Pinched Nerve, Week 2

It's now been just over a week since I suffered a pinched nerve in my back. At least I think it's a pinched nerve. It could be a herniated disc or something else. My doctor needs an MRI scan to be sure... but she won't order it. She's hiding behind the defense of "Insurance won't pay." First it was "Insurance says you need an x-ray first." So I got a (worthless) x-ray. Then after the x-ray results were (100% predictably) inconclusive I asked, "Now can I get an MRI?" and she changed her excuse to, "Insurance wants you to try a few weeks of PT [physical therapy] first." I'm not sure insurance really wants that. I suspect she hasn't even checked. I don't know what her hangup is. But the net effect is that now, on top of being in pain, I'll have to shop for a new doctor.

Being sick sucks. Being sick while medical care is managed by penny-pinching accountants over doctors sucks worse.

...

Wow, this post turned really negative. I thought it was going to be mildly positive. Because while I am frustrated with non-progress with my medical care, I am seeing progress with my actual condition. My back has been getting better each day. I'm still far from pain-free, and I'm still on prescription medication, but at least I can see improvement day by day.

Kids Can Get Shot!

Today the CDC approved the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for kids aged 5-11. Example coverage: Washington Post article, 2 Nov 2021. This is huge news because a key component of answering the question, "How do we get things back to normal?" is getting kids back to school. And a key part of doing that safely is immunizing schoolkids from the virus. Just like schoolkids are required to receive routine vaccinations against ten or more other diseases that were scourges in the past.