On not using ambulances: I don't recommend it necessarily, but that is how my parents roll. My dad infamously cussed out an EMT crew, with his metal kneecap showing through his skin and blood everywhere, because he didn't want to pay for an ambulance ride or abandon his undamaged vehicle to be stolen or impounded-- he had already called family members and was waiting for them to arrive-- one driver to take his scooter home, and another to take him to the hospital. He won that argument. And that is *not* the only time they've done something like that. I have this crazy childhood memory of mom bringing over a couple of neighbor guys, rolling my dad into a blanket, and loading him into our station wagon so mom could drive him to the ER.
The distrust of medical services runs deep with my folks. Mom always has to stay at the hospital with him, because he's the sort who wakes up from anesthesia (or just wakes up in a fog), rips out IVs, and tries to leave... while recovering from surgery, in an open-backed hospital gown.
I wonder if you could do that vinegar-soak thing with, say, ziploc bags... I need to get my husband to try that.
Medical bills when you don't have insurance: don't take it for gospel, but my mother's advice (and she's been there more than most) is: if you end up with big medical bills you can't pay, when you get the bill, just pay $20 on it. Every month. This keeps them from turning you over to a collections agency, and as long as you're dealing with the original biller, you can often negotiate a lower price. And as long as you're not completely broke, you can keep paying that 20/mo basically forever, and as often as you can stand it, you get on the phone with the biller, you tell them about your financial situation, and that you need to work out a discount-- it often works, possibly because you've taken up so much of their office staff's time that they are desperate to get rid of you! If you own your home, and you live in it (i.e. it's not an investment, vacation house, or rental property), they can't take your house for non-payment of medical bills, and you can't lose the house you live in due to bankruptcy either (double-check the rules where you live, don't believe everything you read on the internet!), so you're generally safe on that score *if* you own your house.
Re: healthcare on the cheap
The distrust of medical services runs deep with my folks. Mom always has to stay at the hospital with him, because he's the sort who wakes up from anesthesia (or just wakes up in a fog), rips out IVs, and tries to leave... while recovering from surgery, in an open-backed hospital gown.
I wonder if you could do that vinegar-soak thing with, say, ziploc bags... I need to get my husband to try that.
Medical bills when you don't have insurance: don't take it for gospel, but my mother's advice (and she's been there more than most) is: if you end up with big medical bills you can't pay, when you get the bill, just pay $20 on it. Every month. This keeps them from turning you over to a collections agency, and as long as you're dealing with the original biller, you can often negotiate a lower price. And as long as you're not completely broke, you can keep paying that 20/mo basically forever, and as often as you can stand it, you get on the phone with the biller, you tell them about your financial situation, and that you need to work out a discount-- it often works, possibly because you've taken up so much of their office staff's time that they are desperate to get rid of you! If you own your home, and you live in it (i.e. it's not an investment, vacation house, or rental property), they can't take your house for non-payment of medical bills, and you can't lose the house you live in due to bankruptcy either (double-check the rules where you live, don't believe everything you read on the internet!), so you're generally safe on that score *if* you own your house.