Finances

Well said Jacee, we are quick to moan about the NHS but when you read about how others are suffering because they cannot afford treatment or medication, it makes you realise how lucky we are.

Tessa

Well said Jacee, we are quick to moan about the NHS but when you read about how others are suffering because they cannot afford treatment or medication, it makes you realise how lucky we are.

Tessa

I lived in San Antonio, Texas for a number of years so have experienced health care on both sides of the pond. My husband was against us having any health insurance (he was a Brit, as am I) as a matter of principle. I agreed in principle too, though we could easily have afforded it. My main worry was if my daughter ever got ill, but he assured me that if any of us were seriously ill he would bring us home to England (which is what we would have wanted regardless of healthcare systems, as we would have wanted to be home with family and friends). Minor ailments were not a problem anyway - we would 'pay cash' . My husbands business was thriving, life was sunny and I spent most of my day in our swimming pool with my little girl.

Medical bills over there are quite an eye opener. Each service, each item, is accounted for and charged -and boy do they know how to make a profit! They don't just bill you for things like consultations, drugs, surgical procedure, bedlinen/laundry, meals, but there are lists of things like ' two cotton buds' - charged at a dollar, 1 crepe bandage 10 dollars, 4 aspirins, two dollars, and so on.

When I first shopped at a chemists I had been surprised to see the amount of things on the shelves that you wouldn't normally see here - enema kits and all sorts! Over time I realized that folks - even with insurance - usually take plenty of cotton buds, cotton wool, pain killers, and yes , even enema kits of their own into hospital with them, to try and keep costs down as they are otherwise charged for at exorbitant rates.

I recently read a posting on an American site where they were discussing their annoyance with GP's who charge for the finger pulse oxymeter reading they do!

My husband, Colin, started feeling tired all the time and at first put it down to middle age. Then he suddenly became very weak and his breathing became laboured. He was rushed into hospital where all sorts of tests were ran. Most of the time he was barely conscious.

He had actually been feeling ill for longer than he had let on, but he hadn't wanted to 'waste' huge amounts of money on hospitals and tests. He had decided that he would ignore his symptoms for a while, and if it became serious he would have sold up the business, and come home for treatment to where all his relatives and our eldest son was. So now the plan was for the hospital to get him well enough to fly home.

Over the next few weeks things got steadily worse. He had a serious lung disease that had laid dormant since his time in the Royal Navy in the engine rooms of submarines. Next he developed Leukemia and finally he had Liver failure.

Colin never made it home to his beloved Cornwall. By the time he died all his hard earned money had been spent on medical bills. His two best friends paid for his cremation. There was no money for a funeral, but something much nicer happened. All his friends from the 'British Sporting Club'' and his American friends from his bagpipe band held a day to honour him. His favourite restaurant closed to the public and every one brought a different dish of something special to share. Our son was seated on a large chair at the head of the room and throughout the day people came and told him their fondest and funniest memories of his father - you see, he hadn't been able to say his good bye as he was half way over the Atlantic on his way when his dad had passed.

Colin was not a smoker, he was strong and muscular and seemed to have a fine pair of lungs what with all the bag piping he did. He used to get furious with me for smoking and warn me that it could kill me one day.

I was stubborn and determined to smoke if I wanted to. It wasn't for him to tell me what I could and couldn't do. When I found out that he had known for years that his lungs might kill him (the navy had apparently offered to run tests years ago and he had declined, not wanting to know)

I felt terrible for smoking around him.

Anyhow, there you are. T

Vanessa,

That is such a sad story. The trials you have been through, but you are so right. I don't know what would have become of me if I had to pay for the hospital admissions, proceedures and medications.

One only hears the bad stories of about the NHS but the good ones never make print.

That was a great post Vanessa.

Take care

Tessa