So glad I found you guys!

[hdugger]

The last one doesn't sound like he's a spine guy, but the first one is. If you google this forum, there are a few people here who've seen him.

[Elisa]

Sherie, I went back and reread your comment. Wow, I'm shocked that you pay $1,200 a month for private medical insurance. That would pay for our mortgage and groceries for a month or close to it. There's absolutely no way we could afford close to paying that for medical insurance. And you went for FOUR consultations as well which is impossible for us b/c we cannot even get in to see one here in BC. Then at the end of it all, you get to choose your own surgeon. Triple wow. I guess money does talk in this situation b/c you're getting a whole lot from your insurance.

Our system is not like that at all and even if it were, we wouldn't be able to afford it so I guess in the end it wouldn't work for us anyway. We are beggars and beggars can't be choosers so we're thrilled that we can take our son to Portland as offered and only hope (I'd pray but I'm not really religious) a surgeon there will be do a wonderful job with our boy. Someone tell me these guys are good otherwise I'll start having day-mares about back alley hacks! O_o

I want December to be over. I'm so not a Christmas person and it hasn't stopped storming here for two or more days and our garage is now flooding, arggg. Also, I can start a countdown on January 1st. to the 20th. and get things organized and prepared in my head.

[hdugger]

Our COBRA coverage is close to $1700 a month, which is also far more than we pay in mortgage. We're fortunate 1) that it's subsidized for a few more months and 2) that we both have jobs (neither offering health insurance) that can pay for it. But many, many people fall off the insurance rolls because of the cost.

Somewhere between having a slew of uninsured people and not having enough specialists is a country that's found a happy medium

[Elisa]

Somewhere between having a slew of uninsured people and not having enough specialists is a country that's found a happy medium

I think Sweden and a few of the other western European countries have a pretty decent health care system if I'm not mistaken.

It takes forever... literally for our kids to see a specialist up here but oh my are they ever a friendly laid back bunch, lol. Just got back from picking up a few groceries on the busiest shopping day of the year, noticed 'yellow-fleshed' potatoes were on sale but there weren't any on the shelf so I asked. The lady apologized and said they were out. No big deal, I got a different kind. Then I'm going through the til and she comes running up to me and said: "I've been looking all over the store for you, I found some yellow-fleshed potatoes!" We'll all get sick and die up here but we'll die a very polite death, haha. Maybe we could talk some of your US specialists to work across the border, give up some of that dough for a more relaxed, less stress lifestyle? Come on, that's gotta be worth a bunch.

[Pooka1]

I think Sweden and a few of the other western European countries have a pretty decent health care system if I'm not mistaken.

It takes forever... literally for our kids to see a specialist up here but oh my are they ever a friendly laid back bunch, lol. Just got back from picking up a few groceries on the busiest shopping day of the year, noticed 'yellow-fleshed' potatoes were on sale but there weren't any on the shelf so I asked. The lady apologized and said they were out. No big deal, I got a different kind. Then I'm going through the til and she comes running up to me and said: "I've been looking all over the store for you, I found some yellow-fleshed potatoes!" We'll all get sick and die up here but we'll die a very polite death, haha. Maybe we could talk some of your US specialists to work across the border, give up some of that dough for a more relaxed, less stress lifestyle? Come on, that's gotta be worth a bunch.

Doctors can't just go north... as you know, Canada rations the number of doctors to keep down costs per what I was told.

Sweden succeeds at everything because it is the most atheistic country.

[Elisa]

I've really never had a problem with our health care b/c in general, it's when you need a specialist that it becomes a problem, especially with kids and I'm just finding this out now b/c of our situation. I hear people complaining about it all the time but of course when it doesn't apply to you you're not really paying attention but now I know exactly what they're complaining about.

I always thought the big time US specialists didn't want to cross the border b/c they get paid way more money where they are and don't want to take a cut in pay. That's why I suggested giving up some of that dough for a less stressed lifestyle; a trade off so to speak.

Sweden is sweet... they've got the best hockey players in the world! Yeah, we've got two pediatric orthopedic surgeons here in BC but we've got the Sedin twins, woohoo! It's all about hockey up here you know that eh, lol.

[Sherie]

I have a brother-in-law that lives in Sweden. They have a very good education system too. I think they can manage because of high taxes and a small population. I also spoke with a colleague from Norway which also has a system like Sweden. He said there is no incentive to work overtime or to make more than an average salary because extra income is taxed at a very high rate. The government strives to keep everyone at the same level in society. There is always a trade off no matter what system you live under. I just don't see our country ever being able to afford socialized medicine but I think there needs to be a subsidized program for people who can't afford private insurance but don't qualify for medicare. But, I do feel very fortunate we had so many options available to us especially knowing that not everyone is so lucky.

We went to Texas Scottish Rite for a consult because of their reputation in scoliosis treatment. They were #1 on our list until we went to see Lenke. Just because it's a charitable hospital doesn't mean they don't have top notch surgeons. We were very impressed with them.

[Pooka1]

Scandinavia, as a group, is leading the world in many respects and is the most atheistic area of the world.

Finland has the world's best economy and is the best country overall...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland

Finland ranks the best country in the world in the 2010 Newsweek survey based on health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life.

Denmark, the third most atheistic country, is also the happiest place on earth...

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=4086092&page=1

[Elisa]

The 20 happiest nations in the World are:

1 - Denmark

2 - Switzerland

3 - Austria

4 - Iceland

5 - The Bahamas

6 - Finland

7 - Sweden

8 - Bhutan

9 - Brunei

10 - Canada

11 - Ireland

12 - Luxembourg

13 - Costa Rica

14 - Malta

15 - The Netherlands

16 - Antigua and Barbuda

17 - Malaysia

18 - New Zealand

19 - Norway

20 - The Seychelles

Interesting article and I see Canada ranks #10 in the world for being a "happy" place to live and I am very happy living here, especially on the west coast which is beautiful, peaceful, laid back and the climate is relatively mild. My only complaint so far is the lack of specialists here and honestly I've never dealt with this problem before until now. If we could somehow improve that situation, all would be wonderful. I've said many times before: "You'll have to take me off Vancouver Island in a pine box" and maybe that's how it will end up being b/c I'm going to die here waiting for medical treatment if I ever need to see a specialist, lol.

[jrnyc]

hmmm...any time i am lucky enuf to go to the Bahamas, especially in the middle of the winter, i am REALLY happy! surprised it wasn't listed...

jess

[Elisa]

Is it January yet!?

This is THE longest December in history I swear. I feel as though I can't even comment on most things b/c I don't even have a proper diagnosis yet.

Maybe I had too much wine the other day when I thought my son's back looked better but yesterday when I looked at him again, he looked just as bad as ever. Maybe it makes a difference on how he stands on a certain day? I don't know. He likes his weekly chiro visits as well as his hanging bar and he hasn't been using the deep heat rub or even his heating pad so I guess that's good.

Apparently, if we go down on the big cushy Shriners' bus we can't do duty free b/c it holds the bus up and it's on a tight schedule. Damn, there goes my bottle of Grand Marnier, lol.

Edit: Ed! Just thought you'd be interest in knowing that our local Mt. Washington has the most snow of any ski resort in the world! Very cool.

http://www.mountwashington.ca/en/con...ow-report.html

[titaniumed]

Elisa

I see that! Its been incredible this season. California’s major reservoirs are pretty much full, so water will be available for the agriculture sector this season.....

I have not been feeling well and have not been skiing recently. I have an old thread about weather related pains. This last storm has me in the dumps, with my “beartraps” which is a tightening of the paraspinal muscles in the thoracic spine. I have done quite well this last year, with NO problems at all, but these last few days have been a drag. I thought I was done with these events, apparently not.

I’ve been thinking about a move down south....Like Mexico or Costa Rica south. Heck, if I move to Trinidad, Dr B can do my check ups! LOL
Ed

[Elisa]

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well enough to ski Ed as I know how much you love it. Hope you feel better soon. If my son ends up going into surgery, I'm kinda hoping it won't be while it's winter b/c we're supposed to get a colder one this year. We heat our whole house with a wood stove and I wish we had bought a bigger one b/c the back bedrooms upstairs where the kids are tend to be colder than the rest of the house. Those rooms are also above the unheated garage so that doesn't help. We do have two ceramic heaters for those rooms that help a bit. Might have to end up trading rooms with the boy for a while if he finds it too cold after surgery.

Check out this pic. The trees have turned to snowmen on Mt. Washington.

[jrnyc]

hi Ed
so sorry you can't practice your favorite sport for now...
how about botox shots..?
they work great for muscle problems...
plus, then your thoracic would look so young...

jess

[Pooka1]

Take care of yourself, Ti Ed.

I hope you feel better soon.