- Joined
- Jun 16, 2021
- Location
- Spain
I know it's the other end of the world for you guys, but please, bear with me.
Usually, our public health system gets hammered, due to the very long waiting lists for virtually everything. For instance, the case that's closer to me, a colonoscopy, if you go to your GP and he decides you need one, you can expect to wait anywhere between six to nine months. Fortunately, I also have a private insurance, so that meant that I had to wait maybe a couple of weeks for the specialist to see me, and probably less than ninety days to get scheduled for a colonoscopy.
Thank God for that. Had I went the public way, the malignant tumor they found would've been significantly larger and worse.
As it stood at the time, after the operation and the subsequent adjuvant chemo treatments, there was absolutely no need to hurry. I was cured.
Fast forward one and a half years, give or take, and cancer had made a triunfal return. This time, the treatment I needed wasn't covered by my insurance, so I was referred to the public health system.
They scheduled me for an appointment the following week. A month after that I started treatment.
Long story short, two lines of treatment after that I've got nothing to show for it. This is why I am expecting a call this next Tuesday, where I will be told, hopefully, that they have found a clinical trial for me.
In any case, today, after two days of having some very weird symptoms, I decided to visit the ER. I wasn't (extremely) worried that it might be something cancer related, but I did worry it might be pneumonia or who the hell knows. In any case, not something you want to delay getting treatment for when you're due to get serious about shit.
Bank holiday today, Spain's national day. We were out for a picnic day with the little one, my brother-in-law, his wife and our nephew.
At one point I said to my wife we need to go to the ER, organised everything so our daughter could sleep with them without suspecting what was actually going on. She knows I am ill, but she's six, so we limit how much she knows, and I was certainly not about to fuck her entire day up.
On the way to the car I absolutely broke down, I could not believe I was being forced out of this gorgeous, gorgeous day, with our familiy, out of precaution due to my ongoing situation.
I am getting to the end of it. We got to the hospital. Tons of people waiting. I got called instantly for triage, which is normal. The not-so-normal bit started when I had barely put my bottom on the chair, I got called again.
The doctor told me straight away: I've got some fifteen people ahead of you, but I've had a look at your medical history, and I know that if you are here, something must have worried you, so here we are: what can I do for you?
Despite him being convinced what I had wasn't remotely serious, and certainly not cancer related, he got my torax x-rayed (to rule out pneumonia or other stuff, in an area where my illness has aquired it's third holIday residence), blood test, ECG, COVID test, just because of my situation.
I got jumped to the front of the line and they made bloody sure I wasn't leaving until they were bloody sure of everything.
I couldn't be any more grateful. Also, it isn't serious. They couldn't pinpoint rhe exact source of the (suspected) small infection I might have, or not, but they've ruled out anything serious, which works for me.
We have a great public service. Can it be improved? Everything can, and should, and this is no exception, but even so, I feel very, very well looked after.
Let's wait for the news on Tuesday.
Usually, our public health system gets hammered, due to the very long waiting lists for virtually everything. For instance, the case that's closer to me, a colonoscopy, if you go to your GP and he decides you need one, you can expect to wait anywhere between six to nine months. Fortunately, I also have a private insurance, so that meant that I had to wait maybe a couple of weeks for the specialist to see me, and probably less than ninety days to get scheduled for a colonoscopy.
Thank God for that. Had I went the public way, the malignant tumor they found would've been significantly larger and worse.
As it stood at the time, after the operation and the subsequent adjuvant chemo treatments, there was absolutely no need to hurry. I was cured.
Fast forward one and a half years, give or take, and cancer had made a triunfal return. This time, the treatment I needed wasn't covered by my insurance, so I was referred to the public health system.
They scheduled me for an appointment the following week. A month after that I started treatment.
Long story short, two lines of treatment after that I've got nothing to show for it. This is why I am expecting a call this next Tuesday, where I will be told, hopefully, that they have found a clinical trial for me.
In any case, today, after two days of having some very weird symptoms, I decided to visit the ER. I wasn't (extremely) worried that it might be something cancer related, but I did worry it might be pneumonia or who the hell knows. In any case, not something you want to delay getting treatment for when you're due to get serious about shit.
Bank holiday today, Spain's national day. We were out for a picnic day with the little one, my brother-in-law, his wife and our nephew.
At one point I said to my wife we need to go to the ER, organised everything so our daughter could sleep with them without suspecting what was actually going on. She knows I am ill, but she's six, so we limit how much she knows, and I was certainly not about to fuck her entire day up.
On the way to the car I absolutely broke down, I could not believe I was being forced out of this gorgeous, gorgeous day, with our familiy, out of precaution due to my ongoing situation.
I am getting to the end of it. We got to the hospital. Tons of people waiting. I got called instantly for triage, which is normal. The not-so-normal bit started when I had barely put my bottom on the chair, I got called again.
The doctor told me straight away: I've got some fifteen people ahead of you, but I've had a look at your medical history, and I know that if you are here, something must have worried you, so here we are: what can I do for you?
Despite him being convinced what I had wasn't remotely serious, and certainly not cancer related, he got my torax x-rayed (to rule out pneumonia or other stuff, in an area where my illness has aquired it's third holIday residence), blood test, ECG, COVID test, just because of my situation.
I got jumped to the front of the line and they made bloody sure I wasn't leaving until they were bloody sure of everything.
I couldn't be any more grateful. Also, it isn't serious. They couldn't pinpoint rhe exact source of the (suspected) small infection I might have, or not, but they've ruled out anything serious, which works for me.
We have a great public service. Can it be improved? Everything can, and should, and this is no exception, but even so, I feel very, very well looked after.
Let's wait for the news on Tuesday.
