I just got an email form my best friend, Gan, who lives in the US now. His Mum had a stroke and fell down in the bathroom in their PJ home. As I write this, I don’t have any more news than that.
Gan and I have been close for over a quarter of a century. His family, likewise, means a lot to me and I’m more than a little concerned about this.
In an email to him, I wrote about how we are, at 45, getting to the point where maladies are leaping form the pages of medical journals into our lives. Which brings me to something else that’s pissed me off recently.
I have Ankylosing Spondylitis, commonly called AS, which is not related to Spondylosis although they sound the same. AS is a form of arthritis which affects the spine and some other bone & joints in the body. I don’t have it especially bad and have become used to the pain and reduced mobility. It affects me painfully primarily in the back but also in the wrists and ankles. Though not painful, my hip movements are also limited.
A couple of years ago I took up a new Personal Accident insurance policy and declared AS as a pre-existing condition and to my dismay, AIA refused to cover any part of my spine.
Now, AS doesn’t reduce the strength or integrity of the spine. Yes, you get inflammation and pain and in the more extreme cases, some fusing of bones and the resultant loss of flexibility. All this, however, in no way affects you from getting on with life. My good friend, Ray, has AS that is much more severe than mine and it hasn’t stopped him cycling through Vietnam and Laos. More than once.
I presented this scenario to my agent: What if I was involved in a car accident and suffered whiplash? The AS would have virtually no medical bearing on the injury but I would receive no compensation for the whiplash injuries as it is an injury to the neck/spine.
Pisses me off but I already have a few battles on my plate and can’t be bothered to fight this one too.
Meanwhile, my thoughts are with Gan and his family.
No comments:
Post a Comment