Heat illness

Deep Blade hit hard, loses week, saved by Maine's Democrats


Orono, Maine (6/25/2005): Only slightly overstated

I'm posting this as a cautionary tale and as a big thank you to Maine Governor John Baldacci and the Democrats in the Maine Legislature.

In 2004, Maine enacted a new, comprehensive, quasi-public health care plan now called Dirigo Choice. It went through (with some compromise) only after a tough wrangle with the minority Republicans during the very difficult budget year of 2004.

Since moving back here in 2002, we had been flying naked. Maine has not been a very good state for health insurance affordability. I hadn't seen a doctor in years. We make almost the median income for our state and our area, but a health premium was going to be about $300 more than our mortgage payment.

When Dirigo finally began implementation a year ago, we fretted because Anthem picked up the contract to run it as the sole bidder. They had lobbied to crush it. However, when it became available to us this spring we got quotes. Cobbling together discounts, we found the premium would be within range! We signed up and had health insurance May 1. It's still not easy to afford, but....

Now comes last weekend. We had out-of-state visitors. Saturday was brutally hot (see photo). We walked around outside all over the place, plus in and out of a lot of stores. Sunday we drove to Mount Desert Island (cooler, but still sunny and windy there), walking the streets of Bar Harbor, around Otter Cliffs and Thunder Hole, on top of Cadillac Mountain, and on the other side of the island at Bass Harbor Light. That's hours and hours outside. Then Monday, more hours walking Belfast in a hot sun followed by a long boat ride around Penobscot Bay, up to Islesboro and back to Belfast. That last item was the real kicker, I think -- two hours rocking in a boat under a stiff breeze. Look at me! I just love watching the windy ocean go by in my shorts and cotton shirt!

I didn't feel quite right Monday night. Tuesday afternoon I fell off a cliff into an inferno. My fever rapidly climbed to about 103F and I was hardly moving. It came down some and it was Wednesday before we called the doctor. Feeling a little better, I was still ordered to go to the hospital for tests. (Hey! This insurance sure is starting to look like a wise decision.)

After an exam with a very, very knowledgeable NP in my new doctor's office, the conclusion was dehydration and heat illness. Blood tests were negative for active infection. The prescription was to drink three quarts of water three days in a row. Trust me, the Poland Spring bottles are lined up like soldiers.

The woozy, sloshing feeling, the sweats, the aches, and the fever are slowly getting better. In fact, my temp. has been normal all day today.

The moral of this story is that if you don't have a doctor, you need one. It should be possible to organize against the real obstructionists in this society -- the Republicans -- on that issue alone. What would have happened if I had failed to seek medical advice because I had to avoid a $2000 emergency room visit, and that temp had spiked to 106 or 107? Would've been the end of Deep Blade Journal, for sure.

Oh, do remember to drink plenty of un-sugared liquid and take good measures against overexposure during outdoor activities.