Is it Weird Cedar Rapids Doesn’t Have a 24-Hour Pharmacy?

As the aging process pulls us all in, there's nothing to stop it.  You're as healthy as a horse in its shining moment, but you'll still be dead as a doornail.  Between here and there, each of us experiences a different level of maladies.

Some of us have more of these pesky health problems than others. My early life was trouble-free. Now, eh, not so much. Guess what? Things go wrong, and when they do, they seem to snowball, baby.

I have an insulin pump that loves to vacation more than Congress. If it can stop working in the middle of the night and leave me in the lurch because it feels slighted in some way, it will. In these days of slim-line this or that, this is more bulky than having an IBM computer and a dot matrix printer strapped to your side 24/7.

It's not the greatest system, but keeps me alive, which I prefer.  So, keep in mind that the pump is a bit temperamental.  I can't write too loudly, the pump is right here and might hear me.

Right after the New Year, I grabbed ill like nobody's business.  If it was an illness contest, I was in it to win it.  I was in a bad way, and shockingly, my insulin pump just decided, "ya know what? Me too," and died.

Life Has a Way of Handling Us

My wife, tasked with going everywhere because I was down for the count, found out a harsh reality.  Sometimes things don't go your way and people clearly don't care, and that kinda sucks.

It is the new year, and for some reason, my health insurer didn't have my prescription information set up correctly and it showed outdated. She called, and my insurer told her that it was a "top priority." but those people had gone home. This was a Friday, and it would most likely be handled on Monday when they returned. They were rude to my wife, and it was their mistake.

When my wife finally got off the phone with my insurance company, the pharmacy that had our prescriptions was closed.  My insurer told us, "tough luck," and also advised, smugly, that if it got too bad, we could always go to the emergency room.

Why is There No 24-Hour Pharmacy in Cedar Rapids?

The town we lived next to in Illinois, Peru, has two 24-hour pharmacies, Walgreens and CVS.  They sit glaring at each other.  The population in Peru, aw, heck, let's just go all in with LaSalle County, is 109,658 people, according to Wikipedia. 

The town of Peru has two, count 'em, two, 24-hour pharmacies, and yet Cedar Rapids alone, at last check with 135,958, people says the U.S. Census, can't muster one!

How Late Do Pharmacies Stay Open in Cedar Rapids?

Cedar Rapids does not have a 24-hour pharmacy unless you're in the hospital.  They have a few options open until 8 p.m., but even less until midnight.  I mention these things, because a community is supposed to provide that support or safety net.  Or they did at one time.

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Maybe you or I will not need it (though I kinda did), but that transplant or the new parent or someone passing through might.

Where is There a 24-Hour Pharmacy in the Corridor?

As you head toward Iowa City & Coralville, that's when you begin to see the shimmer of lights from the 24-hour pharmacies.  It's a way to go, but they are there if you need them.  Be safe, friend.