Pristine medical care in America is reserved for the elite. Unless you are Senator Ted Kennedy, or a person with his wealth and stature, don’t expect the same time, attention, medical expertise, and resources.
Lest you think this information is based on biased opinion, let’s take a look at some facts.
Mr. Kennedy’s medical story reads like this:
· Kennedy was examined and diagnosed with a glio malignant brain tumor virtually hours after his initial seizure.
· “In less than two weeks Mr. Kennedy’s tumor was removed by one of the world’s experts in brain cancer at the Duke University Medical Center,” according to Robert M. Goldberg’s article in the New York Post.
· Medical teamwork was superb. Mr. Kennedy attested to this process in his own words. He said, “. . . my wife and I, along with the outstanding team of doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, have consulted around the country and have decided that the best course of action is targeted surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation.”
· Kennedy’s doctors are providing him the greatest chance for survival with these words, “Mr. Kennedy is strong. He is a fighter. He will courageously fight for life.” Kennedy’s doctors share these words of HOPE because they know hope is essential to his fight for life!
Your story, America, and my story will read quite differently than Mr. Kennedy’s. A couple of excerpts from my book, YOU and the Broken American Healthcare System, follow, sharing a common man’s glio story and other medical news.
Jay was the common man diagnosed with a glio malignant brain tumor. In some ways, Mr. Kennedy’s and Jay’s stories are similar. Both glios were in the left temporal lobe of the brain. Both men were about the same age upon diagnosis. Both men had families who loved them and were devastated by the news.
However, more things differ between the two. Jay was a gentle man with no fame. He was a mediator, not a fighter; he was a server, not an elitist. His medical care was nil in comparison.
Jay fought for this country. He fed this country, and he worked until the day he was diagnosed! But his medical story goes like this:
· Jay didn’t have a biopsy to determine the nature of his illness until nearly two weeks after the MRI, following a chaotic, abusive visit to the hospital. The doctors told Jay that time was not important. “If you have a glio, you will die within two months no matter what we do.” They said.
· The doctors refused to attempt surgery and would not refer Jay to another doctor even though the family begged and pleaded. The family discovered Duke University Medical Center through personal research efforts, but medical staff already had introduced staph infection through a bogged feeding tube placement. Instead of using radiology to guide them, they placed the tube into Jay’s lung three consecutive times. Jay was now fighting for his life.
· Medical staff continually fought turf battles. The right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing. One honest doctor made notations in the medical records “no one seems to know anything” and “they refuse to visit with family”. So the truth is forever documented in the medical records.
· Medical staff did not tell Jay that he was a fighter because he wanted to live. They told him that he was a coward because he was afraid to die. The family was convinced this rhetoric was designed to dehumanize Jay and keep him down.
Jay’s family knows that many things are certain: Medical staff will never refuse to speak to Mr. Kennedy and then refer to him as a ‘glioblastoma’ to his face - - - - -the way they did Jay.
They will always address him as “Mr. Kennedy”!
Medical staff will never bare Mr. Kennedy’s crouch area to the world and tell him not to “wee, wee” on them - - - - - - the way they did Jay.
They will always honor Mr. Kennedy’s manhood.
If this comparison does not convince you or if it is not vivid enough, I will tell you a story ‘for the road’. The story is short. It is concise. It is not about a glioblastoma, but it is about you and me. It is about the American healthcare system.
Do you remember when the story about Edith Isabel Rodriquez’s death hit the American newspapers and airwaves on May 9, 2007?
Ms. Rodriquez died in an American hospital emergency room because no one would come to her aid. She was bleeding from the mouth; she was writhing in pain; and her friend was pleading for help.
Her friend even called 911, begging them to rescue Rodriquez and take her to another hospital. They refused. So Ms. Rodriquez died in a California hospital from a perforated bowel. Treatment would probably have saved her life.
According to the Associated Press, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office ruled Rodriquez’s death accidental!
You might note that if this had been Mr. Kennedy , he probably would have been flown to the hospital roof by helicopter and treated before anyone else in the hospital was treated. He will never be reduced to begging for his life in an American hospital!
America yells and complains when our country abuses cattle going to slaughter, but we ignore the violations against our own families, our own friends, and ourselves.
When are we going to stand up, America - - - WHEN?”
