Sunday, November 1, 2009
To care or not to care......
This past week was a bumpy one and it was health related. I have been following the political issues of health care closely because it's important to me.
I always do all the medical stuff in my life in August. Firstly, it helps me remember to do it and secondly, it's a slow month for me at work. Our busiest time begins in January with a bump in March when The One Show (www.oneshow.org) judges entries and another in May when it all culminates with One Show Festival Week in New York City.
This year I had two issues. My Dr. saw some extra beats with my stress test and wanted to do a nuclear stress test and my gyno wanted to do another test to rule out uterine cancer because she was diagnosed with it this year and it surprised her. I thought to myself, well damn if my doctor can get surprised with it, so can I.
All this is normal for most people. One goes to the Dr for checkups and if something is out of line, they check it out. But unfortunately I'm not most people. I have a phobia of all things medical. I have always been fearful that this phobia would kill me because I would be too afraid to make sure I got the medical care I needed to find out something was wrong in time to save my life.
I am so proud of myself that for the last few years, I have been seeing a doctor regularly but that has not always been the case. The last 10 years I was in Beaumont, Texas before I left for New York City I was without insurance. I remember the fear that something would happen before I was able to be insured. My friendship with Dr. Mark Wilson was helpful since he was a good friend and could take care of the small things but if anything big had been discovered, not only would it be completely out of my ability to pay for it, that discovery would establish a pre-existing condition that would prevent any future insurance from having to pay for it. The result was, I didn't get tested for anything. No mamo's, no pap tests nothing that could brand me later.
When I finally did become employed with a company that had health benefits, I had a growth the size of my fist on one of my ovaries. I dodged that bullet as it was just a dermoid cyst but that experience helped me understand that I had to do my part in managing my health care. I'm married again, so at least I have that little plus that as long as ONE of us is working, we can stay healthy.
Is this right? I can't help but compare my own experience to the current debate going on about our healthcare system. I'm married to a Brazilian and they have social medicine. I have French friends where the healthcare system continues to stay in the forefront of medical research. I think about the "public option" as so many oppose it and think to myself, "how can I oppose that after my own experiences came so close to disaster?"
I can't. I have to care about others..... it's who I am.
I always do all the medical stuff in my life in August. Firstly, it helps me remember to do it and secondly, it's a slow month for me at work. Our busiest time begins in January with a bump in March when The One Show (www.oneshow.org) judges entries and another in May when it all culminates with One Show Festival Week in New York City.
This year I had two issues. My Dr. saw some extra beats with my stress test and wanted to do a nuclear stress test and my gyno wanted to do another test to rule out uterine cancer because she was diagnosed with it this year and it surprised her. I thought to myself, well damn if my doctor can get surprised with it, so can I.
All this is normal for most people. One goes to the Dr for checkups and if something is out of line, they check it out. But unfortunately I'm not most people. I have a phobia of all things medical. I have always been fearful that this phobia would kill me because I would be too afraid to make sure I got the medical care I needed to find out something was wrong in time to save my life.
I am so proud of myself that for the last few years, I have been seeing a doctor regularly but that has not always been the case. The last 10 years I was in Beaumont, Texas before I left for New York City I was without insurance. I remember the fear that something would happen before I was able to be insured. My friendship with Dr. Mark Wilson was helpful since he was a good friend and could take care of the small things but if anything big had been discovered, not only would it be completely out of my ability to pay for it, that discovery would establish a pre-existing condition that would prevent any future insurance from having to pay for it. The result was, I didn't get tested for anything. No mamo's, no pap tests nothing that could brand me later.
When I finally did become employed with a company that had health benefits, I had a growth the size of my fist on one of my ovaries. I dodged that bullet as it was just a dermoid cyst but that experience helped me understand that I had to do my part in managing my health care. I'm married again, so at least I have that little plus that as long as ONE of us is working, we can stay healthy.
Is this right? I can't help but compare my own experience to the current debate going on about our healthcare system. I'm married to a Brazilian and they have social medicine. I have French friends where the healthcare system continues to stay in the forefront of medical research. I think about the "public option" as so many oppose it and think to myself, "how can I oppose that after my own experiences came so close to disaster?"
I can't. I have to care about others..... it's who I am.
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