Health | Science

Wait Times Aren’t Longer in Countries With Universal Healthcare

What I learned about healthcare from my time in Iceland and Greece

Artwork by the author, Joe Duncan.

In late 2022, I traveled outside the United States for the first time. After spending almost all my life living in Los Angeles, Florida, Arizona, and other areas around the hot Southern United States, it was time for a change. I skipped the tropical islands of the Caribbean for something different.

Palm trees and sunny beaches get humdrum after a while. I wanted a change of pace. I wanted to go to the coldest, darkest island I could find in mid-December. My girlfriend and I picked Iceland.

I was dealing with a severe back injury — three compressed vertebrae, C3-C5. The flight across the Atlantic was simultaneously brutal and exciting. I constantly winced in pain as I was forced to sit upright in the airline seat. Sleeping wasn’t remotely in the cards.

Any time I laid down or sat upright, any time my spine was straight, I felt a stream of ruthless pain traverse my body. Anyone who’s dealt with a spine injury knows how ravaging the pain can be.

Still, Iceland was phenomenal. Stunning landscapes, friendly people, and the beautiful cold darkness I had set out for, all greeted me…