A Manitoba man’s dream vacation to Mexico turned into a nightmare, after he returned to Canada with an infection so bad that he nearly lost his foot.
Darren Thomas says that he was showering on the fourth day of his trip to Playa del Carmen when he noticed a discoloration on the bottom of his right foot.
Thomas had no idea what caused it, but he says he assumed it was a blister from walking more than usual..
By the following day, his foot was filled with so much fluid that he decided to rent a wheel chair for the rest of the vacation, he says.
When Thomas returned to Winnipeg, he says he went straight to an emergency room, where a doctor told him he would need to have it amputated.
“A cold sweat just went all the way through me,” he recalls.
Thomas asked for a second opinion, and doctors decided to give him powerful antibiotics in the hopes that the infection could be treated, according to Thomas.
After two days, he says the swelling and redness had started to go down. Although his foot remains a dark colour, it now appears that he won’t need the amputation, he says.
Thomas says doctors still haven’t told him what caused the infection, although they all agreed that it was acquired in Mexico.
He says he didn’t seek medical care in Mexico because he was unsure about the quality of the health system. However, Thomas now believes he should have sought help in Mexico and made a claim against his travel insurance, he says.
Glynnis Fidler, an insurance manager with CAA Manitoba, says that Canadians with questions about the quality of foreign medical services should call their travel insurance provider. “They will be able to determine where they should go to get appropriate medical attention,” she adds.
Thomas says he won’t be going back to Mexico for his next holiday, simply “because of the bad memories that are associated with it.”
With a report from CTV Winnipeg’s Josh Crabb
