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masterofmidgetsThings I haven't missed about being back in this state:
What are afternoons spent making awkward conversation around a hospital bed.
Nothing earth-shattering or life-threatening, so it seems, just the diuretic medication my grandfather is on for the fluid around his lungs being too strong and overtaxing his already low-functioning kidneys, leading to extreme pain for him and an evening in the ER for all of us. But the pain is under control, and the edema, and the medication will be adjusted, and another crisis is averted. I'd forgotten in the last several months how exhausting this is, that's all.
I can't imagine how much worse this would be if my grandfather didn't have veteran's insurance from his time in the air force. My family doesn't have to worry about the cost of the half-dozen medications he's on, or the hospital bed, or the surgeries. Every time she's concerned about how he's doing my grandma can take him to the emergency room without being afraid of getting the bill. The last five years alone would probably have been enough to bankrupt them if they hadn't had this insurance, let alone the twenty five years before it of heart attacks, bypass surgeries, knee replacements - you name it, they've opened it up and fiddled around. It terrifies me to think of the same thing happening to my parents, both of whom are self-employed and neither of whom have insurance, or access to it.
My grandmother has been a Republican for 60 years, and she told me today that she is leaving the party and registering as an independent because she is so disgusted by what they did over health care reform. My aunt, who is one of the most deeply Texan people I know and a strong believer that everyone should be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps if they try hard enough, spent Sunday afternoon yelling at Republican congressmen on CSPAN with me and my dad, furious that they would try to stop this legislation. My mom couldn't even watch; too much was depending on it for her and her boyfriend, who has multiple chronic and untreated health conditions.
If you think health care in this country didn't need to be fixed, you can ask me about my parents, and if you think the government can't run an insurance plan, you can ask me about my grandparents. This bill is screwed up in a lot of ways, and if I was in charge of congress it would go a hell of a lot further, but god fucking damnit, it is a start, and it will help people I know and care about, and that is a good thing.
I didn't really mean this to be a political post, but it's been a long damn day.
What are afternoons spent making awkward conversation around a hospital bed.
Nothing earth-shattering or life-threatening, so it seems, just the diuretic medication my grandfather is on for the fluid around his lungs being too strong and overtaxing his already low-functioning kidneys, leading to extreme pain for him and an evening in the ER for all of us. But the pain is under control, and the edema, and the medication will be adjusted, and another crisis is averted. I'd forgotten in the last several months how exhausting this is, that's all.
I can't imagine how much worse this would be if my grandfather didn't have veteran's insurance from his time in the air force. My family doesn't have to worry about the cost of the half-dozen medications he's on, or the hospital bed, or the surgeries. Every time she's concerned about how he's doing my grandma can take him to the emergency room without being afraid of getting the bill. The last five years alone would probably have been enough to bankrupt them if they hadn't had this insurance, let alone the twenty five years before it of heart attacks, bypass surgeries, knee replacements - you name it, they've opened it up and fiddled around. It terrifies me to think of the same thing happening to my parents, both of whom are self-employed and neither of whom have insurance, or access to it.
My grandmother has been a Republican for 60 years, and she told me today that she is leaving the party and registering as an independent because she is so disgusted by what they did over health care reform. My aunt, who is one of the most deeply Texan people I know and a strong believer that everyone should be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps if they try hard enough, spent Sunday afternoon yelling at Republican congressmen on CSPAN with me and my dad, furious that they would try to stop this legislation. My mom couldn't even watch; too much was depending on it for her and her boyfriend, who has multiple chronic and untreated health conditions.
If you think health care in this country didn't need to be fixed, you can ask me about my parents, and if you think the government can't run an insurance plan, you can ask me about my grandparents. This bill is screwed up in a lot of ways, and if I was in charge of congress it would go a hell of a lot further, but god fucking damnit, it is a start, and it will help people I know and care about, and that is a good thing.
I didn't really mean this to be a political post, but it's been a long damn day.