Author: Emily Wright

  It’s been just over two weeks since the injections, and as expected, I’m in a whole lotta pain. It’s like plate tectonics: one thing has moved, and the other parts are absolutely freaking out. It’s unpleasant nostalgia, as this is a concentrated version of the initial presentation of many of my symptoms. This time capsule of pain sent from my 13 year old self includes: intense burning in my upper back deep soreness through the left wrist left arm weakness hypersensitivity on the underside of the left arm I’m playing 20-45 minutes most days, mostly with students, and cello...

United Healthcare waited until I had to resign (or was fired from) every cello position before approving the Botox injections. I now know it’s a common tactic- an insurance company will try to wait and obfuscate until someone who needs an expensive treatment just goes away. For very sick people, it means insurers would rather someone die than receive treatment, simply because it doesn’t fit into the tidy collusion model with drug makers and hospitals. Capitalism might be good at creating a few dozen billionaires, but it seems like it’s not good for the soul. Living, dying, and quality...