I didn’t nail myself.  I nailed the nature of the beast.  I agree there should be no line, but there is, especially here in America.  In Canada the line is called "TRIAGE."  It’s in every hospital waiting room and OR in the U.S.  And on our battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The sickest get treated first.  I was attempting to demonstrate that under national healthcare the sickest are not left behind, as everyone here fears will happen.

First of all, please stop referring to health reform as Obamacare.  That’s perjorative and unneccessary.   Presidents have been trying to pass health care legislation in this country since Roosevelt, and for a very good reason.  And Obama is not alone in working on these bills - he is the democratically elected head of government - it’s not HIS healthcare plan, it’s supposed to be OURS.  And we are certainly all weighing in, as evidenced by your article.  I am sick and tired of pundits using the English and Canadian systems as battering rams.  For every negative story that comes out of those systems, there are ten negative stories here under the American system.  I have to wait until Feb. 17 2010 to get a mammogram in New York City.  My sister in law in Canada phoned to make her appointment last week and is set for the first week of December.  A friend of mine just diagnosed four weeks ago with prostate cancer has been shot to the head of the line and is having surgery in Toronto on Monday!  As someone who lived for 30 years under the Canadian system of National Healthcare, and who has lived a subsequent 30 years under the American system, I can tell you that it is YOU and the naysayers who are doing a serious disservice to the American people.  But I give you your right to die bankrupt and ill without basic, affordable healthcare if that’s what you want.

Uh, excuse me, but I’m not part of a far-left bait and switch plot, or a propagandist.  I’m a Canadian citizen/US resident who is speaking honestly from my own experience, which considering I’ve grown up in a family with two children battling a chronic life-threatening illness, is pretty comprehensive.  My mother is a nurse educator.  My nephew is an emergency room doctor.  I can certainly document anecdotally a good number of examples of fine health care under the Canadian system.  It has some problems, but is not underfunded and falling apart - that’s what the far right are promoting in their propoganda.  And when an issue needs addressing, we can lobby our government.  Try lobbying an insurance company.  As I said, however, I can only speak from personal experience, and based on my experience, I support national healthcare.

I had a severe kidney stone while visiting my parents in Canada.  I spent the day in emergency, was given care by a kidney specialist, had two ultrasounds, an xray, morphine, and was given exquisite care by the staff.  The entire day cost me $300.00.  When I offered my credit card before leaving the hospital, they said not to worry, they had my address and would just bill me, which is what happened. 

I grew up in Canada under national health care and have lived in the US for almost 30 years.  I have pretty good insurance through my husband, but the Canadian system is so much better overall, in spite of needing a few improvements here and there.  My parents were the founders of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the care my brother and sister with CF received was impeccable and cutting edge, while never bankrupting my family.  There is a woman named Kristan Hawkins in Texas who is insisting her CF baby will die waiting for care under a national healthcare system, and points to long waits in Canada for care.  My siblings with have NEVER had to wait for care in almost 50 years, nor has anyone I am aware of in the CF community.  Granted, my Mom had to wait an extra few months for her knee replacement, but when it came her turn, she was beautifully cared for pre-op, in hospital, and post-op at home without paying a cent.

In the battlefield and in emergency rooms all across America and around the world, there is a term:  triage.  That means the ones who need critical care get it and get it fast, leapfrogging over the ones who are not in the greatest need.  This is also how national healthcare works.  Anyone who needs critical care gets it fast, and sometimes that means others have to wait a little longer, but no one in Canada is dying for lack of care, while people here are dying left and right because insurance runs out or refuses to cover them.

I’ll also note that while in Ireland this year, my husband and I both had to see doctors when we had the flu.  We were seen promptly at a cost of $65.00 each.  A visit to my physician here for the same reason would probably cost me $500.00, only part of which would be covered by insurance.

I sailed through "The Perfect Storm" (Hurricane Grace) on the Rotterdamn, and also survived a direct hit of Hurricane Fran in Wilmington in 1994, and Hurricane Wilma in Florida three years ago.  Way back when, I went into my basement with my mother and baby sister to wait out Hurricane Hazel.  Guess my name should be Hurricane Heather!

I do agree for the most part, but it wouldn’t hurt to shape up her eyebrows.

Absolutely, and I’ve done it.  It’s just a way of paying good things forward.  By the way, friends have lent me $$ in desperate times, and I’ve always paid them back.

My maiden name was Summerhayes, so Heather Summerhayes became Feather Bummerhayes in grade school.  It was awful. 

Thanks Diana. More where that came from. Find me on Facebook or Twitter…

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead We help to re-define everyone’s notion of life as including work by re-defining it for ourselves individually. That is the only way to begin. This is how we become a light in the darkness for others - finding the courage to shine our own. Semantics is just so much conversation. Or, to quote Howard Thurman: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go out and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” One could say, the world needs people who live life holistically - seeing the connectedness between work, play and praise, just as we need to see the connectedness in each other.

Recommending “Sixtyfive Roses: A Sister’s Memoir.” Eva Longoria has optioned the film rights. Celine Dion wrote the foreword. Angela Lansbury said she couldn’t put it down. A must read for any woman on her own heroine’s journey. A great Book Club choice for April, since April 10th is National Siblings Day!

I’m very happy with the age I am now (56), no desire to go back, but I’d like to be this age with the body I had at 35. I too, was hot, Belinda. I always say if I’d known what I’d had back then, I would have done more with it. :)

Yes, chrome toe, you are right, it’s about how we verbalize, and before we do that, how we THINK about the differentials between “work” and “life.” Except there isn’t a schism between the two unless we put it there. Yes, Joan, raising a family is hard work. Being a care-giver, as I have been, is hard work. But it seems to me that to characterize different sections of our life as hard work, or defining work as just something we do to pay the bills, is to undermine ourselves and our possibilities, and negate the rewards that come from our hard work in every area of our lives. Which reminds me of this quote by Rabindranath Tagore: I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I woke and found that life was service. I acted, and behold, service was joy. I learned from my dying young sister, who “worked” every day of her short life just to stay alive, and then went far beyond that, that joy is available no matter what your circumstance. We can’t control life by being afraid of it. Our only power is in how we choose to respond to our situation. Understand the difference between giving up and surrender. Never give up. All of that is about finding balance in our lives, every part of our lives. Work is not separate from life, it’s part of it. And if we recognize this, we don’t have to lose our identity when we lose our jobs. I define myself by WHO I am, not WHAT I am in the workplace.

My life embraces my husband, my family and friends, my work as a writer, speaker and workshop leader. I can’t separate them out and say “this is work” and “this is life” because I love the work I do so much, my life would be spiritually impoverished without it. At the same time, I agree with you, Linda, that how we language our selves and our lives has a great deal to do with how both we and society view ourselves. I have a friend who calls her life (a 9-5 job and 3 year old twin boys) a “nightmare.” I keep reminding her that if she sees her life as a nightmare, and calls it that, that’s what it will be. Through thought and language, we create our own reality. It’s up to us to create a different one, and that’s not just semantics. As Ghandi said, we must be the change we want to see in the world.

Your birthday is indeed cause for celebration - wishing you great blessings and warm hugs, Len and Heather Cariou