little boxes

Noodles? check.

Avocados? check.

Sundried tomatoes? check.

The most delicious hummus ever? check.

10 boxes of G-CSF injections? check.

Another visit to the hospital today, this time just to pick up the aforementioned and aforepictured little boxes. Consequently, I've had the song "Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds stuck in my head all afternoon:

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes made of tickytacky

Little boxes on the hillside,

little boxes all the same

There's a green one and a pink one

and a blue one and a yellow one

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

and they all look just the same.

***

I recently read a blog by a lady who takes the same medicine I do, who said she pays (per injection) US$200. Someone from Holland said they pay nothing for their medicine because of their health insurance, but otherwise it would cost them €120. (Another patient, from the UK, said that because of the NHS, she gets 42 injections for £6.85.) I work those costs out to be between NZ$300-$350, roughly.

Here in New Zealand, I get all the G-CSF drugs absolutely free. I also get to see the haematologist for free, and free hospital care should I need to be admitted due to infection... the only thing that isn't free is the exorbitant parking prices at the hospital.

Since November 2007, when I started going to the hospital regularly for all these tests, etc, I figure I've racked up a pretty hefty bill.. but I haven't had to pay a cent.

I have always known that I am really lucky to live in New Zealand. This is just one of the reasons.