I'm glad Gunner has survived his brush with cardiac surgery.
I'll probably soon have something similar, if I'm lucky. If
not, not.

About his bills and his need to rely on government to help
pay for them:

I can remember when my first daughter was born. The bill
was, IIRC, about $300. Now? Several thousands. In the
meantime, we've had Medicare, Medicaid, tort suits, doctors
who think nothing of driving around in Mercedes and thinking
they deserve to, and insurance bills that few self-employed
can afford. The medical people can save us from various
diseases that would have killed us before, but only at a
whorehouse price. The result is that medical bills are
astronomical. I have lousy insurance that costs me over
$800 per month. I really don't know how much longer I can
afford to pay for it.

The reality is that "socialized medicine" is a fact of life.
We have no choice but to live in the environment the
majority has chosen for us. That environment includes costs
we might not be able to pay and government help that we may
need. Railing against it may feel good, but it doesn't pay
the bills. Expecting Gunner to somehow change the health
care regime that the rest of have chosen is nonsense. I'm
sure (well, sort of) that he would choose to have doctors
driving around in Buicks, tort lawyers to behave themselves,
judges to dismiss frivolous lawsuits with prejudice, and
medical bills to be in line with the general cost of living.
But he doesn't have that power. He can only live in the
world we have created.

--
Robert Sturgeon
Summum ius summa inuria.
http://www.vistech.net/users/rsturge/