It’s a Miracle

Sometime last August

I noticed a small lump on my face

It was on my left chin

Right below my left lower lip

 

I thought

It is probably an ingrown hair

I’ll keep an eye on it

 

By the end of September

I noticed it was getting bigger

I went to the doctor for my annual physical

I asked…

What is this little lump on my face

 

Oh…It looks like a cyst

No one knows why you get them

It could get bigger

It could get smaller

Or just go away

 

I wouldn’t worry about it

Most doctors don’t like to cut in that area

For there are a lot of nerves in that area of the face

 

So…I went home thinking

Maybe this will just go away

 

Another month passed

I noticed it was getting bigger

 

Hmmmm…

I should probably get a 2^nd opinion

 

Hey hon…

Do you know a Dermatologist I can call…

 

Just google Dermatologists in the area

See if you recognize any names

 

I see a name I know

I call their office

 

I’m sorry….

The Doctor is not taking any new patients

 

Can you at least give me a referral…

Do you have any names I can call…

I’m running blind here…

 

I can give you a couple of numbers

Try these…

 

Kathy….my associate says…

We went to a dermatologist in Voorhees

We liked him

You might want to give him a call

 

Sounds good…

Give me the number

I called and got an appointment

 

It’s just a cyst

It could get bigger

It could get smaller

It may just go away

 

If I were you…

I would probably cut it out

You don’t want it getting infected

That will hurt

 

I would need to make a small incision

It will take about 15 minutes

You will need about 3-4 stitches

See the receptionist out front

I can do it on Tuesday

 

Do I really want this cut out…

Stitches…

Let me get one more opinion

 

I call another doctor…

It’s just a cyst

It could get bigger

It could get smaller

It may just go away

 

Is it bothering you…

If not…

I would not do anything

 

If it starts bothering you

Call me and we can cut it out

 

I would have to cut from here to here

And you would need about 6 stitches

You’ll have a small scar on your face

You’ll look tougher

Like you got cut in a fight

 

Do I really want this cut out…

Stitches…

 

I think I like when he said…

 

I would not do anything

 

Another 2 months pass

It looks like it is getting bigger

But sometimes it looks like it is getting smaller

 

All of a sudden…

My lower left lip is getting numb

I am having trouble opening my mouth

My left chin is getting warm

The bump is getting red…

 

The cyst is infected…

 

I start making phone calls…

The doctor can see you in 2 weeks

 

You don’t understand

It’s infected

I need to see someone now

Not 2 weeks

 

I’m thinking…

My friend is a plastic surgeon

If anybody is going to cut my face

I might as well go to the best

 

I call John’s office…

 

I’m sorry

He’s in a consultation

Can he call you when he is done…

 

He gets right back to me

 

I am going to call in an antibiotic

Stop and see me Friday

 

I walk into his office on Friday

 

Ohhhh…That looks pretty bad…

You still taking the antibiotic…

 

I don’t think I want to do anything today

I’ll just clean it up

And get all the infection out

 

He gives me a local

And starts working on the infected area

Everything is oozing out

 

He explains…

You have body oils under your skin

Sometimes they come together and crystalize

Then they grow a small skin around it

Like a lima bean

To protect it

That’s what a cyst is

 

I can see the top of the cyst

I think I can get this…

 

You feeling alright…

 

Just like pulling a tooth

He goes in and…

 

POP….

 

Wow… look at this thing

That’s been in there for awhile

 

I think we got everything

Just keep Neosporin and a band aid on it

 

What….No Stitches…

 

No… I think it is going to heal fine

Come see me next Friday

 

It’s a Miracle

 

No stitches

No cyst

And…

1 week later

There is little evidence

That anything was ever done

 

Thanks John…

Your hands have been blessed by God

 

 

Every Day is a Gift

 

We find ways to save you money…

Thanks for the referrals

 

 

 

Thank

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Health care reform needs clear goals

As reported in Courier Post Feb 10, 2010

Obama and Congress need a focused reform bill that brings changes most Americans want.

Improving and reforming health care in the United States, at one time, must have seemed like a simple and clear idea to President Barack Obama. After all, once he began hard-selling the idea in the summer, his administration seemed to believe that legislation could be ready to go by Labor Day.

That was six months ago — six long months filled with heated rhetoric, back-and-forth debate, writing and rewriting of the legislation, major changes and a steady erosion of public support among Americans.

It was all done wrong.

The legislation approved a few weeks back by the Senate (the version more likely to be approved than the one passed by the House of Representatives in December) is so muddled, so convoluted and confusing that it has left supporters of health care reform scratching their heads, trying to make sense of exactly what it is. It doesn’t have a public health insurance option for the most needy Americans. It won’t manage to get everyone who isn’t insured onto some kind of health insurance plan. It will lead to hefty fines for people who don’t get health insurance. And it will cost hundreds of billions.

Bottom line, few average Americans understand very much about this monstrous, thousand-page-plus bill. What parts they do understand, they don’t like, including the cost. That’s why opposition to it has steadily mounted and support has weakened.

That’s also why the current version of the health care reform legislation now looks destined to die. The election Jan. 19 of a Republican U.S. senator in Massachusetts who opposes the bill hit Washington like a bomb. The shockwave of that bomb: Many Democrats worried about getting re-elected are reconsidering their support for the bill. And the president is now calling for a televised, bipartisan health care summit in which Democrats and Republicans offer ideas for health care reform.

Obama is changing his game and trying to get Republicans involved because he did it wrong. The Democrats controlling Congress did it wrong, also. They tried to write a bill without a defined set of goals. They just went about fixing every problem, large and small, that they identified. There became no central point of what this legislation would do, aside from create a public health insurance option. Then that got compromised out of the bill.

Health care reform, if it happens at all now in a charged election year, needs to be clear of focus. It needs to prioritize a handful of important goals that most Americans want to see addressed such as lowering the cost of temporary individual (COBRA) health plans and stopping health insurers from rejecting people for coverage due to “pre-existing conditions.” Those and a few others are points we think most people and lawmakers — Republican or Democrat — can agree on.

Stick to those things that have broad support; get Republicans involved in the process; and, above all, make the cost bearable and clearly explain how it will be paid for without cutting Medicare or Medicaid, and you’d have health care reform legislation that more Americans would understand and feel good about.

Our Perspective:

What seemed like a good idea has been corrupted by politics. The fact that in 2010, the United States can not offer access to basic medical care or coverage to all it citizens is shameful. 

Those who are covered by private and group plans  are already paying  a  fee in their premiums for uninsured coverages. As usual pork and politics take front stage and the American people are left holding the bag.

President Obama has to take charge and bring both parties together. Define what they all can agree on and strip everything else out. Maybe it cannot be done all at one time! Think of the people who put you in the office first.

A bipartisan commission can be set up to present an overview of the implementation and define issues they find that should be addressed at a later date.