I went to the doctor on Friday for some low back pain I've been having. It seems to be related to the hip injury I had back in 1991. The initial thinking is that I've compensated by shifting my weight to the left side and now my left lower back hurts.
I had PT for the hip at the beginning of the year, as it had gotten stiff and hurt sometimes when I walked. It's good. It feels pretty darn good. But my back is getting worse, and it's aggravated by standing, so it needs to be looked at.
So I went to the doctor, and they recommend starting with an x-ray. I go over to the imaging center, and the sign says, "Please have your I.D. and your insurance card ready to hand to the receptionist". I have these things, so it's not a problem for me, but it got me thinking about the health care debate and that there are plenty of people who would not, could not go to the doctor to get themselves checked out because they simply couldn't afford it.
I feel guilty for having coverage and not doing anything about other people not having it.
It's too soon to know what the x-ray will show, and I have to admit that there's always a fear (always) that there's a big old tumor back there that only feels like back pain and off we'll go on it being Linda's turn to die young. I know, I'm getting ahead of myself. This class thing has been stressful, and I know that I don't want more stress in my life. I'm all about the balance stuff. On the flip side, it's been nice to put some money into savings.
When I saw the title in my reader preview, I thought it said, "quilt."
ReplyDeleteI love the (intentional?) play on words in your last paragraph with the word "class." I thought at first that you were struggling with the social class gap between those with health insurance and those without, which I get. Then I wondered if you were referring to the class you're teaching that throws your balance out the window.
Great post! Keep me posted on your hip injury.
It's the latter. Re: social class - that's true, too (there's enough guilt to go around, apparently), although it seems askew because if you are poor enough, you can get health care. It's the people that are somewhere in the middle that are being squeezed the hardest.
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