I just discovered this thread today!!!! I got to go from "Oh No" to "Oh Boy" by just clicking on the last page. Good for you BK, and while you are at it, see if the local health department will provide low cost mammograms. I know they do around in various parts of my county, so they may be available where you live as well. OK, girls, get your check-ups and make sure you stay healthy. This is wonderful news. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
OK, the fact that Pacco's been swallowed by the FSM momentarily threw me, but this is WONDERFUL news!!!!! Yay BorisKitten!!
Ah, what a messy post. I'll try to edit and leave the main content.
Ok, I don't presently disagree with my last post, although I miss Pacco there. On the other hand, I have no pet insurance and will be faced with severe decision making at some point, and I hope that is far and farther.
My parents were insurance poor - a situation I'll describe as when a family cuts out most expense in order to pay the insurance bill, over and over, and then finally has to give up on it, thus losing that money that went to the bill, re paying other bills, and having very nearly come to using the insurance. I have layers of bitterness about this.
Let's assume the insurance industry has smart answers. I don't care. All those sweet phone calls and letters over the years were so much feedpellet to my struggling parents.
I bring this all up, aside from my glass of wine, because I have projected that Boris Kitten might not go for major surgery - if her results were positive - for financial reasons and that she would selfinvolve in herbal help.
And, it's complicated, as we who know her know that Boris has punted from corporate life, with it's present flume of insurance health protection.
I don't know any answers. I just wish that all could have the level of care I lucked into for a span of time, wherever in the world they are. Osso-pollyanna/evilknieval.
Wow, Osso, you're right about the major surgery. I would have gone for minor surgery, and in fact that was pretty much what I expected as an OK outcome... that is, having the spot excised in-office.
As for hysterectomy, major organ cutting, etc., well, I'm not sure. Hubby would want to go for it, probably 2nd-mortgage our home to pay for it. This is one of those things, I think, where I just don't know what sort of decision I'd make until it actually happened.
This whole thing has me thinking a lot about the state of medical care in the US, and it's truly pitiable.
Remembering Bear's/BVT's experiences, even JP's experience with the emergency room and his mangled finger, and various other posts amounting to the same indifferent level of care for Americans, angers me.
I'm a CNA, and spent 2 weeks in our local hospital in training, about 5 years ago now. Even my instructor told us NOT to go to this hospital if we became ill/injured, even though she trained all her students there, because of the exceedingly poor level of care. And the things I saw there still disturb me today.
Employees are overworked and underpaid to astonishing degrees. Doctors are almost never present, and when they are, I found their indifference, anger, childishness, and god-like delusions shocking. Simple human comfort is not available in any degree.
I particularly recall an older diabetic woman who must have lived alone before entering the hospital, since her feet were virtually rotting off. The smell was so horrible, you were affronted by it in that whole hallway.
She screamed in pain for hours on end. She got no pain medication at all for these 8 hours because her doctor was not available to prescribe it.
I remember I went into her room to try and comfort her. She had a roommate who was obviously very upset by the screaming and the odor. When I spoke softly to her and held her hand, she looked into my eyes and reduced her screams to whimpers.
The sheer depth of her suffering was like a wave that washed over me... and there was nothing I could do to help her other than speak and stroke her hand. I knew, looking into her eyes, that she was begging to die.
I knew at that moment that I could not do this work. I was not strong enough, or indifferent enough, to see this level of suffering and be unable to help.
In some ways my training at a local nursing home was even worse. I saw employees be terribly cruel to residents in a sort of bid for personal power I could hardly believe. The whole place stank of urine and feces.
I'm sorry... I hope nobody barfs up their breakfast because of these images...
Anyway, hubby and I have a "plan" for when we become too old and ill to care for ourselves. Rather than enter nursing homes or burden our relatives, we plan to shoot ourselves.
This probably sounds insane, but given the level of care available in this country, it's not all that crazy. With no children, once we arrange for the care of our pets, we can exit this world with less pain and suffering than we'd receive in the hands of the US medical community. Isn't that tragic?
Many years, hopefully, will pass before this happens.
I'm seriously thinking of becoming, due to these experiences, a Certified Herbalist.
Anyway, Osso, what the heck is that new avatar? And what do those initials mean? Is there another post that tells us these things? (I feel so dumb!)
Big love to you all. I can't tell you all how much it means to me to have so many of my friends speak of their concern for me.
When I had the spot scraped off, I said, "Oh my gosh, my friends will be so happy to hear about this!" And I meant all my friends here at A2K.
Hurray for the lint removal!
Fabulous!!!
You must be so relieved!!!!
Here's the thread that inspired my momentary avatar aberation (I'm changing it back to Pacco shortly) -
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=60367
Welcom Back to Pacco! Gosh I hardly knew it was you, Osso, without Pacco.
Checked out the FSM website... Pass the sauce, please, I'm about to have a miraculous conversion!
Bk...I had been gone awhile, but you were on my mind. Now I am back and so very happy for you! I love good news...I truly love good news!!
Such good news!!!
