Had a health care moment yesterday

[Kennah]

My boss was out sick Thursday and Friday last week. Figured it was seasonal flu.

Heard Monday that she was in the hospital and seriously ill. Didn't hear any follow up, so I asked around yesterday. Found out that her appendix burst. She was doing well, but in a lot of pain and unfortunately spending Christmas in the hospital.

I stopped by after work yesterday to see her. Wasn't all doped up on pain meds, completely lucid, and even joking about it.

Her son and a friend had been with her when her appendix burst, on Friday I think. She was telling me how she was feeling sick, and debating whether to call 9-1-1 because she wasn't sure what hospital they'd take her to and whether her insurance would cover it at hospital X without calling in advance.

Health insurance bullshit kills people, and it nearly did again last week. Probably did yesterday and today as well.

[Warpy]

1. I blew mine off until the day after it popped

The 104 fever finally convinced me I was sick.

[AAO]

4. How old were you when it happened?

[Warpy]

5. Old enough to try to blow it off as cramps

and that gives you a clue to how bad my cramps usually were. Or should.

[AAO]

6. Now it makes sense!

[RC]

2. Another example of why we need Single Payer, Universal Health Care.

Go in, present your health card and while they are processing that, they are working on you and your problem.

None of this getting your credit card, doing a credit check, contacting you insurance company to see what kind of, if any coverage you have, THEN after they have done that, starting diagnostics on your health problem. Assuming you haven't died first, in a chair in the waiting room.

[seattledo]

3. Exactly. All of the delays and refusals in the ER

are killing people.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. I sometimes think that is the plan. nt

[DesertFlower]

8. mine reputured in 1993. it was memoral day

weekend and i had cramps. kept taking enemas because they made the pain better. on tuesday my doc ordered an ultrasound. by the time i got home the phone was ringing. doc said "get back to the hospital and meet dr. so and so -- you need surgery". they kept me for a few days and when i went home i had to do IVs for a few days.

i probably should have gone to the emergency room. i did have health insurance.

[Skittles]

9. when I was a teenager I babysat a kid whose appendix burst

turned out he had been experiencing pains for a while but had not said anything because he was afraid he would be kicked off of Little League......OMG, I had made him a hot dog and thought I had poisoned him because he was clutching his tummy.....I ran to my house (only two houses away) to get my dad and he took him to the hospital where he had immediate surgery.......he was OK..........very scary