5 Feet of Fury

‘How public health care gave me a stroke’

Andrew Lawton — who is 20-something, btw — writes:

At this point in my life, I walk with a cane, my memory is intermittent at best, and I’m subject to weekly blood tests among a constant stream of other sorts of medical checkups. The cause? A stroke suffered at the hands of the socialized healthcare in Canadian hospitals.

Had a doctor had time to take my case seriously; or, had I been able to get basic diagnostic testing done in a timely manner; or, had the triage nurse not been on lunch break when I needed her; or, had I been prescribed the simple medication that would have prevented by body from forming blood clots; or, had I been informed of risks and told of things I could do to change what lay ahead, this may never have happened. One things for sure, public healthcare failed me at every turn…and I almost died because of it.