Kudos to Peter Lougheed Hospital and Canadian Health care...

[Toma]

So it was a Sunday not too long ago, I was doing my regular tuning/dynoing in the AM, and noticed a tiny scratch or cut at my wrist. Nothing out of the ordinary working on cars, just a scrape.... I get 3 a day normally.

A couple hours later, its itchy as fuck, and spreading up my arm, and hand. By the evening, my forearm and hand is noticeably swollen.

On the way home that night, I feel a swelling/lump near my chest area at my side.

Anyway, long story short, went to a walk in next day. She sende me to Emergency pronto with a referal letter.

I check in at the hosptital, nurse looks me over, outlines the affected area with a pen, sends me to wait and says "if it spreads beyond this, come see us asap."

It does not spread, and about an hour later, I am in, and laying in a bed under nurse care, doctor sees me soon after, and I am on various cocktail IV' anti biotics. They are concerend with a streak that ran up my arm towards my armpit from my forearm.... lymphatic streaking they called it.

They send me home, and instruct me to return at midnight and in the AM for another treatment.

I do so and am in right away. Day after, they set me up with a portable IV pump, and "home care" in case I need a nurse to come to my house and reset my IV. I Have the pump and meds for 3 more days, followed by a week of orals.

I have no special insurance.

Total cost out of pocket for all care was $52 (IV, oral antibiotics, IV supplies etc), and parking was $21 lol.

A similar stint in the US cost a friend of mine $14,000.... or a family can pay $500 monthly for their insurance

Awesome job, and as being a guy that "never gets sick", this was quite an experience and eye opener.

[JordanLotoski]

Glad to hear your all good. Nice hearing some positive health care stories

[Kloubek]

Wow... that's kinda scary - I hate it when really weird shit like that happens. Glad you're ok, and while we love to hate our medical system, the fact is that we are still better off than 99% of the rest of the worlds population.

[Toma]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Wow... that's kinda scary - I hate it when really weird shit like that happens. Glad you're ok, and while we love to hate our medical system, the fact is that we are still better off than 99% of the rest of the worlds population.

No shit. They say its a skin infection going around, used to be confined to hospitals (nurses and doctors were getting it, it some nasty anti biotic resistant bacteria), but it has spread out, and is common in places where people are close to each other.... jails, drug users, gyms, army barracks etc.

Anyway, the reason I delayed going in sooner is that I was terrified of the 6 to 12 hour wait I had thought I would endure.

They were so busy, they had makeshift beds in the concrete floor part where the ambulances pull in.

[legendboy]

I had the exact same thing happen to me.

They drew a line around my arm and 15 mins later it had moved half an inch.

Ended up being on iv antibiotics and they kept me a month!

[jdmXSI]

wow thats scary im glad you are ok...

We do have a great health care system, even to as recent as last week when my grandma was admitted. Now you (Toma) have me worried that im gonna get this "infection" since ive been to the hospital multiple times in the last week for visitation... lol

[nismodrifter]

Came in thinking this was going to be an all out rage thread.....

[G-ZUS]

Cellulitis?

[sr20s14zenki]

One time a friend of mine was helping his dad roof and just got a scratch from a rusty nail, barely noticeable. Two days later or so he was at the hostpital with severe blood poisoning. Its amazing what can happen from a tiny little scratch, isnt it.

Glad you're ok Toma, who would call me part timer if you werent around


Ps: You were working on that cursed dsm werent you.......dont you know the grease in them is inhabited by demons from hell?

[max_boost]

Glad you OK Toma.

[suen17]

Originally posted by G-ZUS
Cellulitis?

Staph; most likely MRSA. More endemic than you think...

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by suen17


Staph; most likely MRSA. More endemic than you think...

I've had MRSA twice, pain in the ass.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by suen17


Staph; most likely MRSA. More endemic than you think...

Yep I see it quite a few people come in with it at PLC

[CUG]

Originally posted by JRSC00LUDE


I've had MRSA twice, pain in the ass.

I thought MRSA was guaranteed loss of limbs? I hear cops and paramed's downtown get it all the time.

[UndrgroundRider]

Originally posted by G-ZUS
Cellulitis?

The OP described lymphangitis.

Originally posted by suen17


Staph; most likely MRSA. More endemic than you think...

That's one possibility, but I think the more probable cause is a skin infection with strep. If he really had MRSA with lymphangitis, I highly doubt they would've sent him home.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by CUG
I thought MRSA was guaranteed loss of limbs? I hear cops and paramed's downtown get it all the time.

Well I still have my leg lol

It's a bitch to treat and you have to get three clean blood tests before they stop quarantining you at the hospital when you go in for treatments. It was shitty, the first time I don't know what caused it but I had a really intense infection in the leg that developed through a day and ultimately erupted at the knee where the skin "popped". I could squeeze my knee and make a river of pus run down to the floor pretty much at will for a couple days. It was disgusting but, awesome too! haha

Second time (about a year later) I blew my shin on the same leg open (edge of bone cut through from the inside out) when I slammed a rail really hard snowboarding and it stemmed from that. The wound took over 3 months to heal, it had six stitches in it and when I pulled them out after 3 weeks it just flopped open like it was fresh. So many hospital visits and while you're there they treat you like a leper!

[Thomas Gabriel]

Originally posted by Toma

A similar stint in the US cost a friend of mine $14,000.... or a family can pay $500 monthly for their insurance

You don't think Canadian's pay $500 monthly for our health care?

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Thomas Gabriel


You don't think Canadian's pay $500 monthly for our health care?

AHS budget: $12B
Alberta Pop: 3.7M

Expenditure per capita: $3243/year = $270 per month or $1080/mth for a family of 4.


IMO, you may not get what you pay for in the US. Canadian health care isn't "free" just because you did not directly pay into it.

[Toma]

Originally posted by Xtrema


AHS budget: $12B
Alberta Pop: 3.7M

Expenditure per capita: $3243/year = $270 per month or $1080/mth for a family of 4.


IMO, you may not get what you pay for in the US. Canadian health care isn't "free" just because you did not directly pay into it.

LOL.... nice math, you forgot to mention the source of the funds, and your post is misleading making it sound like we actually pay that much towards healthcare via income tax or other such out of pocket expense.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Toma

LOL.... nice math, you forgot to mention the source of the funds, and your post is misleading making it sound like we actually pay that much towards healthcare via income tax or other such out of pocket expense.

All I'm saying is what you have to pay to get current level of service. Regardless who is funding it, government, public insurance or private insurance. That's the cost of providing care. And since Alberta is doing so well I think federally, we probably fund other health care systems more than they are funding us.

Of course, this is non-profit. I'm sure you get a lot less for the same price in the US since it's a for-profit model. So don't be surprise to pay $500 a month and still get stuck with a $14K bill.