After a couple of trips to the ER (oh, how I wish I was joking), three shots of lidocaine, two prescriptions of antibiotics, one prescription of Vicodin, and a partridge in a pear tree, I think the abscess on my ass (yes - I know. I know) is finally being beaten down. I feel 100% better than I did on New Year’s Day.

Throughout this all, I realized that my health insurance picks up most of the cost of pricey antibiotic lotion ($100 for a 15mg tube!) and the entire cost of a box of glucometer test strips. Wowza.