Thankful Thursday: Modern Medications

As some of you  know from reading yesterday's header-note, I have been suffering with a bacterial ear infection this week.  I was pretty miserable.  It's not really like me to put off going to the doctor, if I really need to, but I realized that's exactly what I was doing, and with the long weekend ahead of me, I knew I'd be in trouble if I put it off any longer! So, today I went in, found out that it was indeed an ear infection, which can be sometimes, and had been earlier this week, in my neck and shoulders.

What I'm so thankful for today, this Thankful Thursday, (oh, and thank you, Laurie, at Women Taking a Stand, for hosting this month!), what I'm so, so thankful for today is that modern medicine has made it possible for me to take a pill, and feel great relief from pain almost instantly.  I'm still feeling pain off and on, but I can definitely say the medicine is working!  Thankfulness wells up within me when I think of all the benefits that I enjoy from living in this free country of mine, and in this time of medical advancements, and with the resources to be able to pay for medical treatment, and for the provision of work which God has graciously provided to my husband for so many years, and for the medical insurance that we enjoy, which paid for my medications. Many people complain about insurance, having to pay for it, and I know our insurance situation may be changing, and become more and more expensive, but I want to thank the Lord for how blessed our family has been to have great insurance up til now.  It wasn't as if we said one day, "Let's find out just how good our insurance really is!"  But we found out whether we had decent insurance or not.  You know, you pay and you pay, and sometimes you feel like all you do is pay: but be grateful if you never have to use your insurance! You don't know how good your insurance is until you are diagnosed with cancer and go into the hospital for surgery and a 5-day stay! That's a pretty good test of how good your insurance is!  Well, I give God all the glory, and thank Him that our insurance is fantastic!  Words kind of fail me.  Our bill for the hospital stay, not including the doctors, surgeons, etc., was $32,000!  That is peanuts compared to the experience of many of you, I know, but 8 years ago, it was an enormous amount of money to us, let me tell you.  How much do you think we had to pay of that $32,000 bill?  Well, we had to pay $100.  One hundred dollars.  That's it.  I am so grateful to the Lord for all the medical mercies He has extended to us over the years.  And today, thank You, Lord, for antibiotics and pain killers, when you need them.  I don't like taking them, but when I needed them, praise God, they were there!
(Go visit Laurie's blog, Women Taking a Stand, to read other thankful posts!)