Why I'd never retire to the third-world: Facebook husband death

[soupcxan]

It's impossible to know whether the fact that the husband of the Facebook lady would've survived if he had received medical care in the US/Can/UK, he may have been a goner no matter what, but if I have a medical emergency I sure want to be in a developed country.

Whenever I read about folks claiming to retire on $0.99/day in the middle of nowhere, I think, yeah that works great, until you have a heart attack...

 

[Brat]

That accident could have occurred anywhere, no one should ever use a treadmill alone. Evidently his brother went to find him when he didn't return from the exercise room. We will never know if he had received medical attention are immediately he would have survived.

 

[Big_Hitter]

well Houston does have just about the best health care on the planet but I agree - I think people are nuts that even take extended trips to third world countries - what if you need an appendectomy?

 

[gcgang]

It's impossible to know whether the fact that the husband of the Facebook lady would've survived if he had received medical care in the US/Can/UK, he may have been a goner no matter what, but if I have a medical emergency I sure want to be in a developed country.

Whenever I read about folks claiming to retire on $0.99/day in the middle of nowhere, I think, yeah that works great, until you have a heart attack...

He died exercising. Whenever I read about folks claiming exercise is good for your health...


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[Hermit]

If I fall or have some other accident while building my house, the only thing that will be found is what the vultures leave. Its a risk I am willing to take to live the life I want to live.

 

[Letj]

It's impossible to know whether the fact that the husband of the Facebook lady would've survived if he had received medical care in the US/Can/UK, he may have been a goner no matter what, but if I have a medical emergency I sure want to be in a developed country.

Whenever I read about folks claiming to retire on $0.99/day in the middle of nowhere, I think, yeah that works great, until you have a heart attack...

+1 retiring to the third world is very risky. Even visiting is risky. I have known some people who died while in the third world from illness that they would certainly survive in the US.


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[hnzw_rui]

It's impossible to know whether the fact that the husband of the Facebook lady would've survived if he had received medical care in the US/Can/UK, he may have been a goner no matter what, but if I have a medical emergency I sure want to be in a developed country.

Whenever I read about folks claiming to retire on $0.99/day in the middle of nowhere, I think, yeah that works great, until you have a heart attack...

Sounds like a freak accident.

As for medical services, that's one of the things my grandmother considered before moving to the Philippines (her condo unit is around 2 miles away from a medical facility). The medical facilities and doctors are pretty good (granted, it's a private hospital catering mostly to the rich). It's actually accredited by US Blue Cross. Alas, no 911 and the ambulances aren't as well equipped. We decided against getting her insurance though, since the premiums will cost more than paying out of pocket. Instead, every month we set aside $100 or so in a separate account for her health care expenses.

I remember reading India, Thailand and Taiwan also have pretty good medical.

While public health care in third world countries might be pretty bad due to lack of funding, good medical services are available in urban areas as long as you can afford it. If you're out in the boonies though, good luck.

 

[brewer12345]

Hmmm, a few years ago Dad fell in the Riviera Maya and hit his head badly. Concussion, bleeding in the brain, the whole enchilada. They took him to a local hospital, stabilized him as best they could, then transferred him to a big time hospital in Cancun. 5 year old hospital built to top shelf international standards, any and every possible thing available, specialists out the wazoo. A few days in intensive care and another 10 days on site to make sure he could travel home. First class everything. Stateside doctor said there was literally nothing better they could have done for him.


Depends where you are and how much you can pay.

 

[Silver]

We don't know why he fell. It may have been a medical emergency that caused him to fall, and that was the real cause of death. An autopsy should reveal that, but the public may or may not ever know.

 

[athena53]

Depends where you are and how much you can pay.

I agree. Look up "Medical Tourism". There are places in India, Thailand and Mexico built specifically to cater to international patients who don't want to wait on their government health service's waiting list, or who don't have insurance but have enough bucks to pay for knee replacement at 1/4 what it would cost at home. There's also tourism for cosmetic procedures and dental work. Many of the doctors were trained in the US. If you live close to them and have a plan that gets you treatment there, you're in good shape.

 

[Big_Hitter]

my nephew is in med school and will take care of me in my old age...

 

[Walt34]

I have known some people who died while in the third world from illness that they would certainly survive in the US.

Just two months ago a good friend went to the Galápagos Islands for several weeks, came back and was fine. Two weeks later he became very, very sick, docs were stumped. Went in the hospital for several days of tests, recovered, went home, relapsed a few days later and was back in the hospital for several days, then recovered apparently for good now. They never did find out exactly what the issue was but best guess was some unknown virus that he picked up there.

He almost died here. He would certainly have died if that had happened while there.

So I've crossed off a visit to the Galápagos Islands from my bucket list.

 

[RonBoyd]

There is this from someone who doesn't believe all she hears in the Media:


Dave Goldberg cause of death? I think it’s suicide | Penelope Trunk Careers

Do we still have to lean in if Dave Goldberg is dead? | Penelope Trunk Careers

 

[daylatedollarshort]

There is this from someone who doesn't believe all she hears in the Media:


Dave Goldberg cause of death? I think it’s suicide | Penelope Trunk Careers

Do we still have to lean in if Dave Goldberg is dead? | Penelope Trunk Careers

I've probably watched too many episodes of Scandal lately, but the different news stories and the delay in a cause of death being given do seem odd. The Four Seasons hotel says he was never a guest there and there was no accident on their property:

Dave Goldberg was not a guest and did not fatally fall here: hotel | New York Post

There would be a lot at stake if he died of suicide or something stress related with all the hoopla and critics ready to pounce on the whole Lean In / overwork way of life.

 

[soupcxan]

Going to India for routine surgery as medical tourism is one thing. A knee replacement? Sure. A brain tumor? Not so much.

But it's more than just having a good hospital - it's all the infrastructure we have. AEDs in most buildings, the 911 system, well equipped ambulances with trained EMTs, traffic that bothers to pull over when an ambulance is coming through, helicopters if you are in a traffic accident in the middle of nowhere, etc.

The US healthcare system has plenty of flaws, don't get me wrong, but for emergencies I'd still rather have my family here than the developing world.

 

[splitwdw]

News article I read said he died from head injury and severe loss of blood. Doesn't say how long he lay injured before his brother went looking for him. Sounds like this could have happened anywhere.
Dave Goldberg Death: Are Treadmill Accidents Common?
"Fatal injuries from treadmills are rare — between 2003 and 2012, there were 30 deaths associated with treadmills, for an average of three deaths per year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission."

 

[robnplunder]

well Houston does have just about the best health care on the planet but I agree - I think people are nuts that even take extended trips to third world countries - what if you need an appendectomy?

Some people are not afraid to live.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I've probably watched too many episodes of Scandal lately, but the different news stories and the delay in a cause of death being given do seem odd. The Four Seasons hotel says he was never a guest there and there was no accident on their property:

Dave Goldberg was not a guest and did not fatally fall here: hotel | New York Post

There would be a lot at stake if he died of suicide or something stress related with all the hoopla and critics ready to pounce on the whole Lean In / overwork way of life.

That story was corrected today (it looks like the story is correct in the link you provided) -

No criminal investigation is planned as there were no signs of violence, the spokesman said.
He said the accident happened at the Palmasola at the Four Seasons Resort, a private 9-bedroom beach front villa. The Palmasola is not owned by the Four Seasons. Punta Mita is located near the Mexican west coast vacation town of Puerto Vallarta.

Tech exec Goldberg died after exercise accident – official | NewsDaily

 

[RunningBum]

I took a fall on a treadmill at home this winter. Not even sure what happened, but I guess I took a misstep off the tread. Suddenly I was falling wildly and landed very hard on my shoulder, which I dislocated. I also banged my head, but my shoulder took the brunt of it. Unlike the falls I sometimes take running technical trails, I had virtually no control of my fall so it certainly could've been worse, perhaps fatal, I guess.

 

[explanade]

That was a couple that could have ER'd a long time ago.

Maybe they could only go to Mexico because one or both had to be near work.

In some of the articles, they talk about how they divided home labor. They could easily afford live-in help, though she said she was doing more of the child care than she thought she should carry. Of course, nannies can take care of that but then she wouldn't really be parenting either.

She's worth billions and while she has a very important position, it's for an ad company, not some enterprise which is making the world better -- in fact, some would argue FB makes the world worse.

 

[Meadbh]

The Palmasola is an exclusive private residence club "at" (meaning next to) the Four Seasons. Current rates are $11,500 per night.

Palmasola - Your Own Private Paradise - A Luxury Villa Rental in Punta Mita Mexico

The website doesn't say how many villas there are, but probably no more than 100 in a lush complex. The private gym would not have any onsite staff. It makes you wonder whether a CCTV would have been helpful in alerting staff to the problem.

My guess is that he had a heart attack, a seizure, was dehydrated, or just slipped, fell and hit his head, and became unconscious either due to a concussion or a rapidly advancing epidural hematoma. It appears he also lost blood externally. If he died due to exsanguination, it must have taken some time. Being unconscious, his airway could have been obstructed.

IMHO this could have happened anywhere. The exclusivity of the resort (all alone in the private gym) likely contributed to his death. I myself own a fraction of a villa at a (less exclusive than that) resort in Canada, and we have a private gym with a view, which you usually have all to yourself.

 

[NW-Bound]

Lack of good medical care in a third-world country is a true hazard, but the story of this Facebook executive's husband is hardly an example of that. He could have fallen off his threadmill in his Palm Spring, Beverly Hills, or Mercer Island mansion in the same way, and died before getting found.

And then, one may die from an acute illness in the USA if not being near a metropolitan area with the right specialists and equipment when it happens.

A few years ago, my son came down with a rare infection that was misdiagnosed as a flu, then as a kidney infection before they found the true source of his high fever and abdomen pain: a weird liver infection. He was in pain, and had seizures from the fever until they finally found the cause. Who knows, but another day of delay and it could cost him his life. Doctors were able to treat him with the right antibiotics once they knew, but they never knew how that bacteria got into him.

 

[brewer12345]

I expect that I take my chances when out in the woods hunting by myself with nobody around for a mile or more. If I fall over and die, so be it. If I just break an ankle or something I have survival gear and hopefully after a while someone comes to find out what all the gunfire is about.


So do we have to listen to this "Lean In" bullcrap any more?

 

[athena53]

Some people are not afraid to live.

I agree- one of the best parts of my career was working with people in India. Yes, the poverty is awful, but when you're there training and mentoring the locals you feel like you're doing something to make a difference. The food, the colors, the history, the people... I'm still connected with a ton of them on LinkedIn and FaceBook. I hope to go back someday. I took malaria pills and was careful about what I ate (mostly vegetarian, no street food) and had only one bad episode of intestinal issues and was there 6 times at least.

I did get stung by an unfamiliar insect in my room in Jaipur and removed the stinger from my foot immediately but wondered, what if... The next morning I talked with my coworkers and, since the corpse of the offending critter was still in my room, I showed it to them. They said that it was a relative of the honeybee and I'd probably live. They were right.

 

[6miths]

Agree with the above sentiments. Would not exchange my years in Africa and the middle east for anything that comes to mind. Much of the time spent with 4 young children in tow. Priceless experiences. If it's your time, it's your time. In the meantime, live large!