I ONLY INCLUDE THESE DETAILS OF YESTERDAY FOR YOUR EDUCATION ABOUT WHAT I EXPERIENCED CONFRONTING THE MEDICAL "INDUSTRY" .-- KEEP IN MIND... I MAY HAVE ALL THIS WRONG.... BUT...
HISTORICALLY. THERE WAS/IS A WAR IN BOSTON BETWEEN TEHE OLDER ESTABLISHED MASS GENERAL HOSPITAL -- ( NOW REFERRED TO AS "PARTNERS") AND THE LAHEY GROUP-- BACK WHEN TOM WAS GETTING OUT OF PRACTICE, HE WAS COURTED BY BOTH PARTNERS AND LAHEY AND HE OPTED TO 'RETIRE ' WITH A PARTNERS ASSOCIATION. CRITICAL - BECAUSE THAT MEANT ANY OF MY DOCTOR FRIENDS TEND TO BE "PARTNERS" ( SOME EVEN READ THIS ..) HOWEVER MY CLOSEST HOSPITAL IS OF TEH LAHEY GROUP.... WHEN THEY HAUL ME OUT BY AMBULANCE AND THEY SAY CLOSEST-- I LAND AT LAHEY. ...
SO YESTERDAY - I KNEW I WAS HAVING RAPID HEART PROBLEMS...-- LONG AGO I BOUGHT- ON EBAY AT 3 FOR $10 A PULSE/ OXYMETER THING WHICH GOES ON YOUR FINGER-- AND IT SAID 155- I HAD BEEN TOLD OVER 140 FOR NO SPECIFIC REASON MEANT TO GO FOR HELP.. I SAW NO REASON TO GO FOR AN AMBULANCE RIDE-- SO JUDY OFFERED TO DRIVE... BLESS HER...
HISTORICLLY I TRIED VERY HARD TO COLLECT ALL MY RECORDS FROM LAHEY AND GET THEM TO DR. BD GUPTA ( PARTNERS) WHO I HAVE KNOWN FOR YEARS. LAST MONTH, BD DID EKG'S/ STRESS TESTS.ECHO ETC-( ALL FINE) DONE BY A PARTNERS HOSPITAL...
SO LINDA CALLED BD'S OFFICE AND WAS ON HOLD FOR ?25 MINUTES BEFORE BEING TOLD TO CALL TEH DR COVERING HIM- SHE CALLED DR "L" SHORTER HOLD...18 MINUTES... AND DR "L' RETURNED THE CALL... NICE GUY- TOLD ME TO GO TO THE NEAREST PLACE TO GET AN EKG AND FAX IT TO HIM. I TRIED.. I REALLY DID..
I HAD STUMBLED ON A NEW MEDICAL OFFICE ABOUT 3 MILES FROM HOME WHICH WAS AFFILITATED WITH PARTNERS - AND CALLED THEM-- YES THEY HAD AN EKG... AND COULD GIVE ME AN APPOINTMENT FOR NEXT TUESDAY.. I SAID I HAD BEENTO D TO GET AND EKG AND FAX TO DR "L" --THAT STARTED THE QUESTIONS..... " WHO WROTE THE ORDER? THEY HAD NO RECORD OF AN ORDER..." I SHOULD CALL 911 AND BE "PROCESSED " THRU THE 911 SYSTEM...
I CALLED TEH NEXT CLOSEST EKG PLACE... THE LAHEY HOSPITAL ANNEX WHERE WE TRAIN THE DOGS.. AND GOT "YES WE HAVE A CARDIOLOGIST BUT HE DOES NOT SEE EMERGENCIES-- CALL 911" ----- NOW IF I CALLED 911 I KNEW THE AMBULANCE AND 3 FIRETRUCKS WOULD ARRIVE IN MY DRIVEWAY ---- 6 BIG MEN IN BLACK UNIFORMS WOULD WALTZ INTO MY LIVING ROOM AND WE WOULD BE SCREAMING AT CHAOS NOT TO BITE THEM WHILE WE PRAY BENTLEY DOESN'T GGET ANNOYED AS THEY STRAP ME TO A CARRYING DEVICE AND ALL 6 LUG ME OUT THE DOOR....( I DID THAT A COUPLE MONTHS AGO) --SO JUDY OFFERED TO DRIVE.
WHEN YOU GO BY AMBULANCE EVERYONE IN THE ER PAYS ATTENTION RIGHT AWAY... IF YOU WALK IN.. YOU WAIT... THEY MAY RUN YOU THRU A TRIAGE SITUATION WHERE A NURSE MAY DECIDE IF YOU LOOK LIKE YOU ARE GOING TO KEEL OVER OR GET SICK TO YOUR STOMACH...-- BUT YOU GO TO THE WAITING ROOM..
THERE IS A DIFFEERNCE HERE TOO.... IF YOU GO TO A N EMEERGENCY ROOM IN A SUBURB YOU WILL WAIT LESS.... BECAUSE IF YOU GO TO A EMERGENCY ROOM IN --OR CLOSE --TO A CITY.....YOU WILL BE LUCKY TO FIND A "CHAIR" IN THE WAINTING ROOM.
IT IS MUCH MORE ENTERTAINING IN THE CITY "ER" AS YOU SIT AND WONDER WHAT THE DIAGNOSIS IS FOR ALL THIS HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BE SEEN BY A PHYSICIAN... WAITING TIME IN THE LAHEY IN BEVERLY( CITY) WAS OVER 2 HOURS LAHEY SUBURB 15 MINUTES...
EVEN IN THAT CITY ER, THE ONES COMING IN BY AMBULANCE SKIPPED THE WAITING ROOM-- THETE SEEMED TO BE SOME RULE, IF YOU CAME IN FLAT, HYOU STAYED FLAT .. MAYBE IN THE CORRIDOR, BUT FLAT ON A BED/GURNEY...
ONCE IN A ROOM IN THE ER... I WAS HOOKED UP TO A THING WHICH BEEPED AN INSIGNIFICANT ALARM EVERY 3-4 MINUTES WHCH MEANT AN ATTENDANT CAM IN AND POKED A RESET BUTTON - SAYING SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THIS THING. IT GAVE JUDY AND I PLENTY OF TIME TO CHECK MY 3 FOR $10 METER AGAINST THIS $7000 ONE WITH THE MISFIRING ALARM...
A VERY NICE-- PHYSICIAN CAME IN AND DISCUSSED WHAT TO DO ABOUT MY SPIKE IN NUMBERS-- I LIKED HER APPROACH "LET ME GIVE YOU 1/2 A PILL AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN 30 MINUTES... JUST IN CASE YOU HAVE A BAD REACTION...-- I COULD DEAL WITH THAT... 30 MINUTES LATE MY PULES WAS BACK TO NORMAL-- SHE GAVE ME A SCRIPT AND WE LEFT...
THAT AS TEH LAHEY GROUP--- AND TEHY WERE VERY SPECIFIC-- YOU MUST SEE A CARDIOLOGIST IN THE NEXT 3 DAYS-- HERE IS THE LAHEY NUMBER.... AND IF YOU DON'T CALL THEM, THEY WILL CALL YOU....
MY TAKE AWAY?
***THE SYSTEM IS " CALL 911 "
*** IT DOES NOT PAY TO WASTE TIME CALLING YOUR DOCTOR'S OFF CE WHICH HAS A MACHINE THAT SAYS.. " IF THIS IS AN EMERGENCY , HANG UP AND CALL 911-- OTHERWISE PUSH 2 FOR TEH JANITOR"" --
*** SO FAR, WITH MEDICARE AND MEDEX, I DON'T SEEM TO GET ANY BILL FOR ANYTHING
*** AVOID CITY EMERGENCY ROOMS AT ALL COSTS...
*** 3 TIMES NOW THE ER DOCTORS HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL IN THE SUBURB TYpE ER's
*** IN THE CITY ER's YOU MAY NEVER SEE AN MD.....BUT THE ASSISTANT TO THE PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT IS SYMPATHETIC AND JUST TRYING HARD TO GET STERILE TECHINQUE DOWN PAT.
*** WHILE ALL THE INSURANCE BUSINESSMEN ENJOY THEIR RETIREMENT FUNDS HAVING SAVED MONEY FOR THEIR INSURANCE COMPANIES BY DECIDING THAT LIVING IN GENERAL IS A PRE -EXISTING CONDITION.
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P.S.. 1/2 A PILL WORKED-- I NOW CARRY ONE IN MY WALLER WITH MY HEARING AID BATTERIES
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Hi Carlene,
Wendy & I are doing good. The school year is almost done...June 23rd! We are going on a school field trip on Tuesday to Boston with all of my 5th grade class. We are going to the aquarium, see an Imax movie, going to Faneil Hall and going on a duck tour. The bus company was going to take seats out for Wendy, but we told them we will be fine in the back of the bus since we've done it before. We have a step up day to middle school coming up in a couple weeks. We are excited for middle school and think everything will go great and Wendy will enjoy her naps there too! We have a few things planned for the summer and more to come for sure and we will update you.
One thing we are working on is planning a fundraiser, to benefit SDP and Boston Children's hospital. We want to make sure it is ok to include SDP info on the design. We are still in the planning stages, but are getting the ball rolling. We are planning on selling reusable, probably canvas, bags. We hope we have your blessing.
We are hoping to visit down there soon and will be in touch!
Love,
Hunter & Wendy
