Contusion (noun) an injury, as from a blow with a blunt instrument

So says the Funk and Wagnall, but the word might be better defined as such:

an injury, as from receipt of the bill for my latest drug infusion at the Multiple Sclerosis Institute in Philadelphia.

Holy Mackerel! I sit there like a used Edsel for a couple of hours while a drug drains into my veins and am then billed for $7,500.

Easy money, one might say.

I used to be very hesitant to jump on the big pharma bashing bandwagon. After all, battling disease is a noble endeavor, especially if you have the disease.

But, $7500 a pop! As is said, pretty soon it adds up to real money.

Having been in business myself, I would readily posit that drug companies have costs, the likes of which would be difficult to fathom. The cost of research, drug development and clinical trials alone for American big pharma has to be staggering.

That’s not to say that there isn’t the occasional lavish capital expenditure, but that comes with the territory in a monied industry.

They pay their employees pretty well, too. Hey, my dear wife worked for one. They take care of their people, hands down.

Then, shame on me. Here I am bemoaning the cost of an infusion when it’s being paid mostly by insurance. Of course, there is the cost of that insurance.

What did Emerson write ? “There is always some great leveling circumstance.”

There is no cure for MS, but after 35 years of taking medications for it, I am better stabilized today than ever. That is my “leveling circumstance!”