Comments on: Some Pre-Birthday Thoughts on a Busy Friday Morning

By: Scribe Called Steff

Scribe Called Steff — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:48:00 +0000

Because "health insurance" doesn't mean they throw free massages and acupuncture and shit like that at us!

I break a leg, that's covered. I get cancer, that's covered. I have pneumonia, I pay for the pharmaceuticals, but x-rays and doc visits are covered.

In '04, when I almost died in a scooter accident, I was carted by ambulance, unconscious, to the hospital. I awoke to find no fewer than 12 staff in triage taking care of me. I had MRIs, x-rays, and a whole shit load of testing done.

The total bill to me? $24 for the ambulance ride.

If I see a chiropractor, that's "extended medical" and I have to pay whatever the "user fee" at the chiro is. For me, my guy's expensive and it's $50. When I was making less than $30K a year, I was subsidized for 10 appointments a year at $20, though.

Acupuncture, massage, naturopaths, and chiros are all "alternative" medicine and thus only partially subsidized.

Long story short.

And I did a lot of alt-treatments over the year.

But when my mother died of cancer after having spent a few weeks in the hospital, having had months of radiation, a hysterectomy, and other treatments, the TOTAL BILL was about $1,000 for her private room... that's it. When she died, I mourned her... I didn't go into debt. It didn't affect me financially at all.

And that's Canada for you.

By: ap

ap — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:38:00 +0000

if canada has national health insurance. as i’ve always been informed they do. why were you spending so much money on pain management?

By: Scribe Called Steff

Scribe Called Steff — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:09:00 +0000

I got nothing from the aunt and uncle but love, sadly, but I loved the visit.

Panth: Yeah, I haven't been going for the younger guys but that may yet change...

UrBr -- lol. i know what it's like to have your point take leave of ya, ha.

john -- thanks! :) happy bday to you, too.

By: John Hays

John Hays — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:35:00 +0000

Happy birthday! I’m not far behind, hitting 31 in a couple of weeks!

By: Ursula Brangwen

Ursula Brangwen — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Nothing is worse than people pretending to be a different age. It's sad. I'm 25 and accept that I'm a spring chicken who needs some guidance by a mother hen. I think I was going to go somewhere with this, but I just awoke from a 4.5 hour nap that wasn't .quite. long enough. hah. sorry.

anyway, my fingers are crossed for your possible new wardrobe.

By: PantheraPardus

PantheraPardus — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:12:00 +0000

Happy birthday! Own that age. I’ll be 37 in November and I’m pretty darn okay with it.

Part of the reason for that is I found as I entered my mid-thirties that young (early to mid-twenties) males dig women in their thirties…*grins widely*