For two months after he
emerged from surgery, he confused past and present, living and deceased, angry
with himself that he could not remember important things, words, or recognize
loved ones such as his children. He lived in his own confused world while my
aunt nursed him back to health.
Although communism has
long been gone, the corrupt medical system and the way they operated lingers.
Around the clock nursing care is still provided by family, including food,
linens, baths, and expensive meds bought in private or public pharmacies and
administered in the hospital. Bribes to medical staff are expected even though
salaries have risen from the paltry communist era when everyone was paid equally
low salaries.
I visited him in
September. It was my first stop after we left the airport. John was happy to
see us even though he thought I was my daughter. During the two-hour visit, we
noticed the milling about of patients and their families in the hallways, no doctor
or nursing staff in sight. His wife was administering medication and his
diabetic shots. His son brought him lunch from a nearby restaurant who had been
preparing his meals for the last two months, following the prescribed diet.
The only indication that
we might be in a hospital was the bed with rails, everything else looked like a
motel room with sparse amenities. There was no indication of any sterilization
and the common bathroom for the entire floor had no toilet paper, the windows
were wide-open for all upper floors to see inside, the tub was filthy, and an
elderly lady was doing her laundry by hand in the sink.
We tried to take the tiny 4-person
elevator down to the lobby but it was out of order. I wondered how they
transported patients up and down the stairs.
Stray dogs were roaming
around the hospital courtyard. The gate sentry was happy with his 5-euro
mandatory bribe to let us into the hospital.
Images were flashing in my
mind of the luxurious lobby of our American regional hospital, the gift and
coffee shops, the spotless and shiny-to-perfection linoleum floors, the
professional staff milling about, the comfortable rooms with private,
disinfected, and well-stocked bathrooms, the nutritious food prepared with care
and served three times a day, and round-the-clock expert care from the medical
staff.
Do Americans really
understand what socialized medicine provides? Do they really want to have what
my Uncle John has under socialized medicine? Are they willing to give up the
best care in the world they have in America right now? Why? Do they really
believe Michael Moore’s lies about the “excellent and free” medical care in
Cuba? Do they not understand basic economics that nothing is free, somebody has
to pay for it? As Margaret Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is that
sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.”
At some point, rationing
of care and drugs kicks in, no matter how old the person is. Even briberies no
longer work. The patient has to be placed on a waiting list, prioritized by
age.
After a few months of
improvement, John developed fluid on his brain. All progress reversed. This
development required surgery and the placing of a shunt to drain the fluid. He
was added to the waiting list for MRI and then another waiting list for
surgery. Meantime, his condition worsened. He talked very little and slept
constantly.
John had become a 70-year
old “unit,” he was no longer a human being who needed immediate care.
Palliatives were his only options after the age of 70 because his worth was
deemed small by the medical “death panel.”
I suggested more bribes to
the doctors and nurses in order to move his name up the list. It seemed to have
worked. They moved up his MRI this week. He is having surgery next week. His
life is in God’s hands and the skill of the doctors.
People used to speak of
the golden age, traveling, and enjoying life upon retirement, now it is the
fear of being killed by our fellow citizens who have lost their humanity and
are dismantling our excellent medical care in the name of insuring more people,
particularly those who are here illegally and should be cared for by their
countries.
I do not know of any
hospital in the U.S. who refuses emergency care to anybody, regardless of
financial status or national origin. It is illegal and unethical to do so. Yet
such rhetoric helped pass Obamacare.
I do know doctors who have
stopped taking government insurance. I also know that Tricare, medical
insurance for our soldiers who sacrificed so much will sky rocket, while
civilian government workers who sacrificed nothing for our country will
continue to benefit from their unchanged stellar insurance.
People are fighting about
contraceptives, ignoring the real issues, the loss of control over one’s health
and body to an omnipotent government that can take all rights away on a
moment’s notice. If we live long enough, we are all going to become “units”
like Uncle John.
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