Thankful for medical care here

I know that mentioning Obamacare can result in some powerful responses from people. Regardless of your feeling on Obamacare, we are blessed to live in a country where it is relatively easy to access medical care. Now the cost of medical care is a different story and will not be the subject of this post.

Last weekend, I noticed that Pudge had gotten a bug bite on her leg. No big deal, probably just something that happened while we were in Florida or something. I kept an eye on it and noticed it was starting to get worse. Finally a few days later it started to show signs of infection. Then I was presented with some options, I could take her to her doctor but would have to wait one more day or I could take her to urgent care. I opted for urgent care so we could get the antibiotic started and not wait one more day. With my background in microbiology, I don't want to mess with sepsis. 30 minutes at urgent care and we had a prescription for antibiotics to pick up later.

Let's think about what would happen in a third world country. First off, going to the doctor is not an easy thing. You might have a "local" medical place, but that is probably still a time-consuming trek. Then once you get there, there isn't exactly a receptionist, so you wait and hopefully by the time you are seen they have the supplies required. Even with our flawed health care system we are truly blessed.

For us, this was a very minor medical condition. Pudge's bug bite has been improving with the antibiotics. We were given signs to watch for in case it didn't respond and developed into sepsis. But even in that scenario we would still have the ability to go to an ER a few miles away for treatment in a hospital that is adequately staffed and supplied.

Here's another story about the blessings of our health care and the difference we can make for those living in other counties.