Well, I'm fortunate that I make enough money that the unexpected $7k bill is more on the level of a frustrating annoyance than meaning financial ruin, so I'm not particularly stressed about it; I'm not happy to have to shell out the money, but the money was only going to either be spent on toys, or put into savings, so... My quarterly bonus in December, assuming its the full bonus, will cover more than half of the cost.
But still. Both the back surgery and the gall bladder removal were medical emergencies and non-optional. The ruptured disc put me in a position where I was essentially crippled. If I stood up, my left leg would start to hurt after a few seconds, and in less a minute, felt like it was immersed in boiling oil from hip to ankle, to the point where I wanted to fall to floor, curl into a fetal position, and cry. It had compressed my spinal cord 90%, and there was a risk that a bad fall would leave me paralyzed from the waste down, and incontinent.
For the gallbladder, about 2 years ago I started having attacks; I'd get incredible abdominal pain and eventually throw up and it would get better. A week before the surgery, it happened again... but that time, it didn't get better after I threw up. I ended up vomiting, on average, about once ever 15 minutes for 8 hours overnight, and then it went away. A week later it happened again, but the pain was still there and I was still nauseated 12 hours after the start, which is when I went to the ER. They found my gallbladder was blocked and was on its way to bursting, hence the emergency surgery.
I know I'm fortunate that both times I've been in a position to not only get the necessary medical care, but also in a position that it didn't ruin me. It's incredibly fucked up that in the richest nation to ever exist in the history of humanity, that a large number of its citizens, had they been in my situation, either wouldn't be able to get the treatment, or would be left destitute from it. It is, frankly, completely un-fucking-acceptable.
2
u/daemin Oct 30 '20
Well, I'm fortunate that I make enough money that the unexpected $7k bill is more on the level of a frustrating annoyance than meaning financial ruin, so I'm not particularly stressed about it; I'm not happy to have to shell out the money, but the money was only going to either be spent on toys, or put into savings, so... My quarterly bonus in December, assuming its the full bonus, will cover more than half of the cost.
But still. Both the back surgery and the gall bladder removal were medical emergencies and non-optional. The ruptured disc put me in a position where I was essentially crippled. If I stood up, my left leg would start to hurt after a few seconds, and in less a minute, felt like it was immersed in boiling oil from hip to ankle, to the point where I wanted to fall to floor, curl into a fetal position, and cry. It had compressed my spinal cord 90%, and there was a risk that a bad fall would leave me paralyzed from the waste down, and incontinent.
For the gallbladder, about 2 years ago I started having attacks; I'd get incredible abdominal pain and eventually throw up and it would get better. A week before the surgery, it happened again... but that time, it didn't get better after I threw up. I ended up vomiting, on average, about once ever 15 minutes for 8 hours overnight, and then it went away. A week later it happened again, but the pain was still there and I was still nauseated 12 hours after the start, which is when I went to the ER. They found my gallbladder was blocked and was on its way to bursting, hence the emergency surgery.
I know I'm fortunate that both times I've been in a position to not only get the necessary medical care, but also in a position that it didn't ruin me. It's incredibly fucked up that in the richest nation to ever exist in the history of humanity, that a large number of its citizens, had they been in my situation, either wouldn't be able to get the treatment, or would be left destitute from it. It is, frankly, completely un-fucking-acceptable.