A Healthcare Thing or Two
A little bit more of my story.
Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape. ― William S. Burroughs
When I was 20, I found a lump in my left breast. I was living in Florida at the time, a sophomore in college. I had it removed at the university hospital, quite a painless operation (meaning, I felt nothing as they removed it under local anaesthesia). I can’t say it was a perfect job as I had pain for months longer than I should have had after such a simple surgical procedure, but at least the financial procedure was painless. I was still covered by my parents’ insurance policy, and I never felt a thing. I never even thought to question.
And then I found another lump, this time in my right breast, when I was 24. I went for consultation at the Breast Clinic at a famous hospital in a big city. The biopsy revealed a malignant tumor that had to be removed immediately.
This second lump was different than the first. It was malignant where the other had been benign. But more than that, this time I was on my own. I was no longer in college. I was no longer covered by my parents’ health insurance. And I had none of my own.
I was scared.