If you've been reading here, you know that I stubbed my toe very badly last Friday night. By Sunday, I was willing to concede that it could possibly be broken. I took it easy yesterday, and kept it elevated as much as possible, but, today I had to go to work. I was on my feet for an hour or so, ironing. During that hour, my foot swelled up and got hot and began to throb. I began to notice a sharp pain on the underside of my toe. I took a look at it, and the red colour at the base of the nail was extending towards the knuckle, in a thin line, and the entire toe was swollen and slightly discoloured.
I've seen that red line before, but only from an open wound. In that instance, it meant blood poisoning, and required care, STAT. It happened a few years ago. I poured alcohol onto the cut until it cleared up.
But, today, I got to worrying. What if my toe IS broken, and a bone splinter is working its way to the surface? My medical knowledge is extremely limited, and gleaned from my mother who was a nurse in the 1930s. She referred to schizophrenia as "dementia praecox," so that's how long ago that was...
The bottom line is that I have been worried ever since Friday, and losing sleep over this. I am edgy and nervous, and the whole thing could be cured with one visit to a doctor and an Xray. Which I can't afford. Because I have no insurance.
I have to wonder if lack of medical insurance might be a contributor to many of the ills of our society, such as rudeness, impatience, road rage, assault...sleep deprivation and worry cause all sorts of problems. How many people are walking around with some minor medical problem that they can't afford to have treated? Thousands? Millions?
...And nobody cares.
Honey, the way things are goin', we'll be performing elective surgery on each other on the dining room table, with our stainless steel forks and knives, using Lancer's as anesthetic, Honest-to-God. My father's from Germany, came over when a kid, he's got lots of cousins over there- they think we are crazy.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that's happened over all this- I've been a registered Ind. lo, these many years (used to be Repugnant), and I've decided to sign up as a Dem. because I am so disgusted by the fruitloop Repubs. here in SC.
BTW, do you have a Catholic hospital near by? Ours forgave a debt when my hubby suffered a seizure (his doc prescribed a really "bad" drug for him- hubby had survived a brain aneurysm and his brain is all messed up), and he had 2 hospitalizations (overnight stays) in a 1 month period (he kept seizing- as soon as he was off the drug they stopped), when I was between jobs and had no insurance. We paid off as much as we could but almost went into foreclosure. I've been there- take care of it, Ronni, because this could get really, really bad. I mean that seriously- you could really lose a foot.
ReplyDeleteWe have several that are ostensibly run by the Sisters of Charity, but I think their connection with the church is tenuous at best, any more...
ReplyDeleteI may go to our local charity medical clinic...I qualify for a "discount." Payday is on Thursday. If it doesn't look better by then, I'll go.
I'm sorry you and your husband had to go through that...
ReplyDeleteRonni - please get that treated. There are some things that must be attended to even if the money is not there.
ReplyDeleteBTW your country is a disgrace that it will not provide affordable health care for hard working people like you.
Amen, Nelly.
ReplyDeleteThe rabid right has always resented the middle class (which has existed only since the New Deal), and is still trying to eliminate it.
Know what? I've just decided to start calling us and our like-minded fellow citizens the "New Silent Majority"- because that is exactly what we are: New (swung the other way), the Majority (look at the stats on this issue), and too-often Silent.
ReplyDelete