[MD] The Death Panels

[John Carl]

I don't have much to contribute on this debate.  I come from a very
different place as far as health insurance is concerned.  I must admit I
find myself laughing a lot at the hyperbole on the talk radio - which I get
a lot since I don't watch tv.  What amuses me the most is the assumption
which seems to be underlying all the emotion generated that if you don't
have health insurance, you're gonna die.
I got some bad news.  Even if you have really good health insurance, you're
gonna die.  And it's been my observation that the more medical intervention
you experience in your life, the lower the quality of your life is gonna be
and the sooner you will die.

I have two examples in mind, my mom's husband at 75 and my wife's mom at 57
both contracted lung/liver cancer.  Big cancer in the main trunk of their
bodies with prognosis of around three months to live.  My wife's mom was
radically committed to the whole health care system and did everything the
doctor recommended.  Sure enough, she died right on schedule, just like the
Dr. ordered, with chemotherapy really screwing up her body and life for the
last month and a half.

My mom's husband, Hal, didn't go in for the chemo.  Chemo wipes out the
immune system.  So they did a juice fast and various alternative therapies
and so far he has outlived his Dr's prognosis by almost a year and his
cancer is still growing and growing more uncomfortable, but he lives a
pretty functional life.  He won't last forever, but his life is his own and
not an appendage of the hospital/hospice cabal.

Now if I broke a leg or an appendix, I'd go to the Hospital, but for the
most part I'm determined NOT to let them blood sucking SOMish quacks get
their money-grubbing hands on me and if I come down with some fatal disease,
then my health plan is to get better or die.

Not because I can't afford health care, people as poor as me get free health
care already, but because I don't think their health care is all that
healthy.  But then, people think Lu and I are crazy already because all five
of our children were born at home away from the medical establishment, even
though it cost me more to have a midwife than it would've to have Medi-Cal
pay for a regular OB.

I'm also pretty lackadaisical about retirement.   The year I'm too old to
put in a garden, I'll starve.   My wife and children are instructed then to
toss my remains in the diggins for the feeding pleasure of the coyotes.

Hopefully not for a while.  I'm feeling pretty good right now.

John the health nut


On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 7:27 PM, Horse <horse at darkstar.uk.net> wrote:

> Arlo (or anyone else reading)
>
> Help me out here. I've spent some time searching for some mention of these
> so called "Death Panels" and all that I seem to find is, effectively,
> propaganda by generally right-wing fear-mongers equating a possible decision
> making process with this emotive terminology. All I can assume from this is
> that it is just that - fear-mongering and emotive hyperbole. I doubt that
> Platt will actually give me anything like what I asked him for so I'm asking
> you - is the term "Death Panel" used in any official capacity in the
> proposed healthcare legislation. Probably a dumb question - but with some of
> the things I've seen come out of the USA in recent years I suppose it's
> possible.
>
> Cheers
>
> Horse
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