It's like that

So it's like this: the United States does not have the best health care system in the world. Unless you're willing to fork over money, hand over fist. If you're poor, they aren't lying, get sick and die. Every lie a right winger spouts about how great our health care is just goes to show they have no clue as to what people who don't have money and live paycheck to paycheck go through.

The last several months we have been going round and round with a 'clinic' in town. It's a sliding scale clinic for people who don't have insurance or aren't made of money. Now I understand, especially right now, that there is a demand for such a service and there are so many hours in the day to help people. If they actually helped people.

At the moment, my husband is in the hospital. I made him go there at 5 AM this morning after dropping me off at work 2 hours early. Seven hours later I finally heard from him. The hemoglobin counts are very low and he needs blood. They're going to do a CAT scan on him and keep him overnight at least. I can deal with that. Unfortunately, he has my bank card and I have perhaps $7 on me. That won't get me home. That probably wouldn't get me to the hospital where he is by cab. I was going to have to walk, after three hours sleep and working a 12 hour shift. That was fine, at least something was being done at last.

I say at last because it's been over 3 weeks since he was told that he was going to get a CAT scan scheduled and an appointment to see an ENT. We have yet to hear anything about that. Not one word. Last week when his day started with an extremely high fever and vomiting that continued all day and half the night, they didn't return our calls. And there were several. There was no return call from the call he had made a day before, and a day before that, and so on. They can't even bother to return a call. Why would they actually bother to schedule an appointment for someone who is showing obvious signs of a severe illness. It only took them a little over 2 weeks to tell us that they got the results of his ultrasound. And he needed a CAT scan and to see a specialist.

The thing is, he called me back when they got him in a room. Earlier, his bloodwork indicated that it probably wasn't something like lymphoma. That was a relief. Of course, that has changed after the CAT scan. They are saying it probably is and they need to do a biopsy. He's scared, I'm scared, and I'm pretty certain his 19 year old daughter is terrified. She's on her way here. My parents are asking me if I need them to come. My house is a disaster. It's a fucking nasty wreck and I told his daughter I was going to be very embarrassed when she saw the house. She doesn't care. She's even offering to help get it cleaned. This is one of my long weeks at work and I haven't had the energy to do a damn thing. Thankfully I have a very good step-daughter. She cares about her dad. We get along well. I don't think anyone could ask for anyone better in my husband's two daughters. He doesn't say it often enough probably, but they mean the world to him. I know they do. Right now, I'm glad she's gotten the day off work at the last minute and is driving from another state. I'm glad to have her. I just don't know what else to do right now.

I cannot fully express the rage I am feeling right now.