Hornets and Healthcare

 I never thought I would say this but I have something in common with Premier Doug Ford. You've probably seen the clip of Ford at a press conference where he suddenly looks startled. It turned out that he had swallowed a bee or, more likely, a hornet, and he could still feel it roaming the vast reaches of his interior: “I'm good, he's down here buzzing around right now. He has a lot of real estate,” he exclaimed. 

Well, only the day before we were eating our final outdoor breakfast in Algonquin Park when I was stung on the tongue by a hornet. I had been keeping a wary eye on the hovering critters while we ate but one managed to slip into my mouth on a piece of homemade bread and homemade strawberry jam -- a desecration of delicious food.

As you can imagine, this was an owey, but there wasn't any swelling, and we were grateful that it hadn't happened in my throat, which has actually killed people because of the restricted airway. 

                                                            The Bee -- Canadian artist Sarah Young

On our drive home we wondered where the nearest hospital would have been if I'd needed medical assistance and decided it was Huntsville. Then we speculated about whether the Emergency Room is functioning there (it is) given that many been closed or gone to restricted hours this Summer. We were part of successful demonstrations to keep the Critical Care Unit open at Bowmanville hospital when I was a pastor in the community but recently it was closed because of staffing issues, we hope temporarily.  

We can assume that Premier Ford would have received the best medical care if it was required but that isn't the case for many Ontarians due to the strangulation of healthcare budgets and the nonsensical restrictions on salary increases for healthcare workers who have responded to the crisis of the pandemic with such dedication. I still cannot fathom why voters in this province were not outraged about this during the election. Now we are wondering whether part of the bigger Conservative plan is privatizing aspects of medicine which would likely push some further to the margins of care. 

When I read my New Testament I discover that Jesus was a healer, often in miraculous fashion. I also know that the growth of the early Christian movement came about, in part, through the compassionate support of the frail and sick as an expression of Christ's love. 

Medical care is very different today than it was two thousand years ago, but aren't the principles similar? This is no joke, Premier Ford. "Building Ontario" must include healthcare.