Good Times, Friend Dies

So last night I met on old friend at one of my favorite bars for a drink. He's leaving town, and it was nice to have time to catch up. It was funny though, he asked me: "So why is it that all of your friends are either Jewish or lesbians?"

Then, I went over to a friend's place where a group of us meet every Sunday to watch the "L Word." Even though I got there late, they waited for me. We were laughing and commenting on the show. After it ended, we sat around and talked and played the Wi that someone just bought.

Until we got the call. A friend of ours died Sunday night. She had been not feeling well for months now. I didn't know this because we weren't that close, but apparently she was having very low blood sugar and lots of other symptoms. The doctors either would tell her that there wasn't anything wrong or send her away. She often ended up in urgent care, and the doctors there wouldn't pay too much attention to her. The bills from that added up until she owed so much that the hospital didn't want to treat her anymore. She struggled to find any medical care.

She went to her parents' home to try to get better. Last week, she finally got a diagnosis: Addison's Disease. And then, she just died.

We were all in shock. I stayed around until 12:30 am comforting my friends and trying to process. I'm VERY ANGRY that my friend died this very preventable death because doctors tend not to take women seriously and because we don't have affordable health care in this country. I'm sad to see my friends in pain. And, I'm thinking about how hard it is to lose my Mom.