THE PERSONAL AND THE POLITICAL

The Duckpond is well hidden away from the general commerce of the information highway. This link is of particular interest to me. I found it serendipitously, as is becoming a habit on this blog from my digressions into duckspeak. People have operations all the time – and most of the time, I understand, they come out alive.

But I constantly wonder what would happen to people, as I did the other day, who are not able to reach into their pocket and pay $150 for vaccinations at the chemist, or on other occasions pay a similar amount for a consultants with a specialist. I am fortunate to be able to make these payments – but their is no certainty in my situation as well. I work on a casual job, with a limited time span, and without award payment conditions. For example, overtime means literally working longer hours.

When I could not point to symptoms, other than those I could report, so I knew there was something wrong, I was given a deep vein thrombosis scan, and told by some local general practitioners there was nothing wrong with me. In fact I was prescribed exercises. I was angry and frustrated. When I had definite symptoms, I called in at a medical centre on the way home where I saw a GP who examined me whose prognosis was that it was either the heart, liver or kidneys. Then I saw a cardiologist, who organized a series of blood tests, computerized tomography and bone marrow biopsis.

Even with expert reading of data there is no certainty that I have a lymphoma in the spleen. The analogy spins to mind of intelligence reporting. In fairness to the doctors, I may have traduced, cancers can be subtle and difficult to diagnose. However, I have to think, a blood test, simple to carry out, might have been considered.

About these ads