Free Health Care...?

If there is one thing that can take me out of my patriotic state of mind, it's today's trip to the emergency room. Or emergency ward. Or, basically, the hospital, since clearly the word "emergency" had absolutely nothing to do with it. 

Yesterday, I twisted my ankle while stepping off a Bosu ball. It hurt like HELL. I mean, as a tennis player, I've had plenty of injuries, including an ankle injury from around two years ago (occurred at the same gym and similar time-frame, ironically), so my pain threshold is pretty big. I had tendonitis in my shoulder for a couple years, and there was a point where I couldn't even lift my arm. (Since tendonitis tends to be chronic, it likes to say hello to me once in a while.) But nothing felt as painful as falling yesterday. You should have heard the crack. I think that sound alone sent me into a catatonic shock.

I got my ankle checked, and I strained a couple ligaments, so I'm off tennis for three to four weeks. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with my bone or anything, but my doctor(s) told me to get an x-ray just in case. So I had to go to my family doctor to get a referral, but instead of giving me one, she sent me to the hospital, saying that if there was something wrong with it, then they'd be able to put a cast on my foot right away. 

Before I start, can I just ask: WTF? Why the hell do you have to go get a referral to get an x-ray? Why? Why is it that nobody respects time? First I have to go all the way to my family doctor, wait, have her press on my bone so hard that I could have punched her in the face for not having learned the meaning of "gentle" after all these years, then be sent to a hospital, which is another fifteen to twenty minutes of driving, hours and hours of waiting, more pressing, finally an x-ray, and - after what seemed like an age - an answer. The verdict? No, my ankle is not cracked, just a tissue injury. Ice a lot, stay off it, and wear a brace. 

...I waited over three hours for a confirmation of what I already knew. In fact, I knew more than he did, because he failed to see that I had injured ligaments (to those of you know naught on the subject, that's pretty huge) - or maybe just failed to mention it- and said that if, in a week, it still hurts, I should go see a doctor again. In fact, if, in a week, it feels okay, I can even play the provincials that are coming up! 

Um...hello? A week? Was he for real? The last time I had an injury like this (three strained ligaments that time), I was out of commission for months. I mean, after a few weeks I could run okay, and jumping got easier, but it took months of wearing the brace, rehab, and being careful before it felt back to normal. And this guy says a week? 

By the way, I'm not just saying that, either. I had two other doctors (a chiropractor and a physiotherapist) look at it, and both agreed that it would take three to four weeks to heal. So I dunno...two specialists that I know and trust versus a guy I met only today, and who probably just wanted me out of his sight as soon as possible... Tough call. 

But my woes and life issues, as exciting as they are, aren't the subject of today's post. No, what I would like to cordially discuss is the concept of "free health care" in Canada. I say "concept", because I have finally, fully realized that there is no free health care in Canada. None. For example, today, I had to pay fifteen dollars to waste over three hours in an emergency room (increasing my chances of getting sick in the process) to hear completely useless advice. You know why? Because you have to pay to park your car. Yeah. Not only are you sick and in pain, you have to fork over buckage as a result of that very fact.
You would think that the already-unreasonable taxes we pay would cover that, but no. Oh, no. Teachers working with the York Region District School Board often have to give 46% of what they earn to the government, so that the money can be used to improve our school-systems, make health care better and affordable, look after our cities, etc. Strangely enough, I don't see any improvements in the school-system. In fact, the opposite is true (for proof, walk into any given high school, and you are guaranteed to find ten times the number of stupid people you would have found, say, two years ago). I don't see better or more affordable health care, either. For one, doctors in hospitals seem to glance at the surface of the issue and write you off, and then wonder why you're back a week later, feeling worse than before (answer: because the problem was two centimeters beneath the surface, but you were too lazy to dig that deep, asshole). Specialists are better, of course, actually taking the time to look at you from all possible angles, narrowing down the problem, figuring out proper treatment solutions - all the stuff that should always be done. But that's because you're paying them to do so, and usually, you have to pay a whole hell of a lot. Average physiotheraphy rate: $65-100 per hour. Average massage rate: $80-100 per hour. Average hospital rate: anywhere between three to infinite wasted hours, parking fee (charged by the minute), and the impossibly high costs of your medicine/recovery necessities. (For my ankle: ibuprofen and a brace, the latter of which costs around $85. It's lucky - sort of - I already have one.)

Oh, and let's not forget, ladies and gentlemen, that dentists aren't free anymore, either (thank you, Jean Chrétien). It's ironic, actually, because dental surgeries are the most common surgeries, and yet our taxes pay for the ones we are liable to never have to get. If your teeth are falling out and you need implants, that shit comes out of your own pocket, however bare it may be. You gotta go into dept for the sake of being able to chew your own food? That's fine by the government.

And another thing: why call the Emergency Room the "Emergency" Room, if it takes you a fucking age to get any attention? No, I do not want to get old waiting for a doctor to finally look at my toe (hypothetically speaking) and tell me if there's something wrong with it or not. I want immediate attention and care so that I can get on with my life. Is that so much to ask? (You know, this fact probably wouldn't be so infuriating if constant work was getting done. But it's not. While sitting in the Red Zone, I was a witness to the social banter going on between nurses and the one doctor, as though everything was fine and dandy. I don't care when your birthday is! My ankle fucking hurts!) One poor guy was sitting in his chair, bleeding non-stop, when a nurse came over and told him that his doctor would be with him in an hour.

Oh, that's fine. I'll just bleed to death while I wait, shall I?

Idiotic system. You realize we're going to be paying even more taxes now that the GST and PST are going to be one and the same, right? So before, when you were paying 5% for certain things, while 13% for others, you are now paying a solid 13% for everything. So that poor high school Math teacher who pays 46% income tax is now going to be paying even MORE money. Add to that property tax, and a whole slew of other taxes that I don't even know the names of, and we just can't catch a break, can we?

I'm starting to wonder if maybe Canada's full of shit...

If you have evidence to the contrary, please let me know, because I'm losing grip on my formerly firm belief that I live in the greatest country ever... I'm obviously seriously pissed off right now, so maybe tomorrow I'll change my mind completely and be back to loving this place for all it's worth. Nevertheless, as of this moment, that is not the case.

Dubiously yours,
Aya