It's been close to two weeks that I have been sick with cold. I caught it at work, everyone else had it, I was the last one to catch it.
I finished up a bottle of Tussin yesterday, but am still sick. Perhaps even sicker than before.
Back home, in Slovakia, I would have simply gone to see a doctor and most likely be in perfect shape by now.
But I am in America. I love this country, but the one thing I will never understand about it is why you have to buy your health here? As far as I know, this is the only civilized country that does not give a hoot about you if you get sick. You either have to be wealthy or very poor to get medical care. The wealthy can afford it, the really, really poor are taken care of by the society.
Making about $960/month before taxes, I think I'm actually poor. My rent alone is $325/month, not including utilities. Yet, I live in a small, one bedroom, appartment, outside a small town in Northern Wisconsin. I work full time, in health care, yet I don't get any. This is strange, very strange.
Luckily, I have been off for the last two days, and able to stay in bed. But tonight, I'm going back to work, working midnight to 8 am. Between midnight and 5 am, there will probably be little going on. Between 5 and 8 am, I'll be so busy I won't know where my head stands. I'm getting too old for this. I would really like to retire.
But on what? When I came to the US, I was a Capuchin friar. I lived with a vow of poverty, not owning even the clothes I was wearing.
When I left the Capuchins, I worked as a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. I got free room and board and a couple hundred dollars a month. The Diocese takes care of its priests after they retire. But since I converted to a different religion 10 years ago, I get nothing from the Church. All the years I spent in its service do not count. In my next lifetime, I definitely don't want to have anything to do with the Church.
Ironically, several years ago, I studied to be a financial advisor, and understand money very well. I have been investing as much as I could over the past ten years, but you need a good 30-40 years of solid investment to retire completely.
Oh, gosh, I need to get over this cold quick. I'm raving right now. Tomorrow's another day, and perhaps my headache will be gone. I sure hope so!
Survived the night at work. Still sick. I'm off for the rest of the day. I think I'll spend it in bed. Besides, it's snowing out there this morning. Luckily, my intuition told me to take my winter sweater and my thick gloves to work. I'm very glad I did.
Tested my blood sugar in the morning. It was elevated, as it has been ever since I got this cold. Apparently, my body uses up all its energy to fight the infection and has little left to deal with my diabetes.