I am at the Urgent Care Centre. I've been waiting for three hours and I have maybe another two ahead. With only a swollen lymph node and an ear infection, I am at the bottom of the triage list.
I'm writing because I'm bored and annoyed, but mostly because dealing with the NHS leaves me with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness that I don't know how to cope with anymore.
Dealing with health issues is relatively new to me. They have been there for a while, but (blessed be the youth) it was easier to ignore the symptoms. Additionally, my family's culture around visiting doctors when I was a kid was: don’t.
In Mexico, access to free healthcare requires formal employment, and the employer must be enrolled in the IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, akin to the NHS). For a long time my parents weren't formally employed, so we didn't visit the doctor unless it was absolutely neces…
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