are you sure it's free?

what happens when your child needs to stay in the hospital in spain?

hello, friends. i had started a commitment to post a letter to you every thursday, but this week… got away from us.

monday, my daughter was feeling very despondent, losing hope, not being able to see a future without chronic stomach pain and nausea. she started having stomach issues nearly three years ago, and despite all the tests and medications and treatments we have tried, she has just slowly gotten worse- to the point where she has been too ill to go to school At All since november. so monday, she just got very despondent about it.

her specialist here, who had recently referred her to an even more specialized specialist, had suggested if her pain continued to be at this high level that we just head over to the children’s hospital…. so that’s what we did. we spent the day tuesday in the e.r. waiting to be admitted, and have been here ever since.

have they suddenly magically figured out how to manage her pain or solve the cause for that matter? well no, they haven’t. not in one day after over two years of specialists. but here’s what i can’t get over: it’s free.

i keep googling to see if that is correct, but as a minor resident here, she has automatic access to the public health system, where a hospital stay is——free. along with everything else (though we do pay small amounts for medicines). health care is a universal right; it’s part of what our taxes pay for. health care is part of an infrastructure of a functioning society here. as it is in every other “civilized nation,” as they call it, except the united states.

my husband and i, per our visa requirements, utilize the private healthcare system. for that, we have insurance that covers pretty much everything-for 200 euros per month.

so, distracted by my child’s suffering, and busy working to convince people that no, this is not just anxiety, can you please just take it seriously (just like i had to do in the u.s., mind you): i don’t really have much to say. i’m focused on my child’s health and i am not worried about it destroying our finances.

hopefully, next week, we’ll be out, and i will have pretty pictures and fun stories for you again. until then, i am just grateful.