Posted on 03/26/2009 7:40:57 PM PDT by nuconvert
March 26, 2009
COULD actress Natasha Richardson's tragic death have been prevented if her skiing accident had occurred in America rather than Canada?
Canadian health care de-emphasizes widespread dissemination of technology like CT scanners and quick access to specialists like neurosurgeons. While all the facts of Richardson's medical care haven't been released, enough is known to pose questions with profound implications.
Richardson died of an epidural hematoma -- a bleeding artery between the skull and brain that compresses and ultimately causes fatal brain damage via pressure buildup. With prompt diagnosis by CT scan, and surgery to drain the blood, most patients survive.
Could Richardson have received this care? Where it happened in Canada, no. In many US resorts, yes.
Between noon and 1 p.m., Richardson sustained what appeared to be a trivial head injury while skiing at Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. Within minutes, she was offered medical assistance but declined to be seen by paramedics.
But this delay is common in the early stages of epidural hematoma when patients have few symptoms -- and there is reason to believe her case wasn't beyond hope at that point.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Coming soon to a nation near all of us...
She declined to be seen at first, but its debatable what kind of care was available if she did not.
you might want to finish the article
I think there a lot of better examples than someone who signed a letter saying she was fine.
I’m sure Canadacare didn’t help and is certainly something we do not want here, but if we’re honest about how long she may have had to wait for a CT scan to be done and read even in a US hospital the tragic ending may well have been the same, except for the fact that as a celebrity she would have received priority care...
There are probably better examples, but none that got the publicity this did because she’s famous
I live in an area with ski resorts. Given the same circumstances, I’m confident she would have receieved prompt attention and care no matter who she was if she brought into an ER by ambulance
There is no helicopter evacuation in Quebec. And no private option.
No Cat Scanner (essential for proper neurological diagnosis) in the Laurentian Mountain resort area. Nearest CAT scanner hours away in Montreal. There are more CAT scanners in you average size US city than in Quebec Province.
Why would you turn your very life over to these socialist bureaucrats?
She refused treatment. Whether or not the Canada health care system would have been able to treat her had she accepted treatment immediately will never be known. End of story. Believe it or not, people refuse treatment and die in America too.
You need to read the WHOLE story....
I meant, people refuse treatment and die in the United States too.
I agree that we could be fooling ourselves about the quality of the care available in the US. I could tell stories about misdiagnosis and mistreatment at the hands of so-called trained people, especially in the ER.
My son landed on the back of his head on asphalt when his razor scooter flipped out from under him. Walked home, told me his head hurt, looked hurt. When he threw up with blood in it, drove him to the hospital. Once triage realized he wasn’t puking because of an upset stomach, the local hospital had him scanned and transferring to trauma center by pediatric mobile ICU within 90 minutes, doctor, nurse and paramedic on board.
Daughter seized in pediatrician’s office after playground fall, and again, CAT scan within 90 minutes of getting her to a different local hospital - probably would have been faster if she’d shown any other problems, but she was fine and happy - no real injury.
The point here is that IF she had wanted treatment, she would not have been able to receive it.
This is still a good way to illustrate the horrors of socialized medicine.
If you were Liam Neeson would you sue?
An excellent point. Really what more needs to be said, it was a tragic loss of a talented woman who happened to be married to the love of her life with two beautiful sons. Very sad and very unnecessary!
The biggest argument against Obamacare is that you can’t sue the government when they kill your loved ones, hence there’s no reason for them to care.
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