A apple a day keeps the doctor away
Such a old fashioned saying.. Its not wrong, what you eat or do not eat does point in fact effect your body.. as does the water you did, the way your move your body, how much sleep you get and so much more.
The past year was certain to be a wake up call, we are no long longer spring chickens.. we have been to the ER more in the past year, then we have been in the 20 before it.. both of us have needed time in the ER and its been a year since Dear Hubby went by ambulance twice in less then 24 hours. So many medical appointments new doctors so many follow ups..
I am honestly not sure what it was like Before Covid in the medical system, but we have been actively working within, and there have been some real challenges, like always having one of us sitting (and or walking the parking lot) waiting hours and hours at hospitals because you are not allowed in.. Odd hours, so many odd hours for tests.. can you get to the hospital for a 11pm cat scan.. well yes we can.. but honestly its odd that so many different levels are running 24 hours a day trying to deal with both the current and the backlogs that seem to grow with each wave..
I am glad that I was able to move over from my old clinic where I had a nurse under the care of a doctor who saw to my health needs, we always had a lang barrier, and at times really struggled to be able to talk and I rarely felt like I was heard.. but given that I wanted very limited things, it did not matter to much really.. however I much perfer the fact that hubby’s doctor and clinic took me on and I do feel like we are getting much better service.
The difference in the clinics is amazing.. the old clinic, closed their doors and phone call only but send everything out to be done, will take weeks.. New clinic, a really good mix.. In person as needed, Phone calls when reasonable to do so, plus they have a number of services available in house.. As a added bonus, we moved to the drug store right next door (as the clinics are in two different towns, old one 20 min one direction) and new one 20 the other way from the farm.. and they have a great working relationship.
Add in the fact that they are breaking ground on a small hospital in that town which will work with a larger hospital up the road by about a hour from the farm but the new clinic doctors will have full rights at it so in the longer term this was a really good move as we age
Still there are so many peaple that have moved in the past 18 months and are struggling to find a family doctor, there are many that suddenly had freedom to move rural, heck to move provinces.. took advantage of the high housing prices in the cities to cash out and buy in the east coast.. look at our own local area, they say that the base cost of our little farm has doubled in value.. crazy.. but for some, the perfect time to sell and move further out.. without thinking about medical care.
Even for those living right in the city’s close to it all.. that does not mean you are going to get good care at that moment. Our Health Care system is excellent for Life and Limb Care.. have a heart attack and you are going to get care now.. its excellent for routine already there care.. getting my inhalers, hubby getting his meds, working with our dental clinic, our eye clinic, my physio, and now foot clinic for hubby..
The inbetween.. not so great.. those waiting lists are crazy, 12 to 30 months on a waiting list.. Ideally will get back to you in 6 months but it will most likely take a year plus..
But despite what everyone things in regards to canada, all our health care is not free..
Ideally you are smart enough and able to have Health Insurance.. because its very much needed!
Insurance helps pay 80 percent of the Dental,(with limits on what) 80 percent of eye care but limited on how often, if you need it more, then you pay out of pocket, my physio is out of pocket because I am picky on who I work with, if I was willing to drive 45 and work with the person they wanted who REALLY made it clear that If I just lost 100 pounds, I would be fine..
so I pay out of pocket to work with a clinic at the nearest town where I get treated with respect but pushed just a little as well.. The foot clinic is out of pocket as well.. at least until we need home care.. ha.. as if you can get home care.. We are to get homecare for one thing, but due to the shortage of nurses, its not what the Doctor asked for.. both the timing, no in home travel, we need to drive to them, and we are not getting the care required..
So that means we are buying all the gear needed and that we are using it ourselves, which is fine but its again all out of pocket.. what the heck do peaple without extra income do?? I swear its not just food banks that is needed, so its medical needs.. I finally get it when peaple talk about making a choice between rent and medications..
One of hubbies meds is close to a thousand per renewal, its 80 percent covered.. and believe me, I am glad of it.. but that is just one.. and he is on a number of things.. if everything had to paid out of pocket it would be higher then what our monthly house payment was (which thankfully we no longer have, never been grateful ever to the farm paid off, well other then taxes.. they just keep on coming.. )
I expect that for some, they feel the warmth of the fire, others are getting closer and closer to the flames and sadly, I expect there are more and more that are getting burned..
So what do we do about it.. Eat well, sleep well, be more careful and thoughtful on foot wear, socks, keeping up on dental, keeping on eye care, stretching, walking, weights.. taking more care on farm work choices.. no more.. I can do it.. NO.. stop.. think it though.. ask for help.. work it different.. yes it can take longer but adding in extra few minutues, or waiting a hour or even a day in most cases (not all) can be done.. is its a pain.. of course it is!
However if there is ever a time to stay out of the need for medical care for taking a risk, now is the time.. Stay safe out there.. do the little things, they add up.. stay the course and watch your mental health.. plant the flowers, pet the cat, walk the dog, watch the sunrise and the sunset, step out of the big picture often, and just as old fashioned.. live in the moment.. there are times we need to look lessons learned and times we need to plan with forward vision.. but please remember.. the here and now is a fleeting magical moment.. enjoy it.
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Just another Day on the Farm 
It’s very true, it’s why I try to chivvy Husband along for errands and to help me carry things. Every extra step outside, every errand, every walk is making a deposit in the Better Health bank….
It certainly does.. I agree Fresh air, movement, change of scene, feeling like a job well done..
We are incredibly fortunate to have near zero health issues aside from some standard aches and pains. We joke that the only time you should try for emerg is if you’re going to show up with your severed leg in a baggie. Then you’ll get in. Mind you, I had an unexpected anaphylactic reaction to a wasp sting this summer. I was in there in a heartbeat. Yes cost – I now have two epi pens because of the distance I live out of town. Hundred bucks each 😖. Like you we make an effort to eat healthy, pay attention to our work load. Still, I think we do too much. The list of things that need to be done never seems to end.
I am so glad that you have no real health issues, i truly am, I do thing it makes a huge difference that we grow so much of our own food in so many ways.. I have to admit that I felt we might have some things coming on in our 60’s but the truth is I was not expecting it to happen basic at our 50’s.. we are still young in my mind.. is 50 young, I think so. I really do.. so yes.. I think it came on early.. the doctors are like.. these are your “first” health issues and before this you took nothing med wise and so on.. as if its a surprise that we could go that long.. given I have Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) , as did my great-grandfather, my grndmother and as does my mother, some of my aunt’s/uncles and cousin’s, I was able to get genetic testing and conformation in my early 20’s so
I always knew that this genetic condition would raises my risk for lung disease and other diseases and that at some point, I would have effects.. its just a matter of how long you can hold them off for.. but it was a shock that hubbies Diabetics got missed for as long as it did and or that it advanced so quickly.. I am glad you have your Epi pens even at the cost (we do as well, one each) and I agree.. the work list never ever seems to end..
The health care that is available seems to vary so much from province to province, too. We get foot care back from our private insurance as the “nursing” component. We pay for some expensive meds at the start of the year, then pharmacare pays. Our income is so low that that usually takes about 4 months of the year. It’s a huge expense, about 25% of our annual income goes on medical expenses that are not covered and on insurance. As most of you know, my husband has been disabled for about 4 yrs now. There’s a med that he will probably, medically, benefit from in the next couple of years, which is $15 000 a year, and not covered by pharmacare or our insurance. It’s a quality of life med, that he just wont get, because we can’t pay for it. If we hadn’t had the insurance in place when he got sick, then I would have had to find work that had insurance. I do think it’s weird that I work in Healthcare, but don’t get coverage. I am so grateful that free healthcare was there for his surgeries and radiation, but what comes next certainly isn’t free!
I agree so much with everything you wrote, Yes I am grateful for the “free” health care that is there for so many major things.. but no what comes after is certainly not free.. it is strange that you do not get coverage while working in the health care sector, you would think they would offer it.. I do not want to even think about where we would be without our insurance coverage but I also find it bad that you need to pay upfront, we can do that but I know that it must hold peaple back.. meds we only pay the co-pay small portion but dental and eyes and more, you have to pay 100 up front and then wait for the money to come back.. again, it means you need to have the money in the bank to make it work.. I am sorry that you most likely will not be able to get that med for hubby due to cost.. that is not right..
Like most commenters, I am also grateful for our “free” health care. When we have had to access emergency services, it has been top notch and we didn’t have to bankrupt ourselves to pay for it. Trying to access preventative procedures and tests is currently a nightmare, especially if, like many Canadians, you do not have a family doctor. I fear that the stress of the current crisis will break our healthcare system for good.
We are focusing on getting and staying healthy. Wishing you all good health.
I totally understand where you are coming from Crafty and yes that is very much our focus as well..
When I hear what people are paying for a minimal visit to the ER down in the US, to say nothing of anything longer term, I’m so glad we have the system we have, with all its faults.
With the few major health issues I’ve had I’ve been lucky, and that’s what it is, luck, to have found a GP and specialists that are not only good at their job, and reasonably available, but who are also decent human beings too.
Agree completely about looking after ourselves now, because the future, is not going to be an easy path to walk.
I hear you and I agree.. I have friends that talk of the states and yet there are many other counties that that very reasonable pay clinics price wise.. I agree, I feel very lucky that we have what we have but I also see what is happening to family and friends and boy its sure mixed treatment.. some outstanding, some very good and some truly poor.. The goverment is tracking what they call covid “side related death” and I know three peaple now that are consider that.. I do understand that it was early days in wave one and wave two, which had so many unknowns but I truly worry about some family in alberta in wave 4 there..