Well I’m annoyed. Apparently I should Google my own site more often–if only to find out who is talking about me behind my back. I stumbled upon another blog today because my site was referred to in the comments:

If you think socialized medicine is so wonderful, please go read the blog fatinthefire.com, written by a Canadian woman with a gyn. problem. The continuing saga would be laughable except that it’s real life. Meanwhile, I was diagnosed with the same problem after she was, but have already recovered!

This woman, with whom I corresponded briefly a few months ago, had way more complications than me and she had decided to go through with the hysterectomy! Ta Da. If I had chosen to go through with the hysterectomy, I would be…um….let’s see…about 16 weeks post op by now. I too would be “cured.” I would also be uterus-less. I was so pissed when I read it, I had to dash off a reply and I didn’t even think to respond to those points. I said this:

Please don’t use my website/situation to defend the crappy US medical system. I’m an American by birth and have only been here in Canada three years. How I got into this mess in the first place was being one of those working uninsured people you hear about in the US. I couldn’t afford all the office visits, lab work, etc all those years so I didn’t have ANY health care. As many problems as there are in this system in Ontario, it’s still a whole hell of a lot better than the health care I couldn’t have in the US.

Oh and that term “socialized medicine” was made up by someone who wanted to equate it to the evils of the old soviet communism. Are we really so simple-minded as to still believe that? Canada is not a “socialist” nation! It’s free and democratic society. Let’s pick another term, ok?

Yes, I have criticized the Canadian system as it stands right now with the physician shortages and the waiting periods–and of course that one moron at my doctor’s office. But I think I’m on record as saying I still prefer this system over the US system. If I’m not on record previously, let me say so now. In any case, I realllly don’t want to get into the US health-care debate. I really don’t. It’s stupid and pointless because I have no faith that any of the three candidates or any of their counterparts in the congress will ever stand up to the dark overlords in the insurance companies or the AMA.  The whole thing is a non-starter. It’ll never change until Americans become more educated on issues and less easily duped and deluded by every moderately clever spin doctor who comes along–and I don’t see THAT ever happening either.