Jan/feb In Ba With Handicapped Child

[hummingbee]

Hello there everybody, I'm new to this forum.

I would like to ask some advice of all you lovely people.

I am a writer with a five year old daughter who has severe cerebral palsy.

Because she gets chest infections during our harsh European winters, I want to bring her to Buenos Aires during January and February 2013, while I work on a new novel.

I'm trying to find out the following:

1) how much would it cost to rent a flat for a couple of months (I need ground floor or elevator as she is in a wheelchair). What areas should I look in? Does anybody know a nice flat for short term rental?

2) where is the best hospital with a pediatric neurology department in case she gets ill? Can anybody recommend a consultant who speaks English? How much are consultations likely to cost?

3) can anybody recommend a nanny/au pair/babysitter who doesn't mind working with a handicapped child? She is very smiley and loves people - in developmental terms, she's like a young baby. How much would I pay for a nanny/au pair/babysitter in Buenos Aires?

Thanks so much in advance - all your advice and information is gratefully received.

Hummingbee

 

[Noruega]

Hello there everybody, I'm new to this forum.

I would like to ask some advice of all you lovely people.

I am a writer with a five year old daughter who has severe cerebral palsy.

Thanks so much in advance - all your advice and information is gratefully received.

Hummingbee

Hi there, I will ask a friend who knows a lot about people with disabilities in Argentina, she can probably help with the questions.

 

[French jurist]

Hi,

I'm sorry I can't help with the questions.

It's just to point out something that you may already know about summers here (january/february), since your daughter has chest infections at times.

Climate in january/february is very hot (reaches about 40 C quite often), with a very high level of humidity. Of course apartments are equipped with AC's but still, many people suffer from the heat & humidity, even with no specific health condition.

Also some "barrios" ("quartiers" in French) are really not wheelchair-friendly.

 

[fifs2]

I'd also like to say that my eldest suffered from severe chest infections every year in Bsas, sometimes more than one a month between Jan and May some years and all requiring steroid drops and antiobiotics in spite of our best attempts to avoid such. He hasnt had an attack since we left in June 2011 perhaps coincidence but Bsas as a large city is dirty asnd the hot humid days of Jan?feb arent easy to bear even for the locals. Perhaps think about April?Mar when the cooler evenings make for a more sterile feel to the air...

 

[Ashley]

Hi
My brother has spina bifida and hydrocephalus and has visited me several times in BA over the past 10 years. He's in his 20s so quite a bit older than your daughter but when I was finding out about hospitals, etc just in case something happened (he has very occasionally had fits and is also susceptible to chest and ear infections...especially when abroad for some reason), I was told to take him to either the Hospital Britanico or the Hospital Aleman (no particular doctor recommendation I'm afraid). He also got a prescription for antibiotics and a medication that I was supposed to administer if he had a seizure, from his doctor in the UK. To see a doctor at either of those clinics is about 150 pesos (without insurance) last time I checked. As for areas to stay, I would recommend Palermo (not hollywood) or Recoleta as they seem to have the most even streets (the older parts of Palermo and places like San Telmo, Almagro have a lot of potholes and older buildings). Access isn't great in BA though. I found myself having to lift the back wheels of his chair up quite a few sidewalks and finding accessible toilets is quite difficult (though the shopping malls are good in that respect). Also travelling in taxis could be a bit of a pain as many of them use gas tanks which make storing the wheelchair in the boot fairly difficult. Calling a taxi in advance is usually the best way to ensure room in the boot for a chair.
I don't know about babysitters etc, but feel free to send me a PM if you need any more advice.
ashley

 

[rrptownley]

I'm no expert on these matters, but one recommendation would be to get health insurance here, rather than use travel insurance. You only need a passport to sign up to OSDE or Swiss Medical. You will get attention much more rapidly and it saves on the paperwork.

 

[KasaMartinez]

You might consider hiring BA Cultural Concierge to help with some of your logistics. They also specialize in clients with low mobility. http://baculturalconcierge.com

Totally worth the price and piece of mind, especially in your situation. PM me if you have other questions about them, as I've used them with wonderful results.

 

[Davidglen77]

I would highly recommend that you do everything possible to get a ground floor apartment. In the summer, there are blackouts, and that means no elevator, and NO water, as all buildings have electric water pumps. I live right in the middle of the city and we have been without electricity and without water for 5 DAYS NOW YES FIVE DAYS and nobody can tell us when service will be restored. We have a 92 year old lady in the building and there is no way for her to go up and down the stairs much less carry a bucket of water up from a spigot on the street. It's very scary but if other people in the building didn't care for her she would have probably passed away by now. I've called every city agency to report this emergency and get absolutely no response at all!

 

[WilliamA]

Order Standard Process' Emphalex (1 tablet every other day) to build up the lungs and Sovereign Silver product (ionic silver) for infections (USA Products). Also, keep your child off Dairy products especially cheese (unless raw dairy but even raw dairy should be kept at a minimum).