Health- dismal
Once more those little saplings are left to ponder their fate... I am pretty sure that they are doomed to be brittle twigs.
I awoke this morning with the right side of my face swollen and aching bad... no clue if it is my sinus infection reminding me that it is still there, an infected tooth or maybe the infection from one or the other has gotten into the bone and I am getting to suffer from osteomylitis (infected bone). Not like I have any way of getting it looked at or treated no matter what it is but at least guessing gives me something to do.
If you have read my previous blog entries then you already know that I cannot take even a baby aspirin for the pain and swelling, but ever hopeful I took an Advil... and for my wishful thinking I have increased stomach pain (can we say kill me... kill me now) and (joy of joys) increased bleeding from somewhere in my digestive tract. Note to self... DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!!
One would think that I feel completely hopeless, but one would be wrong.
Oh, sure, I can feel hopeless from time to time... but nothing that has come along has managed to kill me yet, so I think that my track record is good. Something will give... something has to eventually give... and somehow I will get the treatment I need and will be able to afford it.
Talking about afford... I just figured out my finances for the next four weeks and it will take $40 more than will be coming in from unemployment to simply cover enough bills to keep the roof over our heads, the car from repossession and the lights on. Nothing at all for food or any luxury items like toilet paper and soap.
You might think that mine is an extreme case, but the truth is that many people with chronic illness face financial ruin and homelessness every day. For the ones with Insurance, the co-pays can be staggering and they have to decide if they get the medication they need or food, for those who are disabled and on Medicare and Medicaid the cutbacks often mean that services they used to get are no longer covered and they must find a way to pay our of pocket or do without those treatments, medications and doctors. For those with no form of insurance at all it often means that the closest they get to medical care is the blood pressure machine at the grocery store.
Imagine... you get sick... you did absolutely nothing to cause it... there was nothing at all you could do to prevent it but it happens. You have always been healthy and have had insurance which you paid for every paycheck but barely used. Now you need it... all those thousands you paid will finally come in handy...... or so you think. You discover that what seems like low co-pays ($20 for Primary Care physician, $40 for Specialists, $100 for the ER, $25 for each prescription on the "generics" list, $50 for prescriptions on the "formulary" list and no coverage for many specialized medications that could run into the hundreds per 30 day supply, $3000 personal deduction, $9000 family deduction and the co-pays for labs, x-rays and more) add up very fast until suddenly your savings are gone, you have to cash in your retirement and you wonder in a daze how in the world you are living paycheck to paycheck. Then suddenly your Insurance Company starts denying coverage for tests and procedures or simply drops you.
You now are un-insurable due to a pre-existing condition... and because you were financially responsible and own your car outright (paid it off, glad to no longer have to make car payments) you do not qualify for Disability when you have to stop working due to your health... or if you keep your job by the skin of your teeth you make too much to qualify for Medicaid or Medicare.
Think this cannot happen to you?
I thought the same thing at one time...
You are amazing.
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