Updates -- Health

Hopefully, my foot injury is still healing. I loved all the kind words and advice I got from you all on Friday.
On Saturday, I walked a third of a mile before running two miles then walking again at the end. I think walking first helped.
I stopped and bought new shoes on Sunday, getting the exact same kind I had before. I didn't want to try anything new because I was happy with the previous pair and had just worn them out.
New shoes on my feet, on Monday, I walked and ran again. Plus, I took Sally's advice and found a yoga video online to do afterwards.

This morning, after walking at the beginning, I ran three miles without pain. Then I stretched with the yoga video. 

I'm not going to try to increase my mileage for a couple of weeks. I'm just going to run three miles on four or five days a week and keep track of my pain. Yes, my foot hurts  now as I move around the house doing laundry and vacuuming, (it's my day off) but I didn't have pain while I ran. That's an improvement in my book. 

It's probably hard for people in other countries to imagine why I wouldn't go to the doctor after a month of pain and inability to run, but those people probably aren't dealing with the U.S. health system. Unfortunately, it's gotten worse since the expansion of health care.

I am definitely in favor of health care for all and would prefer a single-payer method, similar to that in Europe. Maybe our health care here is only going to get worse before it gets better.

We've always had health care through my husband's insurance. It's something over $100 per week that they take from his paycheck to cover the five of us in our family. 

For a normal doctor appointment, we pay a $25 co-pay, which seems reasonable. 

If we want to go to a specialist, the co-pay is $40. 

We also have a medical spending account that sets aside $2500 per year to pay those co-pays, prescriptions, and other medical expenses. With five people, that money goes surprisingly fast. We've used it to pay for contact lens and dental work plus two surprise costs. 

My husband had a colonoscopy, which is supposed to be no cost since it is considered a screening. But they found a non-cancerous polyp and removed it during the procedure. That meant it was no longer a screening and we had to pay $600 for it. 

Grace's voice teacher was worried about her vocal cords. She wondered if she might have a nodule or if the cords hadn't grown together yet, as they do in the early 20s. Grace made an appointment with an ear, nose and throat specialist.

We paid the $40 co-pay for the specialist, and Grace spent about 10 minutes with the doctor who said Grace's vocal cords looked okay. She used a camera on the end of a wand to stick in Grace's mouth and get a picture of the vocal cords. 

We were really surprised when the bill for the doctor and the facility (which was a typical doctor's office) arrived. Our part was $650. Those two surprise costs ate up half of the money we had set aside for the year. 

Tucker also needs his wisdom teeth out this year, which I think runs around $900 for us. So medical costs really add up.

With an injury, I could go to the doctor, which would probably lead to physical therapy, but I can't really afford it. That's why I self-diagnosed. 

No matter what the doctor diagnosed, I figured rest would be the main treatment. 

I've had stress fractures before and they told me to rest it for six weeks. I've also been doing stretches in case it might be plantar fasciitis or an Achilles tendon.

I try not to turn down the kids when they feel like they need to go to the doctor, but I'm definitely more cautious for myself. The cost just makes it not worth the trip. 

Jesus and Democracy

Our government provides a lot of great benefits. I have convenient and safe roads to drive, and, although they are currently pock marked from the snow and salt, they will be dutifully patched when the weather clears. I can walk into the library and leave with more books than I can carry. On the mornings when I run, I see police officers patrolling in their cars to make sure I'm unmolested. My husband can ride the bus to work in the worst snowstorm. Our government helps sponsor medical research to try to cure diseases and it prevents foreign countries from invading. The politicians may make some crazy laws, but overall, the government is coming through for me. That's why I don't mind paying taxes.
Some people need extra help from the government. They don't have health care; they don't have a place to live; they don't have food to feed their children.
Then the question is, should the government help these people?
That's where Jesus comes in. For those who are Christians, Jesus told us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked.
The argument then is that individual people should take care of those duties, not the government. People pay tithes to their churches so they don't have to think about the poor. But mostly, the churches construct bigger buildings and buy the pastors Cadillacs.
Many Christians say the churches and charities are responsible for the needy.
But, wait. This is a democracy.
We are the government. Every single one of us.
In a democracy, where the majority religion is Christianity, shouldn't there be more support for programs that take care of the poor?
Yes, people should work; true, they shouldn't have children if they can't feed them. But our job is not to judge them. Jesus did not list that as one of the many things we should do for the poor: Feed them, clothe them, lecture them about having children and getting jobs. He admonished us to feed them and clothe them and comfort them.
Unless, as Stephen Colbert said, we just choose to ignore what Jesus said because we are really more interested in our money and our things.
I'm just saying: Jesus lived in a dictatorship, not a democracy.

Time to Yell "Yopp!" on Health Care

This morning, a little later than I should have, I sent emails to the two senators and one representative who speak for me in Washington, D.C. I'm not sure why I waited so long, but I've had some time to let the ideas percolate.
I think health care in the U.S. definitely needs fixing. We pay about $64 a week for insurance through my husband's work. I know that isn't much compared to people who have to get their own insurance. But we also have about $4000 taken out every year and put into a medical savings account. Total, we pay about $7300 and we usually run out of that money in our medical savings account so we end up paying more. It just depends how many bones our children break, who needs braces, and who has physical therapy. And we're a healthy family. We have no chronic illnesses.
I hate watching the party that is currently in control in the government (democrats) wimp out. It's like they get to Washington and can't remember the people they left behind. They're so intrigued by the big parties and worried about getting re-elected, they become hypnotized by big business.
So, here's the message I sent:
"I am for a public option. Healthcare needs to be turned around for everyone. We have good healthcare through my husband's job but we still end up paying an exorbitant amount. Please think about the people you are representing and stand up for them rather than the insurance companies.
Think about how companies in other countries with socialized medicine benefit from not having to pay healthcare for their workers.If we had something similar, this could help boost our economy as well.
We have traveled in Europe and seen how well their healthcare is run. A trip to the emergency room with my son in Italy cost 75 euro. I laughed when they asked if we wanted them to bill our insurance.
We aren't scared of the word socialism. We have "socialist" roads and highways that everyone can use. We have "socialist" schools that everyone can attend equally. Don't be afraid of labels, just do the right thing for the people you represent."
I'm not sure if my message will make a difference, but I know I can't make a difference if I don't send it.
When I talk politics and health care with people, I usually reference a woman who is on a writer's email group with me. Someone posted a fund raiser for an American woman who had breast cancer. They were trying to raise money for her treatment.
Another woman on the list who was American but lives in Italy now, responded that she had survived breast cancer. She said that while she was sick, she was able to focus on getting better rather than raising funds, because the treatment was paid for in Italy. She said she couldn't imagine having the added stress of worrying about how to pay the bills and whether she might bankrupt her familiy.
That really struck me. How different would an illness be if the focus was on recovering rather than worrying about the payments?
Let's go, Americans. We need health care reform. Like the Dr. Seuss story Horton Hears A Who, it is time for all of us to gather together and yell, "YOPP!" so they hear us, they know that we are here. If you remember the story, Horton the elephant was trying to save a small speck of dust that had a whole world on it, but the other animals couldn't hear the people who lived on the speck of dust. They all needed to yell out to be heard. So, the mayor:
"just as he felt he was getting nowhere,
And almost about to give up in despair,
He suddenly burst through a door and that Mayor
Discovered one shirker! Quite hidden away
In the Fairfax Apartments (Apartment 12-J)
A very small, very small shirker named Jo-Jo
was standing, just standing, and bouncing a Yo-Yo!
Not making a sound! Not a yipp! Not a chirp!"
Don't be Jo-Jo! Don't be a shirker! Don't let health care fail because you refuse to yell louder than the right wing.
Push your representatives to pass health care with a public option. Now is the time.