"You've got lung cancer, dear."
She's such a sweet lady that it was almost funny how she said it.
There was no particular emotion to it as I've known it for a long time but couldn't find a doctor anywhere who would take things seriously. It was such a hassle getting hooked-up with VA originally in Texas that I decided, fuck it, if I'm going to die then I'm going to do it in Greece. (It wasn't for Sunny as that relationship was tanked long before I got on the aircraft)
After some time in Greece, it became clear that I should at least try. There was no hope for doctoring in Greece as the nearest VA-supported doctors were in Athens, five hours away. Then I thought, hmmm, I'm UK so let's get a taste of some nationalised medicine. So began the scooter jaunt to Scotland. As I discovered there it was like taking an Alka Seltzer for a heart attack.
I was back in an Emergency Room not long after I got back to Texas and this is what got things started with VA as they decided I was high risk enough that any treatment plan had to start now. Since December they have been checking things.
There was no melodrama with Maggie as my first thought was, ok, what are next steps. Are there next steps.
The general plan is that there will be surgery to take it out and this will be followed by radiation / chemo. I will learn specifics today.
I often hear people complaining about the Affordable Care Act but my own experience is that American medical care sucked ferociously before the ACA so it couldn't possibly make things worse. As I see it in practice, it didn't. It also didn't change anything. I still do not have any medical insurance and, if not for VA, I would be dead already.
Death is easy, poverty is hard (paraphrased from Oscar Wilde)
My perspective on both is real and I don't know extreme poverty as I don't think anyone here has gone more than a couple of days or so without eating but what I've seen is close enough. Death is easy, you only have to show up ... and you will show up (laughs).
She's such a sweet lady that it was almost funny how she said it.
There was no particular emotion to it as I've known it for a long time but couldn't find a doctor anywhere who would take things seriously. It was such a hassle getting hooked-up with VA originally in Texas that I decided, fuck it, if I'm going to die then I'm going to do it in Greece. (It wasn't for Sunny as that relationship was tanked long before I got on the aircraft)
After some time in Greece, it became clear that I should at least try. There was no hope for doctoring in Greece as the nearest VA-supported doctors were in Athens, five hours away. Then I thought, hmmm, I'm UK so let's get a taste of some nationalised medicine. So began the scooter jaunt to Scotland. As I discovered there it was like taking an Alka Seltzer for a heart attack.
I was back in an Emergency Room not long after I got back to Texas and this is what got things started with VA as they decided I was high risk enough that any treatment plan had to start now. Since December they have been checking things.
There was no melodrama with Maggie as my first thought was, ok, what are next steps. Are there next steps.
The general plan is that there will be surgery to take it out and this will be followed by radiation / chemo. I will learn specifics today.
I often hear people complaining about the Affordable Care Act but my own experience is that American medical care sucked ferociously before the ACA so it couldn't possibly make things worse. As I see it in practice, it didn't. It also didn't change anything. I still do not have any medical insurance and, if not for VA, I would be dead already.
Death is easy, poverty is hard (paraphrased from Oscar Wilde)
My perspective on both is real and I don't know extreme poverty as I don't think anyone here has gone more than a couple of days or so without eating but what I've seen is close enough. Death is easy, you only have to show up ... and you will show up (laughs).
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