Health Care
The subject of health care today is a myriad menu of choices to be made at different times of our lives. I have had my share of health issues this year and have come to the conclusion that all the advertisements about “supplemental health care” are just to separate you from your money. Yes, a catastrophic issue is expensive, but the payments every month just about match your share of the cost. Medicare has paid everything but small charges from every doctor and the hospital. These all do not add up to what the premiums would have been had I had “supplemental health care”.
This brings me to the historic history of health care. One hundred years ago, if you got sick, you went to a doctor and for a nominal fee got fixed up (or not). There were many illnesses that are probably the same as we have today, but they had very different names. I have a post card from 1884 that was sent from the Solon Conclave No. 23, I. O. H. in Salisbury notifying members of the deaths of two of its members. One died from Bright’s disease and the other passed away due to “brain fever”. Bright’s disease was the diagnosis for all the diseases associated with the kidneys. They used to treat them all the same way, which was usually followed by death. Now we have practically eliminated the name and treat the different ailments of the kidneys in different ways, usually successful. Times sure have changed for the better in this regard.
When I was a little boy, I was treated by Dr. William Morgan. He would make house calls in those days of the late 1940’s and didn’t have much use for mothers. He was there to treat the patient, the child, and knew what needed to be done. He was brusque but efficient and I was one of his first patients in Salisbury as well as being red-headed like him. We got along fine, except when he gave me a needle one time and I told him I hated him. It never fazed him. He took my tonsils out when I was five. This was the first time I had been away from home. My mother showed great concern and made sure I had all my favorite things to go to the hospital with me. The two nurses in the children’s ward were both family friends and I knew them both. Mom assured me that they would take good care of me and wondered if I would be all right. I tried to appear satisfied with my surroundings and my mother left me. She recalled years later that as she was walking down the hall after having left me in the capable care of the nurses she heard my little voice call out, “Not my pants”. I lost them as well as my tonsils and that was my only experience with the hospital until this year.
My grandmother had an operation in 1924 that left a bad memory. She was home recuperating for almost a year. My mother missed a whole year of school because she had to stay home and take care of her. There was no home health care like they have today. Then in the early 1950’s her doctor told her that she had something going on in her and he might have to do exploratory surgery. Remembering her past unpleasant experience, she told him, “If there’s a snake in there, let him be”. She didn’t have the operation and lived another 30 years, finally dying at 98 in 1986. Her advice to me was to not go to a doctor because “that’s what they’re there for – to find something wrong with you”.
The family doctor usually had the answer to any medical question you might have had. There are general practitioners now but they usually refer you to a “specialist” that costs you even more. There are no more house calls by doctors, but the home health care system they have now provides you with a registered nurse that is just as good as the old doctor’s visit. We shouldn’t complain. Many of the things that are fixed now would have killed us years ago. So, I guess things have gotten better.
2 comments:
Great piece once again George.
I can recall a time when my Grandmother had a stroke and her children got together to discuss how they would handle the rehab portion of her recovery.
Her eldest Son, (who we all thought would be first in line to take her in) surprised every one of us by sharing his reluctance to having his Mother come stay with them. Ultimately that is exactly where she went.
That being said, years later I had some one on one time with my Uncle and I asked him why he didn't want his Mother to come stay with him. He explained to me how MOST people have very hard times dealing with Hospitals and after care places because they bring back such bad memories of the hardest times in their lives.
He felt that if his Mother stayed with him, she'd not want to return. Believe it or not, he was exactly right. My Grandmother is a very respectful woman. She is an extremely indipendent woman as well, still living on her own at 94 years old.
She never did return to my Uncle's home, (so far) and it's been a lot of years since her stroke.
Many people say the healthies people are those people who take NO prescription meds. Many doctors I have spoken to say the same thing. There's a LOT to be said when you just know it's time to go to the Hospital. Today, it's just to easy to do so and too many people go there for stupid reasons. Just my opinion, of course.
I heard of a guy who was recently diagnosed with cancer and the doctors told him he has 5 years left to live. What a load of crap. I'd rather not know, live every day as clean as possible and IF that day comes when I simply no longer have the strength to get up, at least I'll know there's not much longer before I'll meet my maker.
A doctor saved my life back in 1979 and without him I would not be here today. However, I was dying, flown to a Hospital and he saved my life. Outside of that, I would NEVER trust the diagnosis of a doctor as most are not in it for what doctors used to get into medicine in the past. They, (over the past 30 years) got into it for the money and we have seen what PRMC has produced recently with a doctor telling people they needed something they actually did not.
When the time comes and I'm wrong, well, I guess I'll die. However, IF that day comes any time soon there will be no regrets and I just wish other people could say the same. Live well people and enjoy what you have. If you have too much, give some of it away.
Joe
You are absolutely right about doctors today. There are still honest doctors. However far too many are in the profession because of the money and power. And far too many are dishonest or corrupt. The McLean stent case is a perfect example. Dr. McLean is facing jail time this November when he is sentenced but it is not possible that he acted alone and PRMC does not want to draw any attention to this case at all. Some of those in collusion are probably still working there. It is enough to make you lose confidence in doctors. And that is a shame.
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