So the repubs want to destroy SS/Medicare.

Well, don't ever let them do it! I'm sure you've heard that adage which says, "while the cat's away the mice will play". Disclaimer: If I'm not at my usual meticulous,sharp self please over-look me, because I'm now experiencing the after-effects of a morphine shot at the ER, and am taking a liquid elixir of hydrocodone/APAP 7.5/500mg, and the new and improved version of penicillin called Augmentin.

I almost died yesterday from an acute attack of peritonsillar cellulitis!

For all those who aren't academic scholars out there, i.e. physicians, nurses, and first let me say a hardy "huzzah!, huzzah!" to all those (often unthanked) medical professionals out there, I was almost killed by a simple case of tonsillitis(and trust me I'm not being hyperbolic at all in the least), but not for their expert and god-given gifts, ImpeachKingBushII wouldn't be here this morning writing all of you this BIG Thank You note!
More of my ordeal under the fold...

It started on Friday morning as what I almost fatally thought was a simple sore throat. I'm the type of person that doesn't even take an Advil or an aspirin, until I'm at least a 7 on the pain scale. But I started popping those Advils like candy , and gargling with salt water all day yesterday. I haven't had a drop of alcohol in seven years, and never use recreational drugs(but I'm for legalizing/decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana for recreational/medicinal purposes "PRN"-as necessary), nor do I use hard drugs-EVER unless prescribed by a doctor.

My wife(the cat) went out of town to visit relatives in Philadelphia and left the mice(me) behind, me thinking this simple sore throat was no big deal. Boy was I in the for shock of my (thus far) long life!

Anyway, it pays to know people, especially one's neighbors, and to be on more than that passing "Hi and Bye" relationship, that we sometimes find ouselves in in our "busy as little bees" world we all happen to live in. My throat almost completely closed, I couldn't breathe, and I was fast fading in and out of consciousness! I now know what it means when people say when they say something was "as fast as Grant going through Richmond"!

And I frankly don't know what I would've done if I didn't have SS/Medicare and especially the Part D AARP prescription drug plan in my wallet. So in addition to having access to the best medical care available in America, I consider myself lucky that I can afford the drugs that others pay tens of thousands of dollars for, unless they are of course members of Congress and/or Senators.

So the next time you hear the repubs chanting how much we could save by getting rid of Social Security/Medicare or cutting-out SS/Medicare altogether, (which by the way, that FICA deduction on your paycheck, IS your disability premium if you ever get disabled!), just remember that for people like me who worked 32 long years paying into that system, it could mean the difference between life and death. I seriously doubt, however, that I would've gotten the expert care I got this morning at the ER that I got IF I didn't have both of those cards in my wallet!

And this is why I have supported a single-payer healthcare plan that puts everyone on the same level playing field, no matter whether they are poor, or Jane and Joe six-pack, or a Congress member or a Senator-or even president getting the best care every day without fail.

I'm sorry, this is my first diary I've written "three sheets under the wind", but I felt this thank you note, and this pat on the back for Social Security/Medicare, needed to be said in the worst way. I'm going back to bed now, resting and recovering, but Ill be back and forth to answer anyone's questions/comments. Thanks for reading!