Every time I go to the hospital, I`m reminded how much I like living in a place with good universal healthcare. I mean, sure, the facilities are a bit lacking in places, and OMG those poor nurses, but if I lived in the US, we couldn`t have afforded that. Today`s trip cost me nothing extra and involved no insurance paperwork. I hate the insurance companies. We`re fighting with them all the time to cover the compounded meds that the kids get. The runaround they give us is impressive and disgusting. They lie, they obfuscate, they delay. It`s a nightmare. If we had to deal with that shit for every test, every appointment, every specialist, I`d go postal.
Crackle`s test went really well. He was such a good little boy for me. Such a proud Mama I was. Thank you all for the kind thoughts. We`ve got a followup appointment with the neurologist next Friday. Of course they can`t tell you anything at the test itself, but I`ve found that if you butter up the nurses a bit, they give you some clues. While Crackle slept, I crocheted a potholder and gave it to the nurse (who was awesome and totally deserved a better treat than that). What that lead to was her saying, "I think it was a very good thing that you got this test done. Very good." And then a meaningful look. A few minutes later, "Call the doc and get a followup. Immediately." Uhm... Okay... So I told her that they said they`d call and book a follow up once they got the test interpreted. She said, "Yeah, that`s okay, but ... you just give them a call. You`ll get in sooner that way." So that fills me with dread and hope all at the same time. Weird, eh? Mostly, I`m just hoping it`s something that can be medicated and that he`ll make some progress.
Speaking of specialists, after this neuro, the next big one is a geneticist specializing in mitochondrial disorders. She`s at BC Children`s Hospital, so we get to take a trip over to the mainland. I was a little choked about that cost (the ferry for all of us will be about $65, I think, each way) but I found out that that`s covered too. I just had to fill out a form, call an automated system and get a number from it. We give that to BC Ferries, and they waive the fee. That`s kinda awesome.
So yeah. As much as I cannot deal with a lot of what`s going on in politics, I`m awfully glad to have our medical system. And it`s why I am so anti-conservative. They`d take all that away if they could. They`d have me dealing with the insurance company. If MrFCS could keep his government job. If not, too fucking bad, I guess. They`re truly heartless bastards.
Also? I think the father of Snap, Crackle, and Pop needs a better name. I`m kind of thinking Tony the Tiger. Hahahaha. Or maybe Lucky, the leprechaun from the Lucky Charms box. I'll think about it.
*It took me 15 mins to think of that post title. yes, I am that bad at thinking up titles.
