Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Hernia


You know how DH stands for Darling Husband? From this point on, I'll be referring to mine as HB (Hernia Boy). Yes, the rumours are true; he has a hernia. And this leads us to the "s" word. Surgery. Which leads us to my personal soapbox. The appalling state of health care in this country.

As I posted before, Child #3 recently had a trip to the ER for a bee sting. He was there less than 3 hous. And the bill to our insurance was....$3000.00! That's over $1000.00 an hour. Does anyone else find this a little pricey? As in a lot pricey? Someone must put a stop to this.

And that someone is me.

I will be performing HB's hernia surgery in the privacy of our kitchen. I figure I have a level table, a decent set of steak knives and a basic knowledge of anatomy. Granted I'm trained as a speech pathologist, so I'm more familiar with higher-up anatomy (as in the mouth and throat). Still, these areas are less than two feet away from the target. Additional qualifications include a box of dispoable gloves from Costco, the entire second season of Grey's Anatomy on DVD and a travel sewing kit.

Also, I found a very interesting website with a picture of a naked man. You click on the location of the hernia, and you're given its correct name. This goes to my willingness to learn. I'm also willing to videotape the procedure, free of charge, and make it available on YouTube.

What is HB's opinion of his upcoming surgery? Oh, I think you can guess.

6 comments:

  1. A $3000 bee sting! Yikes. Was it at least a big bee?

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  2. Good luck to you and HB with the surgery ;-)

    I think you should move back to Canada. Lie to him about the winters. Here you may still have waited 3 hours in the emergency room, but you wouldn't have received a bill.

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  3. Hi PJ! Well, it certainly wasn't $3000.00 worth of large!

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  4. Maureen--good plan! Until it snows, that is. :)

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  5. Well there is no doubt the medical industry is cashing in on all of us, along with the pharmacies and insurance companies. As far as the surgery goes, if HB has any questions about how he is going to feel afterwards, have him give me a call. He won't be able to help much with the kids or the house for one or two years afterwards, until he fully recovers, but that is standard for this type of surgery.

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  6. Hi Joe! I'm assuming you'll fill in with driving kids, helping with homework and housework while HB convalesces. Thank you in advance... ha!

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Comments are always welcome!