Posted on 10/04/2007 8:48:24 AM PDT by Kimmers
In A Short Course in Brain Surgery, filmmaker Stuart Browning shows the callousness of "single-payer", government-run health care systems as practiced in Ontario, Canada. His film highlights the plight of Lindsay McCreith, an Ontario man with a cancerous brain tumor who went to Buffalo, NY to receive the timely medical care that is rationed in his home country.
http://www.onthefencefilms.com/video/brainsurgery.html
A sneak preview of sHillary-Care. Pay attention.
bttt
Hey there, cousin! Hillary care won’t be rationed - it’ll be openly *denied* to people she doesn’t like. Conservatives will be left to die if she has her way.
I thought Micheal Moron documented how good health care is in Cuba....I guess they did not show him the real health care system...gee imagine that...
This hits very close to home to me.
My 10 year-old son was experiencing double vision a few weeks ago. When it grew temporarily worse, his pediatrician sent him to the Johns Hopkins pediatric emergency room. That was Friday, September 14.
Because his symptoms were stable, he didn’t get an immediate MRI. He waited one week.
On September 21, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Because it was believed likely to be benign, surgery wasn’t done on an emergency basis.
He had his surgery on September 26 (all went well).
The "leisurely" pace of events - diagnosis to surgery in 12 days, was because he WASN'T an emergency case.
If we lived under the communists in Canada, it would be months before we ever even knew that he had a tumor.
Those who promote single-payer systems are murderers.
Thanks for posting this.
Happy to hear your son’s surgery went well.
Prayers for your son....and I am so glad he is doing well.
You had to wait 5 days for his surgery and I could imagine that was 5 days of hell for you....It is hard to imagine waiting months.
You are welcome, I found it from Walter E. Williams website
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/
“I thought Micheal Moron documented how good health care is in Cuba....”
Then chose a clinic in the USA (Miami?) when he wanted to work on
his weight problem.
As noted on John Stossel’s recent 20-20 special on healthcare.
You are free to die waiting for your appointment.
Thanks for the prayers.
We’re still waiting for the final pathology report, but the initial pathology of the slice they took during surgery revealed a benign tumor of the specific type that the surgeon anticipated. We're hopeful that the final pathology will confirm that result.
Five days WAS hell, indeed. However, by that point, the neurosurgeon had told us that the likelihood was very, very high that the tumor was benign, and thus the waiting was far more bearable, especially because our son’s neurosurgeon is a specialist in pediatric brain tumors and the differential diagnosis of them.
I just cannot imagine what it would have been like to wait months just for the damn MRI! We were unhappy that Hopkins wouldn’t do it the night of September 14, on an emergency basis. And then, months to see the neurosurgeon?? We saw neurosurgeons THE NIGHT OF THE MRI!!
THAT’S medical care!
sitetest
One of my relatives that has lived in Canada for decades...
“loves Canadian healthcare”.
But I’m too nice to ask why she ALWAYS rushes to get an extensive
physical when she comes to visit in the USA.
I’m glad your son is doing well. I’ve had brain surgery twice for a (benign) meningioma which was pressing on the left optic nerve. I developed double vision for about three and a half months after brain surgery 2 when the surgery team either stretch or partially severed cranial nerve III. I’m fine now, however.
For me, neither surgery was particularly painful. You don’t have many nerve endings up there - just a few in the scalp. After brain surgery 1, I was pretty much back to normal in 3 weeks and I was 45 years old at the time. I’m sure that your son will bounce back in no time.
It is very possible that local hospitals in your area have brain tumor support groups. Perhaps you would be helped by them.
You may be interested in the American Brain Tumor Association website if you need information about brain tumors. I see that they also have a website devoted just to kids.
In 1995, before computers were so common, they sent me a whole packet of information which arrived in one day. It included a marvelous little booklet (which was only 53 pages long) summarizing all the major types of brain tumors and treatments available. They never sent me direct fundraising appeals. Their newsletter contained articles about fundraisers, but no direct appeal. They also ran articles about doctors, research, etc. They’re a good organization. I sent them $200 to thank them and they still did not put me on a fundraising list.
Brain surgery 2 was Sept. 21, 2006, so it hasn’t been that long since the last one. I understand your fear. My own experience is that lots of information helped me to deal with the fear. I went into surgery in 1995 scared to death but knowing that this would be my best option.
In my (unprofessional) opinion, if your son got through the surgery itself without any of the possible complications (stroke, swelling of the brain, leakage of spinal fluid), it’s just a matter of waiting for the body healing. Your son has already had the surgery, so I would think that he will be fine. Stay in touch with the doctor, of course. He needs to get the stitches out. Dilantin was no big deal with me. I’m just one patient, of course.
Finally, you chose one of the best hospitals in the world.
Thanks for the info regarding the American Brain Tumor Association.
“My own experience is that lots of information helped me to deal with the fear.”
I couldn’t agree more.
We were on the way home when the neurologist called about the MRI. Come back immediately to Johns Hopkins. Peter will be admitted through the pediatric emergency room. He has a mass on his brain.
I’ve never had a more frightening moment in my life. My son Peter was very distressed.
But once we got there and the doctor showed him his MRI, and told him what sort of tumor he thought it was, and explained the prognosis and the course of treatment, everyone, including my son, started to feel better.
“In my (unprofessional) opinion, if your son got through the surgery itself without any of the possible complications (stroke, swelling of the brain, leakage of spinal fluid), it’s just a matter of waiting for the body healing.”
He did very well in surgery, and it recovering well. The stitches are the type that take care of themselves. He WILL have a very cool scar in the back of his head. ;-)
However, they were unable to remove the entire tumor because of its location. They got over 90% of it, but he will require further treatment - perhaps chemotherapy or perhaps radiation. As well, we’re a bit on pins and needles until the final determination is made that it’s benign.
So, there’s still some road ahead for my son.
But the prognosis is for a full, 100% cure and complete recovery. He will be entirely tumor-free before he would have even had an MRI in Canada.
sitetest
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