Bitter Sweet US Trip

Getting seriously sick for the better part of the trip was a definite bummer. But it did point out something that wasn't very personal for me in the past.

I have always had health insurance. Not now. At least in the US. We do have insurance in Panama.

So if Yella or I were to get hospitalized, we would go bankrupt. One little stay and procedure in a hospital now runs in the $100,000's.

That is a huge deterrent to returning to the US. I don't want to risk our small nest egg for a visit under that potential disaster.

So returning to the US will be rare.

That is too bad because I have many wonderful friends and family in the States.

All of that is depressing.

And it makes feeling warm and fuzzy about the US difficult.

Just to give you a frame of reference, major open heart surgery in Panama would run between 20 and 30 thousand dollars. Not cheap but not a disaster either. Of course this would cost well over a half a million in the US.

I really didn't want to get off on a dissertation on the health care industry in American but I now find that it dictates our relationship to the US more than anything else.

Shit!

I loved seeing my friends and family. That was the great part of the trip.

I won't get to see them much in the future and that sucks.

How can one industry control so much of life? It doesn't seem fair.

Ya, I know, life isn't fair.

Thanks to all my friends and family for a heartwarming, loving visit...in spite of the health stuff.