Our Ladies' League at our church raised money a few years ago for the purchase of a mammography machine in Ukraine. Women all over the world should have access to this service, but sadly, this is not the case.
Which leads me to our health care system. No matter how we bitch and complain about the wait times and the lack of family physicians, we still have access to some of the best health care in the world. When my mother had a suspected stroke a few months back, the attention she received was beyond compare. Within minutes of entering the emergency ward, she had a CT Scan and was seen by a neurologist. Just like that.
My father passed away almost 5 years ago from prostate cancer. The care he received was remarkable...from his initial diagnosis (although he dumped his first urologist for his lack of a soul!!) to Dad's chemotherapy treatments at Princess Margaret to the in-home palliative care he received from The Toronto Grace Hospital.
Think for a moment what it would be like to be living in a Third World country with no access to any kind of decent medical care...now kiss the ground beneath you.
I am all for a two-tiered system. If I can afford to pay for tests, x-rays, and doctor visits (which would probably make me think twice before going for something trivial), then perhaps the money saved could be spent on hiring more doctors, nurses, technicians, etc. and all of that would help to ease wait times for others less fortunate than my family.
My great, great uncle was Tommy Douglas, the father of socialized medicine in Canada. Thanks Uncle Tommy for having the vision. Now it's up to us to help sustain the medical system by not abusing it....but by using it wisely.
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