TRUTH IN HEALTHCARE REVISITED II

(presently, i go to six doctors ranging from good to excellent. occasionally you experience a bad doctor who can ruin the reputation of all the others)

bizarrely i was subjected to some events which reflect on some of the incompetent or glory and money seeking doctors although i was not subjected to many of them.

over the past 17 months since transplant i have been admitted to hospitals about six times (i've lost count) and a rehab facility twice. its a miracle that i still live in spite of some of the very few but deadly incompetents. one of my regular doctors said that i didn't have these problems prior to the transplant and that he thought peri-dialysis was preferable. of course this is monday morning quarterbacking or better yet fourth quarter quarterbacking and i'm a touchdown behind. this analysis should be done after my fourth quarter is over.

during one of the hospital stays i was given about a 50-50 chance of survival in the ICU. i was a perfect subject for experimentation (for a high school lab) being a breathing cadaver.

i was subjected to the whims of a doctor who was solely promoting himself. he may have had deals with vendors of medical gadgets. the particular vendor this day was testing and selling various designs of oxygen masks. the odd and probably illegal test started late at night. no witnesses present. when i realized that i was the subject of this doctor's capricious and uncaring nature and these devices had no bearing on my improving my health i took off the device and refused to further cooperate. the vendor then told me that i promised (not even remotely true) to do this, and this was a test of several similar products. i told her that i never promised, i don't work for her, i am not a dogooder, and she should get out of here. later she apologized. why? i dunno. "just go away".

other abuses include five foley changes in one day. he made some lame excuses for having to do this. after i informed his boss about malpractice suits and the criminal justice system they backed off a bit. many doctors tend to believe in their greatness much like jihadists and other fanatics. couldn't get rid of the doc entirely as he wanted to give me s cardiac stress test and here i was as weak as a baby. i turned down an MRI after a test after which i saw flashes of light for a couple of days.

a friend of mine asked, "do you know where the phrase, 'get the F--- out of here'." came from'? he said if you are involved with a doctor of this nationality (like mine but not of american origin) you must say the magic words, "get the F--- out of here".

lesson learned: stay out of hospitals.

on the plus side the transplant unit i was in initially was outstandingly well run. i commend all their staff.

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