Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Sherri

If you don't have free speech, what do you have?

Hope it starts working around here soon.

Sherri

If you don't have free speech, what do you have?

Paula, ma cherie,

Qu'est-ce que c'est "skivvies"?  When I am out of zee mukluks, I am wearing underneath zee nothing. I tinks zee garcons on dis ere forum woulds much prefers zee leetle curvey young womens doing zee danse, non? You likes the danse well, I assuming. Dids you nots get so drunks at zee WI festival of liverwurst last you jumping on zee table and starts removing zee touque, but then passing outs, you fallings down?

Ah, dere be nothings finer than womans artistic danse, zee motion fluid to zee musique, zee interpretive gestures and finally zee warming up to the rhythm so that she is removing zee leetle article of clothing until she is au naturel. I am tinking dat dis would be bonne entertainment on bus trip next we go. Sherri et toi would make for more interessant bus trip if you doing zat. Trip not seems so longs.

You being a good leetle girl and sends me clothing optional photo, and then I sends you one. Oui ou non?

Boys oh boys, I have a hard enough time reading my own language, then throw in some well thought up make believes and some french and I'm, well I'm, I can't say that here, pretty sure I can't, but you can probably figure it out on your own.

Snowshoveler is scared of the camera, so there is no snow dance pictures.  You'll have to ask the Chief Ungabuna what it was like to see a snow dance in Nova Scotia. 

Boy he really gets around doesn't he???  Maybe he's a spy, maybe he's really an alien here to collect human specimans to take back to his home world???  You just never know these days.  Snowshoveler told some of his history - ODD!

Sherri

If you don't have free speech, what do you have?

Oh windy, windy one....you wax so..well...windy....

Ze maks fun of di acczent, I sinks....and ze generalz no likee datz.....zhe getz ze speciale toolz ouz for ze sveetalkies likz zu....snipz, snapz...no more zveetie talkzies....changes vu to meekz as lambchopz...'yes dearz' and "no dearz' all we hear from ze winzy one....no more azkzies for nakie piztorez....generalz just need whisperz "snip" in ze winzy ear...

Sherri

Sorry to hear about your grandmother.  How is she doing?  Have they been able to stabilize her blood sugars? 

Paula

Paula

Thanks for your concern.  She's better in the hospital now then at home.  My grandfather can't look after her easily and Mom and Dad can't be in their part of the house all the time.  They can get her blood sugars up but they fall rapidly, she still isn't able to keep much down, but she said her supper stayed with her longer last night then any meal in the last two days.  So I guess that's good.

Honestly I have to shake my head laughing at the health care system here.  She was in the emergency dept. over night the first night, they said they had no rooms, but amazingly when that got full of people to be admitted - they had beds.  Makes me wonder why I'm paying taxes in Nova Scotia.

But I will try and do snow dances as often as possible, we need the snow, it's calling for flurries and rain next week.  With any luck my snow dance will make the flurries prevail.

Sherri

If you don't have free speech, what do you have?

Sherri

How old is your grandmother, if you don't mind me asking?  Do you have any idea what they have her on for her diabetes?  I know they can do a combo of oral medications and insulin shots depending on the severity of her diabetes to try and control/stabilize it.  Also, if she is taking any kind of steroids (prednisone, cortisone, etc.) for anything like arthritis, etc. that can really wreak havoc with her sugars. 

I always find it interesting to hear about Canada's heatlh system because it has been such a hot topic of debate here in the U.S.  I have read articles stating that people are dying while waiting to see doctors for what should be routine procedures because there is such a shortage of doctors, heard that the quality of care is not good and that people are coming to the U.S. to see doctors, willing to pay just to be seen by doctors, etc.  Then, on the other end of the spectrum, I have heard that the healthcare is very good there, the costs very minimal/free (not counting your other taxes), medications are free and there are more types of medications because there is an easier and/or better process of approving medications. 

Then, there is the U.S. system where everything is privatized except for Medicare.  Insurance keeps rising at an astronomical rate (when I was married we paid $240/month as our 30% of the monthly premium, the X's company paid the other 70% of a family plan, for health insurance for an HMO which limits which doctors you can see, limits which drugs it will pay for, limits what hospitals you can go to and has whole list of exclusions and/or pre-existing medical condition clauses, usually impacting on quality of care (i.e. not having the best doctors in the plan because they are willing to accept lesser fees) versus the HSA I now have which is turning out to be an absolute joke (Bush was toutng these as the healthcare plan of the future...gees, I hope not!) which stands for a Health Savings Account.  This is where supposedly pretax dollars (except that Wisconsin forgot to pass legislature to that effect and we DO get taxed on it...OOPS! ) are put into a 'savings account' and you pay for your deductible out of there (usually with a high deductible - ours is 2600/year for a single plan, 5000/year for a family!).  It is up to your employer how much they kick in but there is a maxiumum to what they are allowed (2000/year).  After the deductible is met, then supposedly everything is paid for.  Ok in theory but the reality is much different.  Our HSA turns out to be similar to an HMO as there is a limit to what docs you can see (and the ones you can see mostly are of lesser quality, with a healthcare group who I won't name but really stink!), the HSA company takes their sweet time about when they actually deposit the money in your account (its not regulated yet) so you have to wait on them (two weeks since money was sent from employer, still not deposited by HSA company), etc.  And if you don't have the money to pay for insurance (or your employer doesn't offer it or can't afford to offer it), then you can go to doctors but pay out of pocket and if you can't afford to pay, then you pretty much can only go for emergency care,  unless you can get government funded insurance (Title 19). 

Then there is the malpractice insurance....the doctors are paying a ridiculous amount but they cannot afford to be without it.  One doc I know (and he is an excellent surgeon with incredible credentials) pays $60,000/year for his premium!  That is more than a lot of families make on a combined income!

I don't have any answers as to what is the right system or how to fix it, however, I think, at least here in the U.S. healthcare is approaching a crisis  point....and something needs to be done.  I think also that Canada is having some major problems with their healthcare system and is also reaching a crisis point in terms of doctors leaving because their salaries are so regulated, etc.  It will be interesting (and a little/lot scary) to see what happens to the healthcare system in both our countries over the next 10 to 20 years. 

Anyway....didn't mean to write a novel about healthcare....

I hope your grandmother does well and that they can get her on a regimen that stabilizes her blood sugars. 

Paula

Forgive me for not quoting that into this one.  My grandmother is 74 or 75 and has a bunch of pills she takes for her many ailments.  She has had stints put in her arteries twice, and they discovered in the middle of last year that her kidneys were starting to fail, fibermalga(sorry - I probably slaughtered that one),arthritis, and the list unbelievably goes on.  She takes insulin twice a day (as do my mother and grandfather - I'm lucky so far), and I made a updated list of her meds for the nurses in the hospital.  It took almost a whole page typed with 1/2 spaces in between.  Everything from arthiritis pills to nerve pills to sleeping pills.  Way too many if you ask me.  If you have a health plan her the drugs are free.  Me, I don't have one, so I pay for any meds I need - don't go to doctor very often.  She is on the DVA (dept of veternans affairs) plan with my grandfather, they have an allowance of so much a year and then they have to pay.  Which is usually only a months worth of meds.  But that costs a small fortune.

But Wednesday when she almost went into a diabetic coma...she was so close it wasn't funny.  The First Responders told me I was in the wrong profession - I just laughed a little and said no, hate the health care system.

Around here the waiting times are horrible.  For instance, the doctor thinks my father may be diabetic.  Found this out last October, he's waiting for tests that are scheduled for next month.  Most specialists are in Halifax, we are just starting to see some branching off and spreading into towns.  But they don't stay long.  Doctors come and they can't wait to get back to the city.  At my doctors office, it's unreal.  Say your appointment is for 10:30, you can be sure of an hours or more wait.  Dad had an appointment with a surgeon, he waited in that office for 2 hours and finally told the receptionist to go pound salt, he wasn't getting paid to stand there, there was only standing room left in this office that housed 3 surgeons.  He said there was at the most 8 chairs.  It's a little crazy.

But if you manage to get into see the doctor, sugeon or what have you, the care is most generally awesome.  Nanny had to spend a night in emergency in Halifax 5-6 years ago.  She had fallen and hit her head on the corner of her night stand.  Dad and myself took to the hospital in Bridgewater, they sent us on to Halifax where we sat in the waiting room for 5 hours and then they called her into the back room and we sat there for an additional 4 hours.  Mind you Dad and I had to get up to go to work in the morning.  She had a "blood bubble" between her skull and some kind of membrane.  I thought it was called a bruise - but what do I know?

Grampy had a stroke 5-6 years ago (the second set of stints, the stroke for grampy and her falling into the night stand all happened in 2 months).  We took him to the hospital and they sent him home.  He couldn't walk, Nanny had just gotten out of Halifax from surgery and they sent him home.  The next morning he went back in and the doctor tried to refuse to see him.  She didn't last long around here.  Anyway off to the city for tests and supposedly back home.  He stayed in the QEII for 3 weeks and then onto rehab for a month.  His care was good, could have been better, but we all survived.

But anyway I will be going to see her again today so I'll keep you posted.

Sherri

If you don't have free speech, what do you have?

So I'm back off to do some more dancing.  It's a little chilly out and that damn pole looks a little frosty, but I'll be brave.

Sherri

If you don't have free speech, what do you have?