<human>: So on Monday I asked reddit [this question] and on Tuesday I found out the answer.  

I took my girlfriend into the ER Tuesday night with escalating head pain and a within the hour we had received a CAT scan, a Lumbar Puncture, and an hour after that the confirmation of Meningitis.  They hung two bags of IV antibiotics and another bag of morphine.  Handed me 500mg of CIPRO and told me we'd have to wait to see if it was bacterial or viral.  Bacterial Meningitis kills within 24 hours of first symptoms.  Viral is self contained and lasts for 2-3 weeks but is not life threatening if symptoms are treated.

When she regained consciousness this morning she mentioned to me that she had wondered what this all would have cost if we were in the US. Living in Toronto I have to confess the thought crossed my mind as well.  So I tried to price it out.

CAT Scan - $580-$1,500 per body part scanned.
The nurse said in the US it would cost $2.50 per dose for the hydromorphine she's taking every 30 minutes.  

So for the first day of our stay, with a cat scan of the head neck and spine, and 48 doses of hyrdromorphine we would be out $4620 plus the lab fees for 4 spinal cultures and the 6 blood samples. In Canada, the total cost for our first day was the $7.75 I paid for parking.

I don't know how people in the US are able to cope with these types of unplanned emergencies. For me its not that hard to believe the stories we're hearing about people losing their hoses over cancer diagnosis.  Have there been any health care experiences that cripple you financially in the US?

Can you give me the gist of the text in a nutshell?
<bot>: gf has viral meningitis, would have cost $5000+ in the US, cost me $7.75 in Canada