Now It’s Personal

[FrenchieCat]

Eugene Robinson: Now It’s Personal

The last thing the surgeon said to me before they rolled me into the operating room was, “You know, if you and Obama had your way with health care, it wouldn’t be me doing this operation. It would just be some guy.”

I tried to tell him—somewhat disingenuously, and through a haze of painkillers and anxiety—that I had an open mind on the issue.

All is well. The surgery was on my left hand, and when I woke up in the recovery room it was still attached to my left arm, with all five fingers. More than a week later, it hurts only when I type.

My up-close-and-personal investigation of the American health care system is something I can joke about now, since the ending is a happy one and the tale has such an air of “Seinfeld” about it. When people ask about my bandaged hand and hear the story, they often advise me to make up something more heroic, or at least mas macho. The most common suggestion: “Just say you were in a bar fight.”

On Sunday, Feb. 22, I was in my kitchen making a salad. I was scooping the pulp out of an avocado and must not have been paying attention to the task, because I poked myself with the fork I was using—two tiny puncture wounds on my palm, right at the base of my ring finger. The wound yielded only a couple of drops of blood. No harm, no foul; I washed my hand, slapped on a bandage and went about my business.

Five days later, I noticed that my hand was a little sore. The following day, a Saturday, my finger was so swollen that I had to take off my wedding ring for the first time in many years. By Sunday morning, my finger hurt like the dickens and I doubt I’d have been able to get the ring over the swollen knuckle. Monday morning, much worse—obviously, a pretty bad infection. I called my doctor and he prescribed an antibiotic.

More....
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090316_now_its_personal

[FrenchieCat]

1. We ain't never gonna get any health care reform

cause too many are too busy demanding that Barack Obama be perfect,
although every other president has been all the way fucked up!

I'm gonna have to take a break from this place.
I'm getting depressed just thinking about how many steps back we are about to take.

[OneGrassRoot]

2. You know what, Frenchie?

I'm extremely negligent about staying up with the news in the last few months; part of it is family crises and no time due to work, the other part is disgust. It all seems so much worse since the election, and it's even harder than usual, I find, to get to the truth.

The tone here at DU since January 20th has been much like that of the primary season, so it's also hard to get clarity -- quickly and easily -- here.

There are plenty of posts where I know I can get information that is critical of The Obama Administration, but you are a reliable supporter (as I am determined to be, a mere 60 days into this thing...not blind, but supportive), posting facts that I find very helpful to balance all the criticism.

If you'd start a blog, I would gladly sign on as a follower. It's easy to find criticism about what the Obama Administration is doing -- but I find it much more difficult to find rebuttals to these criticisms.

You do so very effectively, IMHO. I, for one, would hate to lose your voice. If you take it somewhere else, will you please let me know. ;)

I just heard the news clip about the veteran's pay thing. I know everything doesn't have an explanation we would all like, but you seem to be so on top of everything that I'd love to have your "take" on the talking points of the day. Every day.



:hi:

[eridani]

3. "Not perfect" health care reform =

"continuing to allow private insurance companies to kill people for profit."