Hippocrates of the Hippocratic Oath
I was not sure my ENT specialist was a good fit for me even though I read the glowing praises framed on his office walls, praises coming from his patients, colleagues, and other doctors. The young man seemed to know what he was doing but his bedside manner was brief and rather cold. Continue reading
Healthcare is not a right, it is a service provided by doctors and nurses who went to school to learn how to care for a sick human being. And they expect to be compensated for their services. Surely you would not expect your mechanic who learned how to fix your car, repair it for free, because it is your right to have a running vehicle. Continue reading
Photo: Wikipedia
Every time I travel to my hometown for a visit, relatives take turns asking me if my pearly-whites are the original ones. They even break the personal space barrier for a close-up inspection. The first time the question shocked me but then I understood that it was unusual to be as old as I am and still have my own teeth. Most people have badly made dentures, gaping holes, or teeth so far gone that they should have been extracted years ago. Continue reading
When the government promises too much free medical care to too many people without making a significant investment in the medical infrastructure, its staff, and its professional delivery, innocent victims of a shortchanged, diluted, and inefficient service are likely to emerge. And the victims will suffer in silence physically or financially, paying for much reduced or unaffordable healthcare. Continue reading
Coming in contact with the “new and improved” American Castro Care for the masses that squeaks like a rusty wheel wrapped in cellophane and tied with a red bow, I realize that quality healthcare for American citizens and their undocumented brethren, who crossed the border illegally or were brought here by our government to fulfill the quota of Democrat voters and to alter the “racially unjust” and “bigoted” profile of sleepy little towns, might soon be a thing of the past. Continue reading
Photo courtesy of Lazar Dinu
Colentina Hospital Patients 1989
A remarkable photograph taken by Lazar Dinu in 1989 shows patients from a hospital in Bucharest, overjoyed that the communist dictator was gone and they would be able to find drugs in pharmacies, doctors would treat them without bribes and would not kill them during simple surgeries, hospitals would be modernized and actually heal patients, and happiness would be restored. Continue reading
My beloved Mom
The first golden day of autumn has become the cold, barren winter of my Mom’s life.
A week ago I was planning to take Mom on a flight to Romania to see her siblings one last time. As I attempted to renew her passport, I remember wondering if the bureaucratic wheels will turn fast enough in sixty days. Would she still be able to travel then? How prophetic those words have become! Now she is locked inside a body that can no longer move. One moment she was vibrant and mobile, and the next moment her life was turned upside down. Continue reading
Cyprus, a tiny island of less than one million people, is a small scale study in “big banking out of control,” “insane spending like there is no tomorrow,” coupled with “socialism runs out of other people’s money.” While researching the bailin and bailout of early summer, I found disturbing accounts of their socialized health care.
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Twenty-four years after communism went underground in 1989 (and is resurfacing with a vengeance today), medical care has not improved by leaps and bounds. If you are 17 years old and injure your foot, even though you carry with you the expected envelope stuffed with cash for the inexperienced doctor, your toe will look like this after six weeks of “expert” care.
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The economy is not experiencing scarcity yet but I did notice lately that the range of choices for various goods has diminished. It has been three months or longer since my favorite dental floss and toothpaste have been missing on store shelves. They finally reappeared recently, to disappear again, an obvious sign of manufacturing shortage. This prompted me to check out the new sonic care air flossing gadget. The price alone could buy 40-80 rolls of floss, not to mention the need of electricity to make it work.
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