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I don't think there is much of anything I do not consider or post that
others HERE have not also considered because I believe those are the
progressive positions. We just have to convince the "others" who do not
get up in the middle of the night to think or write about these things.
I miss not writing at 2-3 in the morn (and couldn't do it last night) but
I did too much outside; since it is Summer now and my wife keeps me busy
in the yard and garden. And I still getting over what the doctor told me
this week -- how the VA screwed up. I have been having cardiac problems
for two years which started with some "arthritic" pain in a rib. The VA
decided to do a catherization. Because I also had a blood problem at the
time which was causing anemia and it was nothing more than profuse
bleeding from hemorrhoids, a condition my VA primary care physician could
not be causing anemia because that only happened to "pregnant women."
Needless to say I filed a written complaint against her and had a
hemorrectomy which stopped the bleeding and the anemia. Iron deficient
anemia, which was a result of the bleeding also indicates less oxygen
reaching the heart. The VA doctor who checked me for the pinching pain
(arthritic pain) say on the EKG that I was not getting enough oxygen to my
heart so assumed it was a clogged artery. A nuclear scan would have shown
otherwise, but they're expensive and my current doctor uses them FIRST
because I have insurance, but with the VA when I didn't have insurance,
they use a less expensive technique, they use catherization and if
indicated, a stent. I got the stent for some plaque buildup (80%), they
said (but it was only in one spot which is unusual and I really doubt that
it was there. Since almost every VA is connected to a university hospital,
they are also teaching hospitals and I assume the procedure was already
planned to demonstrate to students. Anyway I got a stent I don't believe
I really needed. After the hemmroid operation the oxygen problem cleared
up, not before. The stent was defective. Guess what? They can't do
anything about defective stents except more catherizations and an attempt
to balloon them, which they did, but underdeployed stents are rarely able
of redeploying correctly and this one won't. It was followed up with
another catherization and while they played tiddly-winks while trying to
figure out what to do and discussing it with me (the VA does not knock you
out for these procedures), I thrombosed. A blood clot occured in a
different location, a result of my body's rejection of the cath -- a
process with is nature when a person uses his/her natural defenses to
fight off anything which doesn't belong there. People with alergies
usually have high rejection. It is some kind of natural protein in the
body which does this. So the clot which gave me the heart attack (a
person's risk is 1 in 500 for this during cath procedures). The nuclear
scan I had last week showed the Myocardial Infarction (heart attack)
caused damage to my heart. The good news is I have a very strong heart
from being a runner for almost 15 years. The bad news is I have a damaged
heart and get tired faster than I use to so I can't get up at 2 or 3 in
the morning as much as I would like or work outside all day like I did
just a few years ago. All because of an unnecessary procedure because my
cardiologist I have now who is not with the VA says the stent is still
underdeployed but not enough of a problem to even worry about -- some some
occlusion is natural and most people have it. But the arthitis was nothing
and the way it was treated in the inefficiency of the VA system was
criminal --- and it has changed the way I have to live my life. I get
tired faster. I sleep more. While the damage was not extensive it was
enough to cause some changes in lifestyle.
I still support the VA because it provides meds cheaper (or free) than can
be obtained in this lousy system we have in this country. BUT there is
widespread incompetence in medicine and the VA is a classic example. The
university teaching hospitals are not much better for treating walk-ins
who are generally too poor to have their own insurance and use other
hospitals. The best medicine is of course available to those who can
afford it but as important as meds and equipment are the doctors for their
level of experience and diagnostic experience especially plus their
ability to apply their craft. We need real medical reform and more
scrutiny of many doctors. Everyone has heard the horror stories but until
you are experience the mistakes they make you don't feel it can happen to
you. Hospitals are the most dangerous places to be because of the level of
incompetence, not just doctors but other health care providers from
infection and a system which cares more about money than people.
Hank
On Wed, 12 May 2004, Leslie Lowe wrote:
>
> Hank, Do you in the wee hours of the morn when I'm in
> slumber enter my mind and swipe my thoughts? too often
> yuo've been guilty of that. Leslie Lowe
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