Pre Pandemic
I was born with congenital heart disease, more specifically Transposition of the Great Arteries. It's a rare defect where, when I was born, my arteries were reversed. This drastically changes the way blood is circulated around the body & leaves a great shortage of oxygen in the blood. It's so bad the babies with TGA are born BLUE.
This must be corrected within months of the child's life, or else it will die before the age of 1. Mine was "corrected" with a Senning Procedure; an Atrial switch operation that diverts the oxygen-poor blood to the left ventricle and the pulmonary artery and the oxygen-rich blood to the right ventricle and the aorta. With this procedure the right ventricle must do a lot more work than a healthy person.
As a result I get tired faster & it takes longer to recover, because it takes longer for oxygen to circulate throughout my body & through the lungs. More worrisome is that minor infections can easily become endocarditis, an infection that spreads to the heart (can cause sudden death). My weakened heart wouldn't be able to fight it.
Covid-19 would be a HUGE problem for me. My lungs are already compromised and this is a virus that attacks them & makes even healthy people have to go on ventilators. Unless I am fortunate enough to be asymptomatic (VERY unlikely) this would easily put me in the hospital.
Pandemic Times
In March my spouse and I were laid off from our jobs & even though we had saved a decent amount, it wouldn't have lasted long (we were already trying to catch up from being sick most of January). With EI (55% of our income) we would have been able to pay our bills. Not struggling, but not much room for anything else.
However since the beginning of March I had a sharp pain in my mouth, followed by daily migraines that made me unable to focus. I would sleep for the entire day when I didn't have work. I went to my regular dentist & found out terrible news; 2 molars & 2 wisdom teeth would have to be removed, in addition to needing 2 fillings
Remember how I said infections can become endocarditis and thus fatal? I had TWO tooth infections & I've had them for well over a month.
Everything Closes (March 20th)
I had an appointment with my cardiologist in April, but they close & the soonest I can see my doctor is Sept. I'm not sure what I should be doing in regards to my health, I'm doing things blindly & hoping for the best.
Also: Motherf*#$@% The dentist closes & I can't get any work done unless it's a "you're going to die today" emergency. They offer me anti-biotics at $15/wk and it's supposed to last me until oh....
Dentist Opens (June 1st)
At this point I'm in misery. The anti-biotics help, but I'm still in a great deal of pain.
I think I've spent $100 in antibiotics since March
My wisdom teeth have become so impacted that I need to see a specialist. Due to the delay (because of covid) my bill becomes over THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Also: due to the risks involved with my heart condition I have to do each procedure sloooowly. Lots of indoor, away from people, recovery time. Don't want to get covid when I'm even more at risk!
Regular dentist
Visit 1: Examination & Xrays ($100) - refers to surgical dentist
Visit 2: Tooth Removal ($150)
Recovery for a week (No work/activity)
Specialist
Visit 3: Examination & Xrays ($100) - surgical dentist
Visit 4: Pre surgery cleaning ($125)
Visit 5: Wisdom tooth removal ($1,000 + drug fees)
Recovery for a week (No work/activity)
Visit 6: Removal of Stitches
Visit 7: Wisdom Tooth removal ($700 + drug fees)
Recovery for a week (No work/activity)
Visit 8: Removal of Stitches
Regular Dentist
Visit 9: Filling #1 & 2 ($500)
Missing 3 Days of Work
Visit 10: Tooth removal ($700 + drug fees)
Recovery for a week (no work/activity)
Visit 11: Removal of Stitches
*I'm also paying $220 for a taxi to/from to limit risk of covid
Estimated total cost: $3,700
How Cerb saved me
CERB is Canada's emergency response to the massive drop in employment because of COVID. Individuals receive $2,000/mth for 6 months if their job/life has been affected by Covid
If my spouse and I had EI (55% of income) we would have made $2,000/mth. Our bills are...$2,100/mth. -$100/mth
Normally our food budget is $600/mth, but since April we've had to order online, which is more expensive. -$200/mth
We are now back to work at reduced hours, but I've had to take a LOT of time off this Summer. I've spent 4 non consecutive weeks recovering from surgery. Extra caution due to pandemic: -$2,000
In an ideal world, we would not be having a pandemic, I would not have to see a specialist (less $$$), I would not need as much time off & could go on a payment plan. Unfortunately 2020 sucks.
I'm glad CERB was here for me during the pandemic because without it I'd probably be dead. What could I do if I can't afford to pay $3,700 upfront for essential dentistry, but I also can't get a loan because all my potential co-signers (I needed a cosigner cause I was laid off) are also laid off?
We like to hear about people buying ridiculous things with their CERB money because it makes entertaining news (also makes people mad and tune into the news).
I spent my CERB money
1) paying $3,700+ in urgent dentist bills (2/6 months)
2) making up for time off recovering from surgery (3/6months)
3) paying bills when laid off for 2 months from March - May (5/6months)
*have not accepted 6th month, seeing what cardiologist advises
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