Flexible Stuff - Article 1, week of April 29, 2024
Am I qualified to live my life?
I entered my 80th year with my husband being hospitalized twice, with me not knowing whether he was going to make it through the night. Turns out, according to the Lifespan Calculator (try it, you might like it), he is projected to live to 90, so perhaps I shouldn't be so concerned right now, even with doctors wringing their hands.
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Anyway, after spending a total of two 7 day periods in a hospital, surrounded by teams of medical specialists, nurses, technicians, the latest in million-dollar technology, and aides holding charts who were charged with taking his temperature and blood pressure readings every few hours, Phil was released to his wife (me), an artist, who is supposed to take care of him.
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Does there seem to be a disconnect between what is required for a diagnostic team and the qualifications of the person ultimately responsible for a patient's life?
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Rock bottom, cheap treats
What I am missing in my crowded, New Jersey metropolitan area are fast-food restaurants with massive parking lots. If we want ice cream, for example, we have to drive 15+ minutes to a McDonalds, a company big enough to turn local real estate into parking lots.
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With the lack of competition, McDonalds charges around $5 for a single shake or sundae. Their biggest competition for a quick snack? You might be surprised to learn its Sam's Club.
Sam's Club sells large sundaes at $1.59 each. Still hungry? Another $1.50 gets you a hot dog or pizza slice, including a drink. With parking ease considered, Sam's lets us enjoy a $3 meal for far less than a single McDonald’s shake.​In our area, a Sam's Club membership is not required to access their café.
If you want to experience the good-old-yesterday's pricing, at least for a treat, head to Sam's.
​Drug prices
Many ultra-modern hospitals today publish your medical notes online the moment your doctor enters them in an online portal.​Efficiency rules and everything is there to give you an idea as to what's being considered except the means to let patients shop for the lowest drug prices.​
Recently, it was recommended that my husband should take around $1,500 worth of monthly medications, with the prescriptions being whizzed off to a local pharmacy. ​But wait . . . drug pricing is becoming competitive and without checking "discount prescription websites" such as GoodRX, CheaperRX, WellRX, Single Care, and even Amazon, the right to live can be challenged by "not enough money left to live on."​
Today, not only do we tell our doctors that we price-check meds as well as also check whether those prescriptions will actually cure us. If not, we decline to take them.
​For more informtion, search for "discount drugs" and "discount online pharmacies." Also check "how to buy your pharmaceuticals from Canada."
​Fat is fabulous
I never thought I'd see the day when the majority of American women, half of whom are my size* or heavier, were considered to be abnormal by the medical profession.​Information via a web search:
According to the CDC, the average weight of a woman in the US who is 5'4" is 170 pounds. However, a healthy weight for a person who is 5'4" is between 110–140 pounds, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. A woman who is 5'4" is considered overweight if she weighs between 145–169 pounds, and obese if she weighs 174 pounds or more.​Three-fourths of the women in the USA weigh more than their teenage granddaughters and are considered to be obese.
Who decided this?
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* 5 feet, 4 inches, 180 pounds. Stop the world . . .
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