Skip to main content

Does anyone else think I'm bitter?

I blogged yesterday, on my other blog, about what I believe to be an irrational fear of "socialized medicine".

Without going into the particulars of my thoughts on the topic, (you can read it for yourself if you're interested), I did get a comment from one of my loyal readers, who blogs in support of the health insurance industry, suggesting I am bitter about my situation, and that is why I feel the way I do about the current state of US health care.

Have I ever suggested to anyone that I am bitter about my situation?

Certainly, I'm not happy with the fact I have mantle cell lymphoma, but neither am I bitter about it.

People get sick all the time, and there is no reason to believe I, or anyone else, should be entitled to some special dispensation not to get sick. Getting sick is part of life. Everyone will get sick sometime in their life, and we all have to deal with it as best we can.

In some regards I actually feel it was of benefit, and helped put a different perspective on life, which is one of the reasons I started this blog.
What I am bitter about is a health care system that treats health care like a commodity distributed according to the ability to pay, rather then according to need.

What I'm bitter about is a health care system that discriminates against the most vulnerable in society, by burdening them with undue costs and pressures, with no regard to the consequences to society, and then rationalizing that it was their fault for getting sick, and/or not planning well.

If that makes me appear bitter about my situation, or that I'm feeling sorry for myself, then so be it. I just don't see it that way.

I only wish others could see the world as I see it. I think it would be a better place.
Labels:

Comments

Becky said…
Being firm in ones belief does not make one bitter.

You just happen to have a greater understanding in an area that many don't have, yet. They don't have the luxury or misfotune (depending on how you look at it) of knowing what you do now, but you can put yourself in their shoes and remember how you thought about healthcare before you were diagnosed.

As a responsible citizen I would like to think that when it comes to healthcare my country would at least see to it that I am treated the same as an aging inmate in prison.
3:44 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My concerns reaffirmed today

When I was first diagnosed with MCL, I pretty much read just about everything I could get my hands on, I attended various conferences, and I talked to anyone who would listen. One of the most important lessons I learned, and which I've mentioned numerous times before was No one cares more about you than you. But in addition to that, I learned to fear the drug Doxorubicin , AKA Adriamycin, Doxil, Hydroxydoxorubicin, or more affectionately the Red Devil. Besides being a deadly chemical, as is the case with most chemotherapy drugs, it is one of the few chemotherapy drugs known to cause permanent heart damage. I even heard Dr. Sandra Horning , a noted Stanford lymphoma specialist, state at the first lymphoma conference I attended in LA, there was no evidence Doxorubicin provided any added benefit to chemotherapy protocols. This was music to my ears, since Doxorubicin is very common in most lymphoma treatment protocols. And even though Dr. Horning has since changed her tune [which my sk...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bowling: A metaphor on life [sorta]

Over the past 15+ years the game of bowling has changed dramatically. Not only has the equipment changed, making it easier for bowlers of all ages and physical conditions to participate, and score well, but there have even been major advances to how the lanes are prepared for the start of bowling. No longer is it just heavy oil, light oil, long oil, short oil, or no oil, with the latest equipment, the amount of oil can be varied from front to back and side to side, producing a myriad of patterns designed to make the game more interesting, more challenging and as you might surmise, more frustrating. No longer does the "one ball fits all" approach work any more either. In order to navigate all the differing possible lane conditions, you need to have a varied selection of bowling balls. Most pros will tell you the average bowler needs 3 balls, plus a ball for spares, but to be an above average bowler you'll need at least 6 balls, with many possessing more than that. But just...
1 comment
Read more

Fatigue! Part II - Maybe it is real?

Or it's actually Motivational Deficiency Disorder, MoDeD (pronounced Mo-Dee-Dee) for short. In a report this week by Roy Moynihan who reports for the British Medical Journal Austrailian scientists may have come across the reason for extreme laziness . The condition is claimed to affect up to one in five Australians and is characterised by overwhelming and debilitating apathy. Neuroscientists at the University of Newcastle in Australia say that in severe cases motivational deficiency disorder can be fatal, because the condition reduces the motivation to breathe. Neurologist Leth Argos is part of the team that has identified the disorder, which can be diagnosed using a combination of positron emission tomography and low scores on a motivation rating scale, previously validated in elite athletes. "This disorder is poorly understood," Professor Argos told the BMJ. "It is underdiagnosed and undertreated." Who knew? Maybe I have MoDeD, from my attempts to become a...
Post a Comment
Read more