I'm Alive, Again!

The other day I posted about my drama over being sick part of last week and over the weekend. After an assortment of shots and medications I thought I was on the mend. I started feeling better Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. By Sunday night, however, something was changing, my throat was getting a little worse and my fever was back. By the time I crawled out of bed on Monday morning my throat was so swollen I could barely swallow well enough to even get water down. In somewhat of a panic I made a trip to St. Anthony's Emergency Room.

After a thankfully short check in process I was moved to a newer part of the hospital that was their minor emergency area. The ER physician looked at my throat for about two seconds and told me I probably had a peritonsillar abscess, an infection in the tissues of the throat next to one of the tonsils. An abscess is a collection of pus that forms near an area of infected skin or other soft tissue. The doctor on duty said they would have to do some tests first to verify this was the case before they went probing into my throat near the carotid artery. Specifically he wanted to do a CT scan of my head. When my mom asked him how much this would cost, knowing I don't have insurance, he seemed absolutely offended to be asked and replied rather shortly that he didn't know and it didn't matter as it had to be done. The guy was a complete jackass, but in my many years of experience with doctors I wasn't surprised. Fortunately he was the only bad experience I had in the entire ordeal, if one can have a good experience at a hospital.

So I experienced a lot of firsts yesterday. I had my first IV, my first CT scan (the iodine they put in your IV is a wild sensation), and my first taste of morphine. After the tests were completed it was confirmed that I had an abscess and I was handed over to an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist and thankfully was finished with Dr. Douschbag. The procedure for removing the abscess is by having a long needle injected into your throat and draining the puss out. I've actually had this wonderful procedure done one other time in my life at a doctor's office. It was one of the most painful and horrific experiences of my entire life. Naturally I was terrified to have to go through this again.

After some more waiting and another round of steroids the ENT doctor showed up and went over the procedure with me. He was extremely kind and seemed genuinely concerned with pain management through the ordeal. They began by hooking me up with some morphine and spraying my throat with a topical anesthetic. After I was good and numb he then injected me with another numbing agent near the area where he would be draining my abscess. The last time I had this procedure done the previous doctor did not do this last part. No wonder it hurt like a mother fucker! After I was good and numb he injected a needed into the swollen area and began extracting the puss, I actually got to help by pushing on the swollen area of my throat to help fill the needle. Not getting much out he switch to a lower gage needle and was finally able to get some result. By the end of the procedure he had taken out 11 cc of vile nastiness from my throat. Almost immediately I was able to swallow normal again.

I hung out for a little and then was eventually released to go home. I skipped the administration office on my way out, screw them, they can bill me. Those of you have insurance consider yourself lucky. If I had had insurance I would have had my tonsils taken out that day if not a long time before, as was offered by the doctor. I asked him how much it was cost and he laughed and probably said a whole bunch of money. Eventually I'll have them removed. The majority of the time when I'm really sick it has something to do with my tonsils.

So that was my lovely Monday experience. I'm glad I made the decision to go to St. Anthony's Hospital. With the exception of the ER physician, everyone was extremely nice from the specialists to the nurses to the girls in the X-Ray lab. The ENT specialist and nurse during my minor procedure seemed to be really concerned with my pain management and I really appreciate that as not all health care providers seem to make that a priority.

So in reference to how much things cost when visiting a doctor's office or hospital, don't you think they should have some vague clue as to how much certain procedures or test cost? Would you take your car in for repairs and have them do the work without not knowing what the cost would be until after the work was done? Maybe patient access to medical costs should have been part of our illustrious health care reform last year! I'll report back on the costs after I get a bill just for the fun of it so everyone can know how many hundred of dollars my bag of saline cost.

I'm Alive!

Barely.

I haven't posted since I returned from Louisiana as I've pretty much been in bed the entire time since I got back. I started feeling ill on Wednesday afternoon until I developed a nasty sore throat last night. I dragged myself to one of the minor emergency clinics here in town for treatment.

It's amazing the difference a day, a shot of antibiotics, a shot of steroids, oral antibiotics, pain killers, Ibuprofen, and Claritin can make! Though getting two shots simultaneously by two different nurses was a little bizarre and a lot painful. I think my hips are going to be sore for a few days.

The worst part of being holed up this week is missing a performance of Evita in Tulsa tonight. I really enjoy the musical but I've never caught a stage production of it. Luckily Dann was able to get out of our hotel room and our tickets for the show with only a seven dollar fee total!

I have ten days left of antibiotics. Boo. Now that I'm feeling better I should be posting again more regularly.

Health Care Reform Becomes Law

"The ceremony established the biggest new social program since President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare act into law in 1965 — and arguably since the Social Security Act arrived on Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s desk in 1935."

Link

Rejoice liberals and progressives, this day has been a long time coming! In fact some form of universal health care has been discussed or proposed since the time of Teddy Roosevelt. This Congress and President has accomplished something that Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton all failed to do, pass and sign into law meaningful health care reform that will nearly be universal.

The bill isn't perfect, I certainly whined about it over the last year! Putting that aside, it's a great start and a truly historic day! Get ready for law suits and bat shit crazy psycho talk by conservatives leading up to the mid term elections. It's time for progressives to stand up and vigorously defend what they've done over the last year! If progressives run away from their record, they lose. What has been done today and over the last several months is a good thing. History will say that.

Opinions?

Breaking News!

The death panels have just been dispatched by the government to pick up John McCain.

Mwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Suck it conservatives!

Massachusetts Waterloo?

"If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him." South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint in reference to Health Care Reform

In case you've been living under a rock, Massachusetts voters go to the polls today to fill the vacated Senate seat once held by Edward M. Kennedy. GOP state Sen. Scott Brown is running against Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley. Recent polls point toward a win by Republican Scott Brown. No Republican has won a U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts since 1972.

So what does this all mean if Kennedy's seat is lost?

A) The loss of the Senate seat and the super majority in the Senate derails Health Care Reform as we know it and we continue to wait decades for another shot at real reform.

B) Health Care Reform passes Congress with or without the Massachusetts seat via more backroom deals or some sort of nuclear option procedurally.

C) Does anyone give two shakes of a dead rat's ass?

I choose option C.

I'm a self described liberal/progressive, but even my loyalty to the Democratic Party is being put to the limit by their so called "reform." Perhaps it would be better to start over. Maybe Congress should pass smaller pieces of legislation one by one that we can all get behind, for example, the elimination of pre-existing conditions and the ability of insurance companies to drop coverages for no apparent reason, to name a couple. Why not pass revisions we can all agree on and then move on to the tougher parts of reform, like how to cover everyone without breaking their back or without giving the insurance companies a giant giveaway? Why does Health Care Reform have to be all or nothing?

Conservatives aren't off the hook either! Simply opposing something without alternatives isn't going to cut it. It comes across as highly partisan and offensive to me. This kind of tactic will never gain my vote... that and their kooky religious crusades into my private life.

Basically it's business as usual in Washington. Conservatives or liberals. Democrats or Republicans. It's all interchangeable. Wash, rinse, repeat ever two or four years. Maybe if conservatives and progressives could put aside their differences for a common cause, effective government, something could get accomplished more often! Third party anyone?

Thoughts or opinions?

There's Somthing About Mary... Landrieu

I got a nice chuckle out of this photo shopped picture of Senator Mary Landrieu(D)-Louisiana, on Huffington Post today. Apparently it was provided by Mark Halperin on Time's "The Page." The picture has since been removed, I can't imagine why.

Landrieu, along with Blanche Lincoln(D)-Arkansas, is a Democratic Senator I won't be sorry to see lose her seat in next year's midterm elections. Thank you so much for your votes, ladies, to let the Senate debate health care reform! Why is it always the poorest states in the Union, with a small population that hold up progress for the rest of the country? I certainly wouldn't want our two idiot Senators from Oklahoma to do the same, though it is expected since they carry an (R) next to their names and are "conservative".

Sorry, I'm a little grumpy. I'm really tired of the endlessness of the whole health care reform debate (debacle).

Public Option Fails in the Senate Finance Committee

I just wanted to give a quick shout out and a fuck you to the democrats who voted no: Senators Max Baucus, Bill Nelson, Kent Conrad, Tom Carper, and Blanche Lincoln.

Link

Perhaps the progressive movement will actually have some balls and run more adds like the one below:



Maybe if Congress ever finishes with Insurance Reform we can actually move on to Health Care Reform! I pay for my own health insurance, completely. It's expensive and I'm a reasonably young and healthy person. Soon I will have to decide on owning health insurance or owning a car and auto insurance. What a choice! I guess I can get a second job at nights or on the weekends. It sure would be nice to have other options...

GOP Manners

What the hell is wrong with the republican party? Last night during Obama's speech:

Republican representatives were texting on their phones and posting twitter updates while the President was speaking, including Mary Fallin!

They were also holding up copies of their own health care bill (who know they had one?) during parts of the speech.

The worst infraction came from representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina. He thought nothing of yelling, "Lie. You lie!" at the President when he stated that the health care bill would not support paying for care to illegal aliens. I was going to contact Joe today to voice my displeasure but apparently his Congressional website is down! How convenient!

More on Wilson.

Quote of the Summer

"Keep your government hands off my Medicare."

There has been some great quotes and video coming out of all the town hall meetings our Congressmen have been holding over the summer recess, but I think the above statement takes the cake. When I read the quote I always think of it being said in a Charlton Heston over-the-top, over acting kind of way:

"From my cold, dead hands will your government get my Medicare!"

"Take your stinking paws off my Medicare, you damn dirty ape!"

He he...

Slip Sliding Away

It appears as though the public option in health care reform is DOA or dead on arrival. Rhetoric from the President and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this weekend seems to imply that the option is no longer a make or break factor in reform but just a small “sliver” as the President put it, in the overall package. I heard him say this watching his town hall meeting on TV Saturday in Grand Junction, Colorado! Apparently the talk on the news programs Sunday seemed to suggest that the administration is now willing to endorse a co-operative option. I knew we were headed to some kind of half-assed bill but I was still holding out hope that we would get something more robust from our strong Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. We’ve been told by a multitude of Democrats this year and last during the elections that the public option for insurance coverage was needed in order to keep the private insurance companies in check and to control costs for the consumer. I guess we’re going to trust the private insurance companies to do the right thing again.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who is co-chairman of the Middle Class Caucus, said that "leaving private insurance companies the job of controlling the costs of health care is like making a pyromaniac the fire chief."

link

I know it may not be all bad if we can at least get some provisions which are sorely needed like stopping the insurance companies practices of denying coverage or dropping coverage for no reasons and denying coverage due to “pre-existing conditions”. I guess what I want to know from everyone out there is do we push forward with watered down legislation and declare victory or do we hold out for something better and try again next year or the following year?

I'm all for tabling the reform bill a year or two until we can have true health care reform but I'm not sure this is ever going to happen. I guess we can continue to try every 14 years or so. Change we can believe in...