in every which way, I was treated by highly distinguished doctors (Dr. Mazzei, Dr. Tenreiro and others), the professors of many dentists practicing here today. My family’s current dentists are a whole family of dentists from the Universidad Central (the Mujicas), who are here working day and night, not only in their private practice but in hospitals such as San Juan de Dios. I am talking about first-class dentists, experts in everything, with prices that show real solidarity. I have heard of people who had dental work done in other countries, paying a fortune, and came to Venezuela to fix the problems that were caused abroad.

As for ophthalmology, my crossed eyes were corrected and my severe myopia treated (I am nearly blind) by distinguished Venezuelan doctors (Dr. Serrano, Dr. Pereira and Dr. González Urbaneja, among others). In dermatology, the renowned Dr. Alfonso de Pérez left me with perfect skin after a case of third-degree acne.

Sadly, many good doctors have left Venezuela because of the crisis, but fortunately there are still plenty of excellent ones here, who now have to find ways to manage the long lists of patients they have.

My physical therapist (we have excellent, very caring physical therapists here too) told me the other day that several doctors have come back, because there is a great demand for doctors here, and abroad they cannot practice as they would like (many cannot perform surgery, for example).

On orthopedics I could write a book. I have suffered from a degenerative genetic bone disease since I was fifteen, and about twenty-five years ago, believing they could help me abroad, I saw “the best orthopedist in the world” at a renowned hospital outside the country. That doctor told me there was no solution for my condition and that my future would be a wheelchair. He gave me a list of a thousand things I couldn’t do; he said I couldn’t have any more children (I had three at the time); he practically told me to sit in a chair and watch TV for the rest of my life. As soon as I got back to Caracas I threw the list in the trash and went on living my normal life (with pain, but what did I care?). I had three more children, and my spine got even worse.

I was referred to the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital (I have never in my life seen a hospital like it, with a human quality that is unique in every one of its staff and nurses, and great professionalism in its doctors). I fell into the hands of a Venezuelan doctor, the son of an Italian immigrant, and after a twelve-hour operation he left me with a spine that let me care for and raise my children while they were small.

What that hospital charged me for my first operation made the people at the American insurance company laugh! Because with MRIs, prostheses, titanium discs, the fees of a team of nearly fifteen people, a week in the hospital, therapy and so on, the bill at that time did not reach five thousand dollars. Abroad, an operation of that magnitude would cost no less than half a million.

I cannot leave out my obstetrician-gynecologist, Miguel Anselmi, who performed six C-sections on me in eight years. The precision of his hands meant that a scar cut six times in the same place can barely be seen. And my uterus is in perfect shape to have another baby whenever God wills.

The world-renowned doctors, such as Dr. Jacinto Convit, deserve a chapter of their own, as do the young doctors who have created innovative surgical techniques and traveled the world training hundreds of doctors from other countries.

I have had relatives and friends with cancer who were treated and cured by excellent Venezuelan doctors, both in private clinics and in hospitals (when they were well equipped). Sadly, our wonderful doctors have been limited by costs, but they are so humane and conscientious that they always find a way to help the patient and refer them to a foundation or hospital if they have no insurance.

Everywhere in the world, people recognize the absolute professionalism, experience and ethical and human quality of Venezuelan doctors. And their vocation of service is remarkable.

Today I take this opportunity to say a Thousand Thanks to all our doctors born in this Land of Grace. Keep going, because there are many of us in this country who know that there’s no one like Venezuelan doctors! God bless every one of you!