Vacation!

We made it! It was a wonderful vacation. We enjoyed Disneyland, the beach, the Birch Aquarium, San Diego Harbor and a relaxing, private house with a pool. We were gone for two weeks and we could have stayed longer. It was really nice to not have any commitments including work, school, lessons, or appointments.

Scott did have a few medical incidents while we were gone though. He noticed a small sore on his leg the night before we left. During our first day which included our flight and a drive he noticed the sore getting more tender and a redness growing around it. We were discouraged because that was looking a lot like an infection that needed taking care of - especially for the immunosuppressed! So we spent a long evening at the Emergency of the local hospital in Anaheim. I was impressed with the care Scott received - he was seen by an Infectious Diseases specialist and prescribed 10 days of 2 different antibiotics. They also took a sample of the sore and later told us that is was MSSA(the more easily treated staph infection).

Although Scott received excellent care I am really grateful to live in Canada with universal health care. I don't want to jump into the debate regarding private vs. public health care but I really appreciate that I don't have to worry every time we need medical care that it might bankrupt my family. I know that we sometimes wait longer here and sometimes the staff is overworked and sometimes the system is overloaded but I also know that I don't worry about co-pays or whether or not my insurance covers this or that and I don't have to sit down with a hospital administrator to explain how we'll pay every time any of my family needs medical care. It's good to know that during times of medical crises my focus has been about Scott and his health, not how we are going to pay for his medical needs.

I certainly don't understand all of the issues the US is facing regarding health care but I have seen my brother-in-law's family in Utah struggle with paying for life-saving medical needs while unemployed and uninsured. I have wondered if we had lived in the US when Scott needed his transplant if we would be drowning in medical debt right now. I guess I'm glad I don't know the answer to that question.

Scott did have another trip to a clinic to have a presciption filled for another $200 that would have been completely covered at home but I know that's small change compared to what others deal with. We also had to get our son, Sam, new glasses when the ocean waves stole his only pair right off his face. Another $160 gone. Despite those small incidents we really had a great time!