What a Day…

There are no words to describe the day we had today. High, low, scary, emotional, fun, and…strange.

Today I learned or confirmed the following:

1. Nervous doctors are not cool.
2. Nervous doctors make for nervous patients.
3. Advice nurses should never offer the following advice: “you should worry”.
4. Doctors who agree to see you last-minute on a Friday afternoon, and tell you ‘everything looks just fine’, are very cool. Very, very cool.
5. It’s a boy!

The Day After

Today is a good, make that great, day. Perhaps some peace is in the future. Perhaps we can start taking care of our own. A little bit of hope goes a long way.

Election Day

It’s election night and I’ve been switching between cable news stations for hours on end. Just a few minutes ago I got online to check some news sites, you know, just in case. I made the usual rounds but learned nothing new. So, I ventured over to Yahoo! News to check the top stories of the day. (A strange habit of mine…among many.)

Election night, control of the Senate rides in the balance, key races down to the wire….and here are the most popular news stories on Yahoo! News, at 11:30PM PST:

#2-Genesis reunites for first tour in 15 years

AND the #1 story on election night 2006

#1 - Britney Spears files for divorce in LA

Good heavens, people, what the hell is wrong with ya’ll!!!

Healthcare

The November election is just days away and I wonder why there hasn’t been more (if any) discussion about health care? Health care touches us all and the costs are skyrocketing. Did you know?

• One in six Oregonians lack health insurance
• Cost of health care premiums has grown nearly six times faster than earnings in Oregon
• About 117,000 children lack health insurance in Oregon
• Approximately 46 million Americans, or 15.7 percent of the population, were without health insurance in 2004
• Nearly 82 million people - about one-third of the population below the age of 65 spent a portion of either 2002 or 2003 without health coverage
• The number of uninsured children in 2004 was 8.3 million - or 11.2 percent of all children in the U.S.
• About 20 percent of the uninsured (vs. 3 percent of those with coverage) say their usual source of care is the emergency room (2004)
• The United States spends nearly $100 billion per year to provide uninsured residents with health services, often for preventable diseases or diseases that physicians could treat more efficiently with earlier diagnosis
• The uninsured are 30 to 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized for an avoidable condition, with the average cost of an avoidable hospital stayed estimated to be about $3,300
• Only 7% of the unemployed can afford to pay for COBRA health insurance
• Over one-third of uninsured adults say they did not fill a drug prescription in 2003 and over a third went without a recommended medical test or treatment due to cost

Most of the above statistics are from 2003-2004 and things haven’t improved since then! I just don’t understand why this issue doesn’t get ample attention from both voters and elected officials.