Socialized medicine – I’m not a fan! There’s a legitimate reason!
I had an HMO – very similar to what President Obama wants to do “for” America – I consider it “doing to us” rather than “for us“!
In the 1970’s I had a traumatic accident. I was taken by ambulance to (my HMO’s) (name deleted) hospital – they’d dictated that the distance was not too far although it could have complicated the problems, instead of being appropriate care at a closer facility.
Evidently, in E.R. someone decided I wasn’t going to live through it, so they did inappropriate surgery procedures on me. The ambulance drivers, with a sick smirk on their faces, told me that the Fontana hospital was their “teaching” facility.
Later, it became apparent malpractice had been done. They’d made several “mistakes”. When I saw a lawyer, it was only after they’d sent me home from the E.R. again; I should have been hospitalized on the spot, but they wanted to conference with the doctor who was on vacation and sent me back to survive at home although I again had a broken leg (with a broken rod inside the bone) and osteoporosis in the other leg (both had been broken). To eat or go to the washroom, I had to lower myself to the floor and pull myself along, sliding on my rear, legs dragging behind . . . .
When they called, their solution was to ask me to come in to have both legs amputated!
About now, I suspect you’re beginning to see how inappropriate their “care” was, how desperate I was and why I’d then called a lawyer friend. They took my case and got my legs fixed. Although 35 years later, I still carry a lot of pain, I still have my legs. It wasn’t rocket science to save my legs – it just took a competent orthopedic surgeon and someone who would pay for the procedures – the doctors and/or lawyer took it on contingency; they expected a good settlement.
I was told to look weak, not to build myself back up and they’d take my case . . . . and when all was said and done, I’d walk away with a lot of money! It didn’t work like that, but I wanted my legs fixed so I agreed although it seemed deceptive . . . . I just couldn’t see pushing myself around on a wheeled platform the rest of my life. I had children to support and a major clinical depression had also set in by then.
The new doctor put me under the knife 5 times to get me back to where I could walk and eventually work again; he was good at what he does – and though there are a lot of side-stories that go along with all this, I’ll not post them here.
All in all, this was a nightmare I went through, all because of the HMO I had chosen to be my health care . . . . a critical mistake, to say the least!
Now, I watch our president promoting the same low-ball type of health care and I cannot sit back and keep silent! We owe our loved ones more!
I’ve found through my life that I’m several steps ahead of the game when I learn from another’s mistakes rather than go through problems myself!
That’s why I put this here – hoping the American people can see they’re better off getting to a place where they make better choices than I did. Although I was working and supporting myself and family, there’s something to be said for looking at things with a more critical eye. The HMO (name deleted) failed me! Though my lawyer also failed me, he did get me a good doctor and I’ve done well and lived a full life and appreciate having the ability to go where I want, and do what I want. God has blessed me in many ways and because of that, I owe you, my brothers and sisters, a warning . . . . things are not always what they seem; working and supporting oneself is worth while – finding a job or profession that provides a good health insurance is so much better than being on an entitlement program of some sort! And avoid (name deleted) and other uncaring, low-ball, “health care” systems!
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