Fighting a Cold

I've been fighting a cold and flu-like symptoms for the last couple of days. I hate being sick. The weather has been great and I can't see missing it by staying in bed all day. I've not been sick, really sick, in years. This is probably the worst cold I've had since I left Texas back in the summer of 2007. I bought some NyQuil, however, so tonight at least I'll get some rest.

A person really can't afford to get sick. The cost of health care is so ridiculous it hardly seems worth debating. I had a tooth ache on Memorial Day weekend last year while I was in Las Vegas. I visited a local emergency room on Saturday, realizing that the pain was too severe for me to last until Tuesday when a dentist office would reopen after the three-day holiday. I had lost one night's sleep and tried some over-the-counter pain medication, but it was obvious I needed a dentist. No offices were open of course, so I ran into a hospital for some pain pills so I could at least sleep for a couple of days.

After a round of required handshakes from nurses and the attending doctors, I was subjected to some tests...evidently required before any pills are given out. Hear the cash register "ca-ching." The attending doctor visited with me for all of 5 mintues ("ca-ching", "ca-ching") and finally wrote me out a prescription for some pain medication. The final bill? Well...I paid them immediately $375 before walking out the door. Then about two months later I received a bill for the lab tests: $1695. Ca-ching.

I made it to the dentist on Tuesday and had the tooth pulled for $275. Adding it all up, it appears my tooth ache on Memorial Day weekend last year cost me a total of $2,345.