Friday, June 05, 2020

American Health Care

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine.  A couple months ago he started getting migraines, but recently he's felt other weird stuff (can't pop his ears, for instance).  Was able to get an almost immediate doctor appointment and CT scan, and within a half an hour his doctor called him and told him he didn't like what he saw and my friend should go the the emergency room for an MRI right away.

Thanks to the 'rona, there were so few people in the emergency room that he was called back before he'd even finished the paperwork.

Brain cancer.  An aggressive type.  And his surgery is this coming week.

This friend is a teacher whose health insurance and care is provided by an HMO you've probably heard of.

Britain's NHS, Canada's health system--he'd be waiting till November to get an appointment with his doctor.  In the US, he stands a chance at living.  If he doesn't make it it'll be because of the cancer, not because of the health care system.

I choose to believe he'll beat this.

Update, 6/19/20:  His surgery was yesterday.  I texted him last night, "I expect you to wake up and respond to this text."  And he did, "I'm awake anyway!"

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hoping for the best.

Darren said...

Thanks, so am I.

Anonymous said...

I grew up in Idaho close to the Canadian border. I have family on both sides of the border. I am a teacher who gets her health insurance through an HMO. If I get sick on the weekend, I have an hour drive to the nearest clinic that will take me. My Canadian cousins in a town that is of a similar size can go to a medical clinic in town. When I needed physical therapy, the clinic would stay open till 6 on Wednesdays. Trying to get an appointment was a nightmare. My cousin needed physical therapy in Canada. His therapist stayed open until 8 Monday through Thursday. People in Idaho routinely cross the border to fill their prescriptions in Canada. My niece, a US citizen, married a Canadian. They did the math and decided they'd be better off in Canada.

Darren said...

I'm glad it's working out for you.

Anonymous said...

Praying for a successful outcome. Please post updates.