$500,000

I hesitated about going to the emergency ward last summer, when B was very sick.  "The cost," I said, thinking of how my parents always so prudently conducted themselves.  "Is he really sick enough?"  It took blood tests and an early-morning emergency call from his doctor to get me there with him, where he nearly expired from a rare blood infection. 

With flu, flu and more flu having hit Calgary with a sledge hammer, I again hesitated about going to a local clinic today to see his doctor, even though B was pretty sick with something.  After all, he'd had a flu shot, so.....??  But we went.  It turned out he needed an X-ray and antibiotics, so yes, we were right to make the call. 

Sitting in the waiting room, I noticed a young couple arrive with their daughter.  Naturally, I eavesdropped (that's one of the ways I get blog material).  Their accents told me they were Eastern European -- members of a huge immigrant population in this town -- and concerned that their young daughter had vomited during the night.  Vomited!?  At this point the kid was merrily running around playing and enjoying the fish tank, obviously fine.  Note to the parents:  young kids vomit all the time, mostly during the night, splaying it into pillows at 2 a.m.  Forget about it and forget about rushing to a walk-in clinic that will cost the rest of us a lot of unnecessary money.  And all because of a bit of routine childhood vomiting. 

What galls me are people who come to Canada, not having paid a cent in taxes for most of their lives, and expect Cadillac health care with nary a fig's concern to the cost.  Back home did some rough math and calculated between us we have paid about $500,000 in taxes during our lives -- and that's federal alone. 

With that number, why am I hesitant to go to emergency every 20 years?  I need to give my head a shake.