You'd Think I'd Be Happy About At Least Part of This... If This Was Your First Time Here.

The day started inauspiciously enough. It was 15° below zero and I was having my teeth cleaned ("Um, you need to brush closer to the gum line"). Then Karen to the dentist, me to the blood bank (they accept donations, but just try and make a withdrawal) Karen to the doctor, and then just a quick step across the hall to have a nurse look at the site where the tube goes into Karen's spine. The area around it was red and rashy. The nurse wanted to put some prescription salve on it, so she went and got the doctor that was in the office right then. He took one look, and then grabbed the tube like the guy with the handkerchiefs in the magic act, and just pulled and pulled and pulled it out. He was worried about infection since her allergic reaction to the tape holding the tube was so extreme. Now here's the part you'd think I'd be happy about; tomorrow they're going to reinstall it higher up her back and not use tape to hold it. Tomorow! It took three and a half months to get it scheduled last time and they can do it the next day?
We ran into a guy we know in the waiting room. He had just turned 65. He told us that now that he's being forced into Medicare he no longer has a doctor, not even if he's willing to pay for health care himself. Do you know what that means? Right now, we're getting the best medical care of our lives.