A childhood friend of mine has started blogging about her experiences with health care in England and the United States.
My friend (I'll call her "S." since she's choosing to blog anonymously) grew up in Maryland but in her teens moved with her family to England. Since then S. has spent years at a time in both countries. Now she's all grown up, living and working in Oxford, England.
She started her blog less than two weeks ago so there are only a few posts. What's there reveals good and bad about health care in both countries, but so far the U.K. system is looking awfully enticing.
She writes about the experience of her ex-husband, being treated for colon cancer in England:
"I believe that not having any financial strain with regard to decisions about his treatment has gone a long was towards his generally decent state of mind and ability to handle what's been happening. All he has to think about is getting better and his work -- but 'how will I pay for all this' is not something he EVER has to think about."
S. is a smart, educated, woman in her 40s who has raised two children (shockingly grown up now themselves). Her perspective on health care on both sides of the Atlantic makes for good reading. I hope she keeps it up.
Her blog's Between Two Islands at http://between2islands.blogspot.com/.
Photo by Renea Ehrhardt
