- Name: Barbara Sonnier
- Age: 58
- Surgery: Gastric Sleeve
- Surgery date: March 18th, 2019
- Testimonial date: June 19th, 2019
- Surgeon: Dr. Galileo Villarreal
I started my journey at 192 lbs. In the past couple of years I saw nothing but my weight increasing in small increments. I had heard of other friends and relatives that had made the trip to Mexico for this surgery that were doing well. At first I had scheduled my trip for Tijuana, but after the weight loss agent told me they had Dr.s in Nuevo Laredo I made the decision to change my itinerary. My only concern was crossing the Texas border into Mexico because of all the things you hear about along the border. I live just 3-3 1/2 hours from the Mexican border, so it made far more sense for me to go to Nuevo Laredo. I went by myself. I drove to Laredo and was met at the Laredo airport by the driver that picked me up. He drove me across the border to the motel that I was scheduled to stay over night in. The motel was nice and clean. The next morning I was driven by someone from the motel to the hospital and dropped off. At this point the only complaint I would have would be the communication barrier. I downloaded an app to translate from English to Spanish, but didn't download it and test it out till after I was in the motel. Should have done that before I left. The woman that dropped me at the hospital didn't drop me at the front door, so when I walked in I had no clue as to where to go. I sent a message to my hospital liaison that I was by the lab and had no clue where to go. She spoke English. She came down and took me where I needed to go to get my labs, xray, and paper work done, then took me upstairs to my room. Some of the nurse's spoke English. Some didn't. The room I stayed in from Monday morning till Wednesday morning when I was released was beautiful and extremely clean. The bed was comfortable. Dr. Villarreal spoke perfect English and was very nice. After the surgery they kept me in recover to make sure everything was ok, then took me back to my room. I can honestly say I had no pain, just discomfort from the drain tube that was in my abdomen. It wasn't until Dr. Villarreal took the tube out that I understood why it was a discomfort. It was at least 18 in long and circled my abdomen. I couldn't hardly swallow when they gave me crushed ice and then jello, tea, and apple juice, because the tube was across my esophagus/stomach and made it hard for the liquid to go down. I had some nausea, but they were quick to give me medicine when I needed it. All the staff was friendly and the Dr. was great. Everything was extremely clean. My liaison was great. I have no problem recommending Dr. Villarreal and the hospital there in Nuevo Laredo. I was taken back across the border by the same gentleman that pick me up. In three month I am down 30 lbs. I didn't want to lose extremely fast as I have been told it can lead to gall stones and having to have your gallbladder removed. Slow and easy is best. I have had no problem with my surgery or issues with my stomach. It is a life change, but I would definitely do it all over again.
