Sunday, May 17, 2009

3 Things I've Been Mulling Over Lately. . .

I must swear off American news on both the tv and the net. I really must.

1. Gay marriage - with all the horrible things happening in the world, it amazes me how much energy people are willing to waste on keeping one group of consenting adults from doing the same thing that other consenting adults are allowed to do.

2. Banning gay soldiers or preventing female soldiers from engaging in combat roles - or all animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others. The Canadian army has allowed both to serve in all functions of the military for years and the world hasn't stopped turning nor has the sky fallen.

3. The ads on American television trying to scare Americans away from universal health care by telling them how 'broken' our system is - I had illnesses growing up - appendectomy, tonsilectomy, some broken bones, etc. For the most part, though, I made it into my late 20's in fairly good health.

Then I had a minor stroke which was caused by a large aneurysm. I had a number of MRIs and other scans. I had brain surgery. Then I returned to work and normal life.

Last spring, I changed companies. For 90 days, I was without benefits. Halfway into the 90 days, I had a series of major seizures. More hospital time, more tests, more doctors and even a couple of unwelcome diagnoses. At the end of it, I left the hospital and returned to work.

Being without benefits hurt. I spent three weeks without an income and no drug plan to pay for the pills I'd been prescribed. That's as close as I've ever come to what life must be like for those south of the border who have no coverage and it was pretty bad. I couldn't imagine what I would have done if I had come out with a hospital bill as well.

The Canadian system is not perfect. I'm sure pretty much every Canadian would agree with me on that. I'm also sure the majority of them would agree that it's still better than the for profit system they have south of the border. The last thing a person should have to worry about when they fall ill is how can they afford to get better. This is the 21'st century, after all. I'd like to think we've made progress for all, not just for the rich.

3 comments:

Daibhin said...

It is always best to avoid American news (I do and I live here!). In this country people seem bent on focusing on petty differences instead of focusing on the real and larger problems. AND I am completely frustrated with the current scare tactics of saying we are turning into a socialist country (which isn't a totally bad idea in my opinion). Sigh.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

That period when you were caught in limbo within the health system must have been absolutely horrifying for you. I can't imagine how millions of Americans deal with that as a fact of life.

Stay well.

Remi said...

At least with mine, there was a defined end. Furthermore, at no time was I ever threatened with the prospect of losing coverage. Changing jobs would have been a much tougher thing if I knew my health care was riding on the decision.