1y ago

My dog and I got jumped by raccoons this morning. Now I have to pay at least $1500 to make sure I don't get rabies

My dog is fine, though, which is the most important thing to me. The raccoons scratched my arm kinda bad and my legs are covered in scratches. My doctor can't be sure if the raccoons had saliva on their claws, and wants me to get rabies shots just in case. She sent me to an ER because she can't get the shots in our area.

I've been at the hospital for 3 hours and haven't been seen.

It's after my bedtime and I have to wake up at 5am for work...

I'm not having a good time.

186 comments

Choose your capitalist fate!
Path A: medical bankruptcy.
Path B: incurable disease and certain horrible death.
Quite a system the wealthy have built for us. I'll be terribly disappointed if the book doesn't end with a bunch of guillotines.
- *American fate
  
  Capitalist was correct. Look in Europe, the social health system is non stop attacked and set in danger. More and more, capitalist system wants health to be a an open market
- I'll also be disappointed
  
  So would I
- Path C: get fired without cause because you needed to take a day off to recover.
- Path C: Go out biting some people who have it coming.
- Luckily we offer a guillotine protection insurance policy for an affordable $85,000,000 per year. It’s optional, but the upfront cost could be $650,000,000,000 if you get caught in a guillotine without it. Just be sure to get dragged to one of our in-network guillotines.
  
  Sounds good. What's the deductible and cover rate tho? I mean you're certainly not paying everything once I got caught in a guillotine even tho that's what I pay you monthly for.

Call your lawyer and sue the shit out of those raccoons. I hear they're rich.
- Omfg you right. You think this guy would help?
- He's a tanuki/raccoon dog, not a raccoon
  
  The law does not make such distinctions!

I’m sorry this happened to you, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. By the time clinical signs of rabies present, you’re already a “dead man walking” so to say. I hope you and your dog are able to recover swiftly!
- Exactly. I don't want rabies. And thank you! My dog didn't realize we were being attacked and wanted to play with the critters. Made it harder to get him inside. I didn't even realize I was injured until some time later when I noticed scratches on me. Adrenaline is crazy.

Been there. Happened to me in grad school but I woke up to a bat on my leg. Thing with bats ks you can't tell if they bit you because their teeth leave little baby pinpricks that look like damn near everything else that bites, including mosquitoes.
I got a bill for $13,000. Basically 1000 for every shot to the ass they gave me. I had to pay it from my student loans. Yay America.
- 🎶America! Fuck yeah!
  Making you poor for
  Basic medical attention!
  
  🎶America! Fuck yeah!
  Making you poor for
  Basic medical attention!
  Syllabic perfection, I’m impressed! Well done!
- I would have graduated, got a job overseas, and just left the debt in America.
  
  Heck, you can take all these $$$, fly to a decent country visa-free, get a rabies shot and a lavish vacation. Why TF Americans don't ddo that is beyond me.
- What a bunch of assholes.
- If you capture the bat, they can test the bat for rabies instead of treating you.
  
  And leave that poor bat with $13,000 of medical debt!?

Post exposure shots should be covered by nearly every insurance. The preexposure ones are not.
- The shots are a lot cheaper than dying of rabies, which is often done in a hospital.
  
  die in a hospital? In this economy? No thank you, I'd rather die at home.

Man I've NEVER heard of a raccoon attack that's fucked up. I've interacted with a million raccoons (including one that broke into my kitchen once) and they have never come close to attacking me. Sounds like they might indeed have rabies. Glad you and your pup sound ok. Just call in sick if you need the sleep tomorrow.
- These raccoons were young and seemed scared. They made some wicked noises though. I stayed inside for as long as possible after that. I didn't know if a mama raccoon was hanging around

My tired brain read this as you had to pay the raccoons $1500 or they would give you rabies. Can't even go into the woods without being extorted.
- Guess they took pointers from this dude
- The problem is that if you pay them, all the other shit heads expect to be paid. The ticks will make you pay $2000 to not be infected with alpha gal and Lyme's disease.

Only in the US is it they expensive.
Otherwise infuriating and time-consuming... Perhaps everywhere. But really, rabies is not! something to mess around with. Even with the smallest chance.

$1500 or get rabies. Home of the free indeed lmao

On the positive side, you are now one of an elite group of those who have a raccoon attack story.
- And lived to tell about it
- Not only that, but a raccoon gang. That’s like an initiation into the raccoon underworld, full of human trash smugglers.

That's a helluva expensive shot. I mean, you should definitely get it, but nobody should have to pay that much for it. I guess that's USA...
- That's just the copays for all the shots. I have no idea how much of the vaccines will be covered
  
  What the fuck is your copay? There are only like four shots for the vaccine.

I just got the rabies series of vaccines.
Bill was $9800. After insurance it was $285.
- Oh damn, I got the rabies vaccine when I worked part time at a vet school because they offered it. They were like "Uh but you're IT, you don't really need it, so you could skip the hassle..." and I was like "Why would I turn down an opportunity to get a vaccine? You're paying for it, right? Reprogramming my immune system is awesome, sign me up!"
  No wonder they looked annoyed, LMAO.
  
  Uh but you're IT, you don't really need it
  "You severely underestimate our users..."
- I was advised to wait until I got out of the US to get the Rabies booster series. Ended up paying around $120 USD for all 3 shots. Checkmate, capitalists!
- Oh wow
- Wow that is just extortionate. How long is the vaccine valid for?
  
  Umm I can’t actually remember. I think it’s something like 1-5 years.

Medicare for all. Not only would your visit be free, but you'll be paying less in taxes than handing blank checks to billionaires through for-profit insurance companies. That regularly deny your claims.

America is almost the last country in the world that doesn't have free healthcare, except for Africa.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-universal-healthcare
- Africa is not a country.. and there are many African countries with "free" healthcare such as Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Mauritius, marocco, Rwanda
  
  South Africa too
- Funny, because neither of those are countries.
- Most countries don’t have free healthcare. But require people to be insured. E.g here in NL you have to have atleast basic coverage costing roughly 140 euro a month
- Canada is copying the US and will join them soon. Check out all the private, for profit clinics popping up in Alberta.
  
  and the nice systematic fucking up of our national healthcare to gather support is a beautiful cherry on top
- Yep. Many countries country got free healhcare. Even my third world South East Asia country got free healhcare. But in some European countries, it is affordable-based healthcare system. In the Netherlands, you'll get a rebate (about equal to the amount paid) if your salary is less than certain threshold. Basically (almost) free healhcare.
- Guess what web browser is promoting this guy? Yes, your guessed right, Brave. Case closed.

No offense, but you’ll probably be waiting a long time. ERs typically have to deal with many simultaneous crises and you aren’t an emergent situation.
Some urgent care centers might have a rabies vaccine on hand.
- Yup, rabies vaccine is something that can wait to make an appointment next day. It's incubation period is usually a couple of months, or a week in the extreme cases, so a day or two won't make a significant difference. Not something an ER will triage first.
  Go to sleep, call your work first thing in the morning, and make an appointment where they have the vaccine available. I doubt your boss won't let you take a day to get a rabies vaccine, but if he does, tell him you will bite him if you start showing symptoms at work, ha ha.
  
  The vaccine, from what I've read, is commonly only available at ERs. And you can't make appointments at ERs.
  
  Extremes? Its been documented to incubate for over 20+ years
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3424805/
  But your right its normally much faster than 20+ years. 31-90 days is the average.

I had a similar situation happen to me actually.
The rabies shot sucks but the most annoying part is returning for the follow-ups. The tetanus booster I had to get was much much more painful.
Good luck, sending positive vibes your way!
- I had my first shots broken up into 4 injections. One in each arm and leg. It hurt so fucking bad. I got a tetanus booster last year after I got bad oil burns, and it didn't hurt nearly this bad. It was probably the burns distracting me then, though
  
  That really sucks, but they used to give them all to you in the stomach, so at least you avoided that.

I'd just tell your work to fuck off.

Sucks to be waiting, but while your sitting there, maybe watch a few videos of people suffering from the effects of rabies. You probably won’t feel so bad about the wait after that.
Happy your pooch is safe and sound, as well
- The simple fact that untreated rabies is almost 100% fatal means that the vaccine is worth it. Not many diseases are almost 100% fatal, and at least this one's preventable if caught.
- There were a bunch of crazy drug seekers and criminals and shit being treated and that was pretty entertaining lol

man that really sucks. i had to get rabies shots a couple years ago and it was not fun. for my second follow up shot i thought about skipping the wait in the ER and going to a pharmacy 40 minutes away that offered rabies vaccines, only to find out there’s a difference between pre-exposure and post-exposure shots and having to go to the ER anyway. if you end up also getting tired of the 3 hour waits in the ER and look for an alternative, i would strongly recommend making sure they offer post-exposure vaccines.

Blegh, I wish you the best of luck.
I'd also like to say that !goodoffmychest@lemmy.world exists now! ^^
(And yes, that is a shameless promotion, because I'd like to see it get more activity. xD )
- No shame in that at all! This post belongs there more than here. While it's important that the OP gets answers to their questions, I think this is not what the mildly infuriating community is about.

Quite the chance card you drew…
Sorry you have to go through this! Seems like a valid excuse to call out sick if you’re in the ER.

This is one reason why I'm glad there's no rabies in Australia.
- Yes, but every animal is venomous. You guys probably die in 5 seconds from a wombat bite.
  
  Nah, wombats just lure you into sticking your head in the hole they're hiding in, and then crush your skull with their muscly ass. https://theoatmeal.com/comics/wombats
  
  There's some things I don't miss. I used to have to shake my mail because big spiders would get into the slot on the mailbox :)

wtf, it is time that the US will have a universal insurance for these things, but on the other hand, it depends what the people vote for. over here you would get the shot, no charges...
- The majority (57%) is in favour of government ensured health care in the US, the government is just corrupt and the healthcare lobby will never let it happen. That said, most still prefer private companies be responsible for their health.
  Source: https://news.gallup.com/poll/468401/majority-say-gov-ensure-healthcare.aspx

I bet some asshole neighbor is feeding them and they are on vacation. So they see human and they think "food".
Don't feed any wild animals, your doing them a favor.
- My neighbors feeds deer twice a day. It brings in so many other critters
  
  Jeez here it is. I won't bait or salt lick deer. Its all bad.

Well the good thing is you got the shot. Still though, my mind wanders to that legendary comment on Reddit...
Stay safe, friend!
- That's exactly where my mind went when everything went down. Gotta get 3 more shots in the series in order to be fully good to go. Better than dying horribly

Yeah, that's not a fun situation to be in. Are you fortunate enough to have sick time that you can use for this unplanned event?
- I used all of my sick time when my ovaries were covered with cysts and I couldn't move because of the pain. My work is very accommodating though, so I'll be able to take time off unpaid.
  
  Oh dear! That pain was probably unimaginable and I am so sorry you had to go through it. If I were your manager, I'd find a way to pay you.

I don’t know that I’d consider this “mildly” infuriating. Good on you for having any semblance of composure!
- Thanks. I was panicked for a while, but the whole thing is absolutely absurd. Like, how many people get jumped by 3 young raccoons immediately after stepping outside.

this is soo funny and sad at the same time, i live in europe in a second world country, the economy is dogshit and i got bitten by a rabid dog, pretty nasty stuff and I was just minding my own business, when i turned a corner he jumped at me and got my leg, went to the hospital and paid for the anti tetanus shot and got my 7 or something anti rabic shots free

So sorry! please update us.

Damn Trash Pandas!
Also, rabies is no joke. Hope you get your shots soon!
- I just got them. I swear to God if the raccoons come back...
  
  You are now immune so fight them back! Lots of?biting and clawing until they accept you as their leader.

"I've been at the hospital for 3 hours and haven't been seen" Bro is hide and seek champ They must be going rabid looking for you

Man, that’s a rough day. Get those shots, though.

Raccoons can Fuck off

I'm most relieved that your pal (dog) is ok. Sucks a bunch. Hope you're both doing well.
- My dog being okay is the most important thing. I almost took my puppy outside first, which would have been so bad. She's too young for her rabies shot still, so it would have been bad if she had been out there. She isn't much bigger than the raccoons were. My adult dog is twice the size of the raccoons, and has had his shots.

Go to the hospital and don't pay your bill. It ain't your job to keep yourself healthy, it's the job of the government to keep their citizens healthy. Full stop. If you're in the US they've become confused by their actual objective. It's time to remind them.
- It ain’t your job to keep yourself healthy, it’s the job of the government to keep their citizens healthy.
  I live in socialist paradise and I still think that's a weird, weird thing to say.
  
  Why? I pay so much taxes. If I could withhold the taxes i would be able to take care of myself without issue.

I already had fears of this happening to me. Yep. I don’t know if I should have read this. I just had 5 or 6 of those adorable little assholes come running at me, snarling and snorting and growling at me last week.
I’m sorry this happened to you. Hope you feel better, and so happy you and your dog are mostly ok.
- I totally would have punted the raccoons across the yard if I had seen them coming.

I don't know what state you are in but you can use your sick time for doctors appointments.
- I'm out of sick time. I used all of it when I had horrible ovarian cysts.
  
  horrible ovarian cysts
  is there another kind
  
  Out of sick time?! What kind of sadistic devilry is that?
  
  Oh dang, sorry you had to deal with that.

It's never too late to take up hunting. You'll need an Elmer Fudd hat and a heart of vengeance.
In all honesty though, what was the situation that caused them to jump you. Were you walking a trail or something? Coons are typically pretty skittish(or so I thought) unless they feel cornered or they are sick or starving. I know someone who had a coon drown their farm dog in their pond, but other than that they (and most everything besides moose and brown bears I thought) are generally very wary of humans.

Ehhhhhh what hospital puts someone on a 3h wait for rabies shots??? That shit has to be administered ASAP.
- It can be given days later. It’s not an emergency. OPs doctor didn’t need to recommend an ER. A clinic with the shot would have been fine but I understand the mentality OP is/was in for sure!
  
  In many areas of the US, the first shot in the series is only available at the ER.
- It can be administered up to a couple weeks after exposure. It's a very slow virus.

186 comments