PatrickforB
PatrickforB's JournalToday, shortly after noon, in 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
May he rest in peace in perpetual light.
We should remember.
That is all.
Health care in America.
My wife awakened this morning weeping from agonizing pain. As she has for the last two weeks.
Four weeks ago she had a shoulder replacement surgery on top of two unnecessary surgeries earlier this year - one in March to flush out a non-existant infection, and another in May to install an antibiotic plastic temporary shoulder to fight this nonexistant infection. She also had to have two six-week picc lines (essentially an needle keeping a vein open so the patient can inject antibiotics once or twice a day. It takes about half an hour each time).
How do we know her infection was non-existant? Her infectuous disease physician (with whom the surgeon had minimal contact, because...well, I don't know. But 'evidence based' is sounding increasing like bullshit to me to be honest) told her he didn't think she ever even had an infection.
Bottom line, we finally, after the second surgeon went off on her, became furious when she confronted him with what the infectuous disease guy had told her (the surgeon had used a test usually used for infections in metal prostheses, like shoulders and knees, and not for 'native joints'). The wife researched that on that bane of all the god-playing doctors, the internet, and found out the surgeon had probably misused this test on her to find 'infection.'
She complained formally, like that would do any good.
She had the final shoulder replacement, which was reverse, so she'll never have full use of the arm. And what was really wrong, you ask (if you have read this far, which I don't expect many of you will)? She had agressive rheumatoid arthritis in multiple joints, which if the HMO had read the warning signs instead of worrying about collecting copays and coinsurance and premium payments, they could have done some simple tests YEARS AGO and my wife wouldn't even have had to have shoulder surgery.
Evidence based = trial and error. Let's all be honest. THE PROFIT MOTIVE IS IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH OUR INTERESTS AS PATIENTS. Evidence based is just a CYA song they all sing. Because in my wife's case the evidence was THERE all along - swollen fingers, surgery to remover an arthritis-twisted bone in her hand, a second knee replacement back in 2012. All there. But the cost cutting greed-measures in this system designed to serve Wall Street greed-lizards and shareholders rather than patients make me, at least, want to hurl.
And I'm TIRED of hearing how the Democrats took Medicare for all Americans off the table in '09 because they didn't have enough votes, and it wasn't good politics. It would have been moral. It would have been the right thing. I volunteered for Obama's '08 (and '12) campaigns BECAUSE HE CAMPAIGNED ON HEALTHCARE. Michelle's dad got shitty service because of inadequate insurance, bean counters denying payment for meds he needed, and a hospital much more concerned with cash flow than with actual patient care.
There are around 850 people who have been elected to high office, and if they wanted to do the right thing they could do it now!!! NOW!!!
Oh, but wait. The health insurance lobby! Oh no! We cannot possibly hurt SHAREHOLDER PROFITS!
Now, she's calling the nurse care line for what good they will do. We have to wait in a socialized medical system you say, but we had to save for two years to pay the financially crippling copay in 2019 for the hand surgery, and we had to TAKE OUT HEALTH CARE DEBT now, in our sixties, when we should be doing better than we ever have financially.
We need Medicare for all Americans NOW. It is the right thing, the moral thing, and FUCK SHAREHOLDER PROFITS.
OK, rant over.
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Member since: Mon Apr 28, 2014, 07:28 PM
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