And Now For Something Completely Different...

Let's not talk about gold... the dollar... Janet Yellen... war... or the election. Let's instead turn our attention to a more important story: Health

Dear Fellow Expat:

“Mister Baldwin… are you still there?”

The woman on the other line had me on hold for seven minutes.

Now, she was coming back with results from Saturday’s chest X-ray.

“So, we see a mass in your chest,” she said matter-of-factly. “This might be pneumonia, or it could be a tumor. We’d have to get you set up for radiology.”

It was quiet for a good 20 seconds.

“How long will that take?” I asked.

“Well, I can schedule you for nine days out…” she said. “But your insurance requires pre-authorization. So, that would be October 30… or whenever it’s approved, the next available day.”

Pre-approval… for what could be pneumonia or something more serious.

“If they approve it by tomorrow,” the nurse continued, “we can get you in by tomorrow. If it takes a week… then it takes a week.”

I’ve been dealing with a nasty cough for three weeks.

But I never developed a fever.

My wife had pneumonia. My daughter had it, too. This pneumatic condition has taken over the Baltimore area with a viciou…