h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

(Christians: don't hate me. I'm exaggerating. I don't know if I really even *believe* in god, so please don't leave me evangelical messages. My soul is in no more danger than anyone else's. )

One week ago today, D (my fiance) fell off of a ladder. His back hurt (understandably). He took it easy all week and took medicine, but it has not gotten any better. So yesterday, I dragged him kicking and screaming (okay, grumbling and limping) to a chiropractor who xrayed his spine and revealed the horrible news.

D has a compression fracture in his lower back and another fracture in one of the many bones in the right side of his neck. While neither are life-threatening, they both have the potential to reduce his mobility and cause him lifelong pain if not treated.

The chiropractor, upon learning that we had no insurance, recommended going to a county hospital ER and requesting treatment. These facilities must provide care to people in need, regardless of their ability to pay for it.

The emergency room refused to treat him.

We've had a lot of ER and trauma center closures recently because of the way health care is handled in the US. The stress placed on these facilities by people without insurance is so great that many of them are going out of business because they lose so much money.

In the event of terrorism, we're screwed.

So last night, upon learning that D is unlikely to be working for several weeks, and paying bills with what little money I could scrounge up, I was beseiged by a major panic attack. This lasted for a couple of hours, and after I had mostly recovered, I had to spend six hours writing a 13 page paper and studying for this morning's final. The paper was due at the same time. So I got about 3.5 hours of sleep on top of the severe mental and emotional exhaustion wrought by the panic attack.

Needless to say, today has not been the best day. Well, up until I called a friend who is a chiropractor, who agreed to help D out and allow us to figure out a payment schedule after all the treatment has concluded. He's not going to charge us anything out-of-pocket until D is able to work again, and is going to help us get disability payments for the time D is unable to work.

People like this Doc re-affirm my faith in the fundamental goodness of humanity.

I hope D gets to feeling better soon.

sea, try to find a public hospital that is required to treat anyone who walks in.

Hope all goes well, Sea. I'll start praying for you ASAP.

Incidentally, you reminded me of one of my favorite C. S. Lewis quotes. "Now that I knew the gods existed...and that they hated me...it was time to walk home."

I hope D is feeling more comfortable soon and that you are feeling better too.