115°F (46°C) - Humidity about 5%

Ahhh, but it's a dry heat!

Mimi flew out to Denver today, she'll be back in a week. Before she left she finished sealing the roof of the RV. Getting up on a white metal roof in this heat means you have to do it at night. We're ready for tropical rains now. We didn't have any leaks but it has been 6 years and we thought it was time to seal everything to prevent any leaks. She used Eternabond tape which is a lot easier than cleaning off all the old sealer and resealing. It's supposed to last forever, or at least as long as the RV lasts.

I've been floating in the pool, admiring my water lily blooms (this one is named Afterglow), enduring the hassle of needing a simple medical visit.

We all know that health care is screwed up in this country, there are plenty of heartbreaking stories with life threatening results. My problem was not huge, I had a bladder infection and I needed to see a doctor, get a lab test, get a prescription and be done with it. Over an hour on the phone with Kaiser got me the OK to go to the Urgent Care clinic, this after I had to sign away my life by refusing their recommendation that I take myself to an emergency room on a Friday afternoon. Isn't the whole point of having medical insurance that you don't have to clog up the emergency rooms for minor problems? Aren't they supposed to be for real emergencies? Why is an advice nurse trying to steer me into using it for a simple doctor's visit?

I wanted a urine test as I've had 3 of these infections in the last year and it seemed to me that it would be a good thing to figure out if the antibiotics were really killing the bug. OK, I go there, I give the sample, I see the doctor, he writes the script. On my way out I ask when I can get the results of the urine test. Oh, says the doctor, the lab has already picked up today so it would be Monday and the test won't be any good then. In other words, they were going to throw it out and not say anything. I still don't know what bug I'm fighting and I probably won't know unless I get this again in Mexico, take myself to a lab and get the test done. Would that it were so easy to do that here. Plus, how much you want to bet they are going to bill Kaiser for the test?

I don't want to disillusion any of you but this kind of routine medical care is much better in Mexico than in the US. No hours on the phone getting authorization and being told to go to the ER, just take yourself to a lab, get test, get results, take that to doctor (no appt necessary), wait no more than 15 minutes if that, see doctor, discuss results, get meds, pay less than lunch for 2 at McDonalds or about the same amount I paid as my co-pay. I still like to believe that the US has good medical care for serious medical problems, Mexico does too by the way, but I'm not sure that isn't just wishful thinking. For everyday things, our system just sucks. I wanted to get a routine mammogram while we were in Marin, there was 3 month wait for an appointment!

The US is transitioning from a "Dr. is god just put yourself in his hands" medical system to one where you have to take responsibility for your own health and care. BUT, the system makes it very difficult to do that. You can't just go to a lab and get a test if you know what you want, oh no, you must see a doctor first for a referral. Can you get the results of your own test? No, you must see that dr again to learn what they are. Do most plan dr's have the time or the interest in even knowing who you are or what is going on with you? No, they usually don't even have time to read your chart.

So you need to be on top of your own health, you need to understand more about what you have and what your options are but the system tries to keep a lot of that knowledge away from you. It's a mess. I have no solution but I am less and less confident that there will be one anytime soon. Meanwhile, I'm taking my aging body off to Mexico where Dr's know your name and treat you with courtesy, where there is modern medical treatment that is affordable and available and as up-to-date and current as any in Europe. I don't think the same level of care is available here in the US, perhaps for the super rich it is but many of them go elsewhere for treatment. We just aren't as first world here as we think we are, it's a shame.

On that note, happy 4th of July!