Yesterday was a watershed day – for those who have been here a while (back to 2009 or earlier), I’ve struggled with the perception of doctors and the public (in general) that a man who weighs 260 pounds is a de facto “walking heart attack” and an irresponsible burden on society. This hit its pinnacle when Michael “Savage” Wiener expressed his opinion that if it were up to him, emergency rooms should kick out fat people and let them die – regardless of their insurance, ability to pay, or why they are there. Savage made himself my permanent enemy that evening.
So now with a competent internist, testing, and my totally boring lifestyle, we have ruled out pretty much everything that would result in a short life or an expensive death.
Yesterday was cardiologist day. Dr Williams looked at my blood work, did an EKG, listened to my heart and lungs – and basically was curious why I was there – compared to his typical patients with a constellation of interrelated health problems. He totally “got” the answer – that I was denied elective surgery and getting a colonoscopy because of the dispute with my General Practitioner in Derby CT, who vetoed the surgery after having an EKG AND signing off on doing the surgery.
The issue in dispute was the GP demanded that I take blood pressure medication, which I refused – because I believed my fainting episode was due to low blood pressure. My new cardiologist confirmed my belief and stated that putting me on high blood pressure meds would have been exactly the wrong thing to do. I now have an ally if another anesthesiologist gets scared of putting me under.
So now that I will have Countess Nightingale by my side fending off hospital errors and stupidity, it looks like you’re going to have me to kick around for a long time.
it was indeed a banner day for you, mr. srg!