It’s a Miracle
March 23, 2018
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 2nd 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
Health care reform needs clear goals
February 11, 2010
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.