SarasotaRepub
12-05-2011, 05:05 PM
I suspect a (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2431404) :bounce: . But hey, it's DU.
MedicalAdmin (1000+ posts) Mon Dec-05-11 03:23 PM
Original message I suspect that I am dying. And I won't seek treatment.
I could say that this has nothing to do with me being a typical male, but let me tell my story and you decide.
I work hard and always have. 6 years ago a company passenger van, driven by an unlicensed driver, flew through a stop sign and plowed into me. I was recovering when about 4 months later I was driving back from a PT session when another driver blew through a stop sign and T boned me into a hospital. I am partially paralysed these days and in great pain all the time from the resultant spinal injuries.
Here's were it gets fun. After the second accident the first insurance company decided that I wasn't hurt, the second company blamed the first company claiming pre-existing conditions and my insurance company said it wasn't their problem because of the car accident so they weren't paying either. The neurosurgeon and hospital (somewhat reasonably) decided that without an insurance company to cover the costs, they wanted cash on the spot.
Thus I have a spinal injury and no treatment.
My job, needless to say, let me go. Luckily a doctor I know hired me to work in her clinic (I'm a little AR and a good organizer and planner) in admin where I could function without movement as any movement triggers spasms and pain. But she can't pay enough to make a huge difference and can't extend insurance because her clinic is too small to take on the premium increase that my pre-existing condition would bring. Not that she didn't try but when faced with a bill that would have bankrupted the clinic she sat down and had a tear filled (on her part) talk with me telling me why. She had literally over 20 estimates and none of them were worth the shit found on a piece of used toilet paper.
For the past 6 years I have been struggling with a legal fight to get some payment so that I can get some treatment for this. I had a chat with my lawyer again this morning (considered to be the best personal injury attorney in the state) and he told me that the insurance companies have filed for yet another extension. He thinks that they are trying to win a war of attrition. They have offered about $12,000 in a settlement. In case you are wondering, this is a joke. My take home was about $40,000 after taxes and I had full insurance for myself and my family. I no longer have savings.
And yes, I did mention dying. Recently I started to hemorrhage blood every morning and night to the tune of between 16 and 32 ounces a day. Some days I don't but on average I would say that I bleed about 5 days out of 7. I hide this from my wife, my boss, and everyone else in my life. These bleeds have been accompanied by a loss of balance (+vertigo) and blinding migraines. A doctor friend of mine who practices in Canada took my phone call, asked about the symptoms and told me that he would screen me for a tumor and he would do it tomorrow (this was about 5 months ago). I promised him that I was seeing a doctor the next day. I lied so he wouldn't worry and moved on with my life. Or tried to. I'm sicker every day.
I doubt I will live to see the end of the lawsuit, but I could be wrong. I know a lot of you will tell me, "go see a doctor and do it now," or "get help and figure out the bills later," but that advice only exists for the rich and middle class, a club membership I lost 6 years ago when a company decided to employ for 2 years an unlicensed driver for their passenger shuttle. And my second mistake was to in this country. In any sane country, this shit just doesn't happen. I have chosen to do nothing because I can afford no other option. I can't afford the surgery. I can't afford the diagnostic tests to check if I have tumors growing in my head and even if I could, what is the point of finding out a diagnosis that I can't afford to get treated for. Ignorance is bliss for as long as it lasts.
This essay came to me because there is still an ever growing number of people, even on DU, who don't fucking get it. The insurance companies are still in control of the gates to the city and they don't want your poor ass to get through. They want you dead. They want me dead. And they are coming for you and your family next. You are one moment, one car accident, one second away from being exactly where I am.
And I spend part of each day wondering what type of bullet will do the job right.
I no longer believe that American's have the will of the means to change the system. Chomsky was right when he said in 1998 that the USA would become the greatest threat to democracy in the world in the coming century. I used to think he was cynical. I now know that he was far too pollyanna.
I would like to get feedback on the state of health care delivery in the USA. What is your story? How has this effected you or your family? Do you, like me, avoid all care even though you are sure you need it because you know you can't afford it or can't access it? Do you know anyone who has died or killed themselves because of the lack of health care access in the USA? And most importantly, does anyone have any idea what we can do about it?
Final word - if your ideas for solution include insurance companies, you are a fool. That is just my opinion so don't take it personally, although being a fool you either won't figure out what I just said or you will and will take umbrage anyway.
Because I know if this was me, I'd be posting and Drama Queening it up just like this putz. :rolleyes:
And I suspect the vast majority if not all the DUmmies will just eat this and ask for more...
MedicalAdmin (1000+ posts) Mon Dec-05-11 03:23 PM
Original message I suspect that I am dying. And I won't seek treatment.
I could say that this has nothing to do with me being a typical male, but let me tell my story and you decide.
I work hard and always have. 6 years ago a company passenger van, driven by an unlicensed driver, flew through a stop sign and plowed into me. I was recovering when about 4 months later I was driving back from a PT session when another driver blew through a stop sign and T boned me into a hospital. I am partially paralysed these days and in great pain all the time from the resultant spinal injuries.
Here's were it gets fun. After the second accident the first insurance company decided that I wasn't hurt, the second company blamed the first company claiming pre-existing conditions and my insurance company said it wasn't their problem because of the car accident so they weren't paying either. The neurosurgeon and hospital (somewhat reasonably) decided that without an insurance company to cover the costs, they wanted cash on the spot.
Thus I have a spinal injury and no treatment.
My job, needless to say, let me go. Luckily a doctor I know hired me to work in her clinic (I'm a little AR and a good organizer and planner) in admin where I could function without movement as any movement triggers spasms and pain. But she can't pay enough to make a huge difference and can't extend insurance because her clinic is too small to take on the premium increase that my pre-existing condition would bring. Not that she didn't try but when faced with a bill that would have bankrupted the clinic she sat down and had a tear filled (on her part) talk with me telling me why. She had literally over 20 estimates and none of them were worth the shit found on a piece of used toilet paper.
For the past 6 years I have been struggling with a legal fight to get some payment so that I can get some treatment for this. I had a chat with my lawyer again this morning (considered to be the best personal injury attorney in the state) and he told me that the insurance companies have filed for yet another extension. He thinks that they are trying to win a war of attrition. They have offered about $12,000 in a settlement. In case you are wondering, this is a joke. My take home was about $40,000 after taxes and I had full insurance for myself and my family. I no longer have savings.
And yes, I did mention dying. Recently I started to hemorrhage blood every morning and night to the tune of between 16 and 32 ounces a day. Some days I don't but on average I would say that I bleed about 5 days out of 7. I hide this from my wife, my boss, and everyone else in my life. These bleeds have been accompanied by a loss of balance (+vertigo) and blinding migraines. A doctor friend of mine who practices in Canada took my phone call, asked about the symptoms and told me that he would screen me for a tumor and he would do it tomorrow (this was about 5 months ago). I promised him that I was seeing a doctor the next day. I lied so he wouldn't worry and moved on with my life. Or tried to. I'm sicker every day.
I doubt I will live to see the end of the lawsuit, but I could be wrong. I know a lot of you will tell me, "go see a doctor and do it now," or "get help and figure out the bills later," but that advice only exists for the rich and middle class, a club membership I lost 6 years ago when a company decided to employ for 2 years an unlicensed driver for their passenger shuttle. And my second mistake was to in this country. In any sane country, this shit just doesn't happen. I have chosen to do nothing because I can afford no other option. I can't afford the surgery. I can't afford the diagnostic tests to check if I have tumors growing in my head and even if I could, what is the point of finding out a diagnosis that I can't afford to get treated for. Ignorance is bliss for as long as it lasts.
This essay came to me because there is still an ever growing number of people, even on DU, who don't fucking get it. The insurance companies are still in control of the gates to the city and they don't want your poor ass to get through. They want you dead. They want me dead. And they are coming for you and your family next. You are one moment, one car accident, one second away from being exactly where I am.
And I spend part of each day wondering what type of bullet will do the job right.
I no longer believe that American's have the will of the means to change the system. Chomsky was right when he said in 1998 that the USA would become the greatest threat to democracy in the world in the coming century. I used to think he was cynical. I now know that he was far too pollyanna.
I would like to get feedback on the state of health care delivery in the USA. What is your story? How has this effected you or your family? Do you, like me, avoid all care even though you are sure you need it because you know you can't afford it or can't access it? Do you know anyone who has died or killed themselves because of the lack of health care access in the USA? And most importantly, does anyone have any idea what we can do about it?
Final word - if your ideas for solution include insurance companies, you are a fool. That is just my opinion so don't take it personally, although being a fool you either won't figure out what I just said or you will and will take umbrage anyway.
Because I know if this was me, I'd be posting and Drama Queening it up just like this putz. :rolleyes:
And I suspect the vast majority if not all the DUmmies will just eat this and ask for more...