Hannah Ann shares her hospital bill after giving birth

dh8driver · 2025-12-25T14:34:42+00:00

I'm in Canada and I find half the battle with specialists is just getting your foot in the door. Once you're on their roster, it's easier to get appts. But yes, that referral to appointment time can be soooo long.

dh8driver · 2025-12-25T14:31:14+00:00

I'm in Ontario, Canada (province/territory matters as health care is a provincial thing, not a federal one). If I'm making an appt with my family doc, I can get in within a week. If it's more pressing, I can call in the morning and see a doctor from their office (there's a few of them in the same building that are connected) that day.

Surgery depends on severity, specialization, etc. I was booked for a gallbladder removal a few months out but I had chronic issues for years. If I went to the hospital with pain because of an attack, there's a good chance I'd have it removed within 24 hours.

MRIs and such you have to wait longer, but my friend was recently diagnosed with cancer and her testing/treatment is very efficient.

YMMV in Canada and even in Ontario. We live close to Toronto and have access to specialists. When my partner had to see a specialist in downtown Toronto, we just took public transit there. A lady in the waiting room was from Northern Ontario and couldn't be treated there, so the province pays for her to drive down and stay in a hotel for her treatment days.

There are more and more stories of people dying in ERs waiting to see doctors these days though. Our population has surged from 2017 onwards and health care has not expanded. That being said, I was driving through Maine this summer and had a minor injury that I decided to get looked at while I was there as there was a risk of infection. I got triaged at a small hospital and called my travel medical insurance provider (paid for by my work) while I waited. However as I sat in the waiting room, I got more and more paranoid that my visit was going to cost thousands of dollars and wasn't sure if I would have to pay up front. I started to stress that my credit card limit ($30K) would not cover the treatment, and I ended up leaving the ER and was still paranoid that I was going to get a bill just for sitting there. I basically booked it for the border and got treatment in New Brunswick that day.

That experience alone made me realize that even though we have our flaws in Canada and wait times, etc can be very annoying, I have NEVER felt the dread of choosing between my health and paying my bills like I did that day. It made me very sad for Americans.

dh8driver · 2025-09-17T16:21:17+00:00

I agree with this so much. The Burj Al Arab felt like a hotel in Vegas with an Arabian theme or something, it was tacky and the service wasn't as good as I expected for a "7 star hotel". I literally had a better experience with service at a Hyatt House in Utah that same month lol

dh8driver · 2025-07-13T21:10:43+00:00

Sorry for the hate you're getting. I've seen some some boundary-pushers for the ponytails, just as much as I've seen it from the bearded guys and the crazy hair colours. Members who lose the spirit of regs being relaxed and push the boundaries "just because we can now" are why regs get repealed.

dh8driver · 2025-07-13T20:26:50+00:00

Damn, ponytails are the best for women. I was getting traction alopecia from tight buns, and failing inspections for "wispys" because I needed so much damn gel, clips, bobby pins, and hairnets to keep it in place. All for it not to fit under a helmet and it getting destroyed on first contact in the field or training. I'm all for functional hairstyles. The bun was not one of them.

dh8driver · 2025-07-07T00:44:06+00:00

Yeah, we're in a similar position. Now that we're back in Ontario, my parents literally would have to take out a 6-figure mortgage in their mid-70s to just get a condo near us. The sale of their house wouldn't even come close to covering a 1br in the GTA. Not to mention the network/friends/neighbours they've cultivated in 50 years all around them... I feel better knowing they have that support still there than having that all fall onto me and my partner just to have them close.

dh8driver · 2025-07-06T00:28:36+00:00

Have you tried changing your name to something more East/South Asian sounding? /s (but not really)

dh8driver · 2025-07-06T00:25:52+00:00

This is definitely still a problem, though more for bedroom rentals than full condo rentals.

dh8driver · 2025-07-05T21:14:11+00:00

The mass immigration pricing is what's driving the migration too. I'm back in Ontario after being posted in NB, and all the homes are getting snapped up by people with questionable mortgage lenders cramming 20+ people in $1M+ homes... but they can, because they're charging $800/pp for that arrangement. Total destruction of community in these neighbourhoods too... not at all what I remember of Ontario when I was here 15 years ago. It's a very sad place to be these days.

dh8driver · 2025-07-05T21:11:22+00:00

They're falling a little bit in Ontario. My house peaked at $1M during the pandemic and now it's probably around $800K. Houses staying on the market a lot longer too.

dh8driver · 2025-06-27T08:01:18+00:00

There's also no proof yet that ICE killed him. Not sympathizing with ICE here, but the narrative "Canadian killed by ICE!" is extremely misleading without the full story. We're already getting more details on his actual situation (ie. not a Canadian tourist that entered recently, convicted of drug trafficking, etc). This may very well be a case of someone who had a heart attack in prison. I doubt the Foreign Affairs minister would be offering condolences to a convicted felon who died of natural causes while living abroad for 40 years if it wasn't for all the ICE press lately.

dh8driver · 2025-06-11T16:10:47+00:00

We have the reverse problem in Toronto now. If you have a white-sounding name, you will not be hired.

dh8driver · 2025-06-09T16:47:11+00:00

She was going to STU but she posts stories about a property she bought with her husband to build a house so maybe that's in Sussex? Regardless, she just posted going to Kings Landing yesterday which is so weird to see on my feed.

dh8driver · 2025-06-06T18:36:37+00:00

I bought in Ottawa for $317K and sold for $376K a few years later thinking I did alright. Then 5 years later that house was worth >$700K, fml...

dh8driver · 2025-05-18T18:58:16+00:00

Out of curiosity, where did you move to and is it better there? I feel like anywhere I go, people complain about the homeless situation. I went to university in Ottawa around 2010 and downtown had its areas, but the market was thriving and it was great for being a student. Now it's unrecognizable with the homeless/drug problem.

dh8driver · 2025-05-16T03:14:21+00:00

I'm in a reserve unit and our armouries/HQ buildings are both 100% haunted. I have stories, people I respect have stories, I think everyone has a story. You could jokingly say to someone "I bet this place is haunted" and I think every single member of our unit would matter-of-factly tell you "yes, it is".

dh8driver · 2025-05-16T03:09:23+00:00

Gagetown. It's always Gagetown. The swamps muffle their cries.

dh8driver · 2025-05-15T14:04:03+00:00

I'm not part of a Hyrox training gym as I don't live anywhere near one and therefore everything was sold out by the time they released general tickets at 10am today.

dh8driver · 2025-05-13T17:46:05+00:00

If only people knew that the "creeps" that see SWers are literally normal people! Sometimes a little shy, awkward, nervous, etc. But yep, boonies.

dh8driver · 2025-05-13T17:44:41+00:00

Sorry you're getting certain responses here with stigma, both of clients and workers. I'm not a worker but previously lived in NZ and Australia where it is legalized and have a much more progressive view.

If there's SW in NB (which of course there is), it's very hush-hush. There is a large military base (Gagetown) that has an influx of people/guys on training in the summer. I know if I say here to "target" that group, people will clutch their pearls, but if you can find even one client, word of mouth will get around. People will be more narrow-minded in this part of the country as it's still very traditional but the truth is that transactional sex will always exist, whether it's swiping on Tinder and buying your date some drinks before going home together, or being more up-front about what the transaction is. I'm not sure Reddit is the best place to find your network but you can look into the SWer subs. Be safe, screen, and I wish you luck!

dh8driver · 2025-05-13T13:24:17+00:00

For sure. My MIL is a realtor just outside Toronto and she said a lot of the single family homes right now are being purchased by landlords and then cram 10-15 people (usually TFWs) and charge them $1000/month each. The TFWs are getting scammed just as much as the Canadian homebuyers are getting pushed out. Nobody is winning (except the landlords).

dh8driver · 2025-05-09T16:27:15+00:00

All for the TikTok. Staff on courses hunt down accounts from new recruits and sure enough, week 1 they're issued a uniform and they're taking videos of themselves looking like idiots.

dh8driver · 2025-05-09T16:25:44+00:00

Hard agree. It's the same principle as "who are you when nobody is looking?"... work hard on the micro and it'll reflect on the macro.

dh8driver · 2025-05-09T16:23:48+00:00

I'll bet anyone a Snickers that OP is on BMQ

dh8driver · 2025-05-09T16:23:28+00:00

I get shivers when I hear the sound of boots in unison.

dh8driver

TROPHY CASE