Sunday, January 23, 2011

Getting Back To Myself

Way back in May of '08, my life changed.
I had pulled a 10 hour day at my job installing underground power and telephone lines and was on my way to the house for some supper, and then maybe take the boys to the beach.
While I sat at a red light, 3 cars back, someone in a bigger hurry than me had dropped their phone and had reached into the passenger floorboard to get it. When they came back up to the wheel at 55 miles an hour, there I was, still waiting for the light to change.
At the hospital, I got the typical examination, and was prescribed some muscle relaxers and told to see my doctor as soon as possible.
I had never really been sick or hurt a day in my life, and other than the DOT physicals required to drive the heavy trucks at work, I had never had a doctor, so I picked one from the list given to me at the hospital.
For a little over a year, this doctor had done nothing more than prescribe muscle relaxers, pain pills, and physical therapy, which did absolutely nothing, and when I questioned or complained, the doctors response was to increase my dosage of pain pills.
I know for some folks,they may be thinking, hell yeah ! but this was just not me, and I refused to think that pills were going to be a part of the rest of my life.
I found another doctor, away from the hospital and the city, closer to where I live, and the first time I went to see him, he let me talk, and let me have a chance to explain that I was not happy with where my current repair was headed.
Thankfully I met my current Doctor, because I sit here this morning actually feeling a little better.
I went under the knife on my lower back a week ago, and I am still recovering from that, but the Doctor that did the work told me if he had seen me sooner, the damage would not be as bad.
I heard the same story from the doctor that is scheduled to repair my neck, that if I had come in sooner there would be less damage.
Why do I bore all of you with my troubles today ?
Well, with all the problems concerning health care, I think the quality that some will get will be shame full.
I was trusting, more than I should have been, with my first doctor and it cost me some real damage, and it has also cost me financially.
There are many who would be happy to remain drugged up, I wanted to be fixed.

3 comments:

Sandee said...

I'm so very sorry. I so agree with you too. Health care will be rationed and we won't have a choice of doctors anymore. The government will tell the doctors what they can and can't do. It's a real shame.

I hope you get better and can lead a pain free, drug free existence. :)

A New Yorker said...

I try to explain this to people all the time. Most won't listen. They "love their doctor" and refuse to be empowered and ask questions or seek other opinions and yes it costs them. At least you did it. That's a big kudos.

Greg said...

I'm very sorry for your problems. Something needs to be done about the deplorable state of our healthcare system, and lots of it will have to be done by us the consumer in demanding better treatment, and asking questions like you did.

I think alot of problems could be solved by using the old saying let the buyer beware!

hope everything works out for you!