[sammons]

Monday evening Tom came over, he was waiting on his oldlady to get home from visiting friends out of town. He was playing with Rowdy, stopped and asked if i knew his earflap was swelled. No i didn't, still can't see it untill i hold it up. Looked up dog earflap swelling, (Aural Hematoma)got possible infection from mites or ear. I flush (Curaseb ear flush) his right ear every 2 weeks left ear once a month to keep it clean. Vet says cheap is to drain $400, surgery if required $2500🤯 Thats not gonna happen, checked internet vets said leave it alone, get a syringe and drain, or try Preperation H twice a day 14-21 days. Two weeks ago i had him on leash to go out, fushed his ear and he shakes the hell out of his head to get it out. He smacked the storm door with his right ear flap, i remember thinking damn that had to hurt. Then remember the injury to ear flap they mentioned.

His looks like the german shepard. I can't get a pic of his.

[sammons]

Thursday i had a flair up coming on knees wrists first. By late friday my upper chest started hurting when i took in more than a moderate breath. Tried going to bed at 8, but holy hell couldn't lay on my stomach really hurt, tried my back not much better. Only s8tting on edge of bed leaning forward helped. Called my brother at 10 his time, 8 said missery loves company, trying to take my mind off it. He says i'm having a heart attack. I said no i'm not, its too high up and close to the skin, about 4-5" below my neck. He says call neighbor and get to ER, i said its 1230, i'm not waking him up. He said call Tom, i said no. He says call ambulance. I repeat i'm not having a heart attack.

About 3 oclock all my muscles are tenced up and aching, so i put my jeans and shoes on boogie up the stairs for a long hot shower, shower head better upstairs. Getting in the shower, i thought if i were having a heart attack i probably would have boggied up the stairs like that. Spent 30 mins scalding my self and went back down stairs, a lot of relief on the muscles chest still hurt. Laying on my side was tolerable but still hurt when breathing. I dosed of for 40 mins just before 7am. Tired as a sob, but much better. Got to thinking back for an injury that the aurthritis may have moved into.... bingo.

Back in the late 80s i had a seam giving way on my water bed. Got a new matress and wondered how easy would it to really pop the seam. So Tom and i put it dow on the creek bed and over filled it. We had a rope already in the tree. I swung out and over the matress, dropped and knocked the wind out of me and separated something in my sternam🙄 about 4-5:weeks later i went to adjust a wind leak on customer 90 chevy pick up. Normally i stand in the door jamb, place my left knee on the upper door panel pull the door tight to my knee with my left hand and yank in on the upper front to bend it back. I give it a yank and about pissed myself, felt like it opend up and pinched muscle or skin. Think arthur just found a new place to cause greif.

Last night dead tired but much better, went to bed at 730 right to my stomach. Hurt for about a min and pain was gone, dosed off shortly there after waking up at 430 this morn. Fun fun.😁

[sixball]

Kind of sad how the things we did for fun when we were younger come back to haunt us in our "Golden Years". 

Also sad how expensive it is to get treatment for our dogs. The last few rattle snake bites were about $1,200 each.

[sammons]

Yeah, its gotten rediculous. It used to cost me $45 for the anual vaccines, now it costs $120 plus anything else they think of. My first Golden got bone cancer at age 7. That set me back $2300 before it went out of control, that was 2007. Can't imagine the cost now days.

I think its all the insurance rackets that drive up the costs. I got on Social Security  Medicair in 2015. My office visits cost me $65, as soon as i got (very little) medicare coverage, my office visits jumped to $125😡  Here is a kicker, doc said to apply for medicaid and i wouldn't have that cost. Well i applied and got approved the first of the year. Not understanding all that crap, i hadn't gone to the doc yet.needed some attention and was ready to get appoint ments when all these zero copays, 24 free rides to doctor appointments, vision, dental etc benifits. I got a letter in early may saying i had not met my "spin down" so at the end of may i was no longer covered. They wanted me to spend $483 per month, ($2900 for 6 months). My SS is $905 per month once the medicare part B is taken out, WTH? I called many offices trying to figure out what was going on. If you make less than $747 a month  its zero. Talk about a racket🙄

[sixball]

Exactly! I remember when doctors drove Chevrolets and made house call to remote farms & ranches. I had a PET scan (me not the dog) last week. The entire process took about an hour & I was in the scanner about 1/2 hour. The bill was over $25,000! Different insurances paid it. I very much agree that insurance in a scam. We can not afford care without it but because we have it costs are inflated beyond reason. Many of the procedures only exist because insurance pays for them and the money is there. Do you think someone gets a kickback? 

[sammons]

Yep, I think the bigger Hospitals get a very good kickback on the purchase of some or most of the machine equipment they purchase. I also think the Doctors get a kickback for the name brand drugs the perscribe. I think the smaller Hospitals and Doctors probably not so much.

[TFoch]

I hope you're feeling better!

[sammons]

👍 Thanks Tom