Thank God for modern medicine.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

(Edit: OK, maybe God's not the right person to thank when addressing this particular group of readers, but whatever...)

On wednesday evening, I noticed a sharp pain on the underside of the little toe on my right foot. Thinking it was probably just a splinter, I went to sleep, figuring I'd deal with it in the morning. Around 3:30AM I awoke to a terrible stabbing pain from the toe. I turned on the light and saw the telltale red lines of infection creeping up towards the top of my foot. By that afternoon the infection had spread like wildfire all the way up to my leg, and I was in the hospital.

Twenty-four hours and two intravenous injections of penicillin later, I'm on the mend. I have no doubt that this infection would have either killed me or at least made me very, very ill were it not for the wonderful invention of antibiotics. And I'm really fucking glad that I didn't have any quackpots trying to rub willow bark or yak droppings on it instead!

(On a related note, how awesome is the NHS? One doctor's visit, one overnighter in the hospital including visits by multiple surgeons, and three prescriptions with almost zero paperwork and without even having to take my wallet out of my pocket.)

[LeftishBrit]

1. Glad you're feeling better!

And that you got the antibiotics - but shouldn't you have tried some yak milk too???

I agree, hooray for the NHS!

[TZ]

2. Boy I am glad for you.!! You also could have lost that leg....

And having just spent the morning in the god-awful health forum reading about shakras ,the evil statins and cure autism with chelation bullshit, I am very happy to hear a rational real world story. Just for kicks you ought to consider posting your story in health so some of those nitwits can be reminded that woo is NOT harmless.
:hug:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

6. I figured you of all people should appreciate that story.

I can't read the health forum. Those people make the MIHOPers look sane.

[mr blur]

3. Hey, don't diss the Yak!

But I agree, the NHS is awesome - I owe my life, my continued well-beng and my medication to it, and it's never turned me down, let me down or asked for a penny.

[onager]

5. An American meets the Dreaded Socialized Medicine...

No, not me. Yet (whew!)

But last month, one of my American co-workers here in Egypt went to Germany on vacation. He has back problems, and in Germany he started having excruciating pain spasms in his back.

His hotel pointed him to a hospital, which was happily almost right across the street.

He couldn't believe his treatment. He saw a doctor pretty quickly. She gave him a muscle relaxant, some pain medicine, and sent him to a physical therapist down the hall.

But the price really amazed him: about U.S. $80. As a foreigner visiting the country on vacation, he couldn't believe they charged him so little.

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. wow! I'm glad you are ok.

evil pharma to the rescue !

[Anarcho-Socialist]

7. Some wonderful healthcare professionals in the NHS have saved my life before

too. Had I been born into poverty in the US and not been eligible for Medicaid, I would be dead now.

[TZ]

8. I'm glad for you... yet at the same time...infuriated....because

I have to listen to Chimpy talk about universal health care as if its teh evul!!!
:puke:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. Of course the Republicans are terrified of socialized medicine.

Everybody ends up in the hospital every now and again (or their spouse does, or their child, or parent.) And the Republicans know that as soon as people get used to the notion that they and their families are not going to be financially raped when they are ill, they will never want to go back to this half assed system we have in America today.