I don't find much to interest me among the random posts which pop up on Facebook but there was one yesterday which caught my eye. It said something like 'If you were born between 1937 and 1946, congratulations, you are part of a very exclusive group of just 1% of the Australian community. I am fascinated by the implications of that statement but I have to rush. Marilyn and I both have an appointment at the doctor's. I will post this now but come back later and add to it.
It's now 4.00pm. What a marathon at the doctor's. Jamie had to go as well so he drove. We have taken on a new doctor who has just opened at practice at Westbury, about a 15-minute drive away. Jamie knew him years ago at a different practice and recommended him. We were quite happy to move as we couldn't get the doctor of our choice at the local practice unless we booked weeks in advance.
Today was to be a full-blown annual check-up for each of us. I went in to the nurse first. 'Take off your shoes, loosen your belt, lie on the bed!' She wrapped electrodes to my ankles and wrists, switched on the machine which went 'beep' and wrote something on a bit of paper. She weighed me, took my pulse, measured my height (I'm 5cm shorter than I thought I was!) and asked me to 'repeat after me'.
Then I waited to see the doctor. He takes his time and records everything that happens on his computer. He didn't have a dozen patients waiting outside so was happy to string the consultation along. Multiply all that by 3 and it took until lunchtime for the three of us to be sorted. I was delighted to get home.
Apparently, we're as well as can be expected for our age and that's about as good as it gets.
Looking again at the Facebook post above, my first thought was 'What proportion of the country's social services budget does that very fortunate 1% consume? Might it be more than they deserve?
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