Member-only story
Being Sick on a Budget
Sometimes it means your health isn’t your primary concern.
For an old guy, my health has been fairly good. I now have Medicare and generally go to the doctor when I need to. However, that has not always been the case. In the past, getting sick meant not only worrying about the ailment, but also, how I was going to be able to afford going to the doctor, of even finding a doctor who would see me for that matter.
Calling Dr. Google
With the emergence of the internet, health questions could be addressed online. With the help of Google, you can check your symptoms and find a potential disease or ailment to match. Just like real doctors.
Ask you poor friends what they do when they are sick.
When I lived in Oklahoma City, asking other poor people in my circle of friends yielded benefits. One doctor was particularly helpful. I knew I was in the right place when I saw his sign that said:
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”
Well, there actually wasn’t a sign, but he took new patients on Wednesdays without an appointment. You could show up at his office at 7:00 AM and it was first come, first serve. It might take a while to see the…
