Second Surgery

The exciting news of today is that I FINALLY got a date for my second surgery. It will be on 1 October. Those of you I talk to on a regular basis know that this has been quite a frustrating wait for me. I was put on the waiting list on 19 June, which means that I will have been waiting for 3.5 months to have this operation (side note: this is less than the 4.5 months that they told me I would wait to have it! I guess my constant calling and nagging paid off!).

Americans often ask me about my experience with socialized healthcare. Having faced a serious health problem and the subsequent series of surgeries in the UK has only furthered my support of healthcare for all. While this recent wait has been frustrating (in America, I would have had the first surgery, waited 10 weeks, and then had the second- meaning that this whole horrible experience would already be over by now!), I am willing to wait my turn if it means that everyone has access to healthcare. Access to healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. My greatest disappointment in America is that so many people don't see this.

Don't get me wrong, things here are by no means perfect. If you can wait, you will wait. Private rooms would definitely be better than sitting on the ward with 9 other women and little to no privacy. Hospitals seem to be constantly facing funding issues. There is a hierarchy as to which drugs you can use based on their price. However, when I needed my first surgery urgently, I was dealt with right away by some of the best doctors in their field. When I wanted to stay in the hospital for a few extra days following my first operation, there was no insurance company to call for permission and the doctors were happy to let me do this. When I had a severe allergic reaction to one of the drugs I had started taking in the states (a reaction that is many times fatal) because my insurance company wouldn't pay for me to have the allergy test done in Virginia, I was told by my English doctors that the test is performed on everyone who takes that drug in the UK- no questions asked.

So, now, the only real question is, when will it happen in America?