My only contact with the Canadian health care system was back in the 80s. I was in Winnipeg and booked to do a concert at the University of Manitoba. Problem was, I got pretty sick. I was staying with my friends Cathy Fink and Duck Donald. They were pretty sure I'd never be in good enough shape to do the show, but we went to a doctor and Cathy talked me into his office. As an alien, they almost wouldn't let me in. The doctor asked for my symptoms. I told him I was nauseous, light looked much brighter than normal to me, I had a fever of 103 degrees farenheit. Also ached all over & had a bad headache. After I'd finished rattling off all that I was feeling, he asked me, "How long have you had this fear of light?" I pretty much flipped out and protested loudly that I had no fear of light at all!!! I was sure he was gonna toss me in a psych ward for some reason. Well, he gave me ONE PILL. It was about the size of a saccharine. I took it and slept for 4 hours straight and Cathy & Duck practiced the songs for what they thought would be their concert that night. They were that positive I'd not make it. When I awoke I was feeling strange---but generally O.K. I did the gig all by myself. Had a good time. The audience was great. To this day I've no idea what that pill was. But that doc sure got me healthy quick.

Art