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Date Posted: 20:21:18 12/24/01 Mon
Author: Rita
Subject: Christmas Present

Merry Christmas 2001

I would like to complain about "Watching Father Die". If Dad's doctor was
a regular person and Dad was a dog, animal cruelty charges reported to the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) would be easier than
medical exploitation-cruelty charges to the Michigan Health Department.

In February 1984, my husband's father, Sherman, died. The month before his
death, Sherman was walking across the street and fell. He was taken to the
hospital. He had a broken hip and needed surgery. After the surgery,
complications appeared, and Sherman was no longer able to make his own
health care decisions. One doctor told Sherman's wife that he would be
recovering; then a second doctor told her to prepare herself for the worst.
How could two doctors read the same medical records and arrive at two
different conclusions?

The situation was chaotic. Sherman knew that his grandchild had an
unnecessary surgery in 1977. So I thought that he wouldn't mind if I
offered the suggestion of comparing his blood tests. Blood test comparisons
would assist Maxine in identifying Sherman's present health state in order
for her to make what she felt was the best decision.

"Oh, my God," I thought, as Sherman's doctors threatened to walk off his
case. The hospital and doctors made Maxine feel as if they were ready to
throw Sherman into the street if another medical test was asked for.

Sherman died shortly thereafter, so his medical records were no longer
needed. Meanwhile a family feud was created. I complained about the
treatment that Maxine had received when medical records were asked for
in order to assist in assessing the patient's health.

The question from then to now became "How could blood tests assist with
assessing a person's health?"

A few days before father's December 2001 amputation, I spoke with a doctor
about the possibility of gangrene that brother had mentioned. The doctor
held out his hand, fluttering his fingers motioning that it was borderline
gangrene, while saying, "Borderline uncertainty."

The people (friends, family, and doctors) who know me know that if I had
heard that father definitely had gangrene.they would know that I would have
asked for father's blood tests, simply to see how gangrene affected the
blood!

God asked, "What is it YOU would like for Christmas?"

I would like to see my husband (Maxine's son) have a doctor like the one
that his mother has. Yes, a doctor that would read your last medical tests
and then simply give you a copy.

My husband has a doctor's appointment in January 2002. The
St. Joseph Hospital policy is to store the medical records, then when
the patient wished a copy there's a charge.

An example of that would be in 1997, the prescribing doctor did NOT
receive a copy of the medical test. When we asked for a copy of the
test that the doctor prescribed to be done, the copy cost was waved,
enabling the doctor to read the test for the first time. It would be a
blessing, if my husband's doctor would hand him a copy of all his
most recent tests...instead of asking, "Did you get yourself
another doctor, yet?"

All summer long my husband had been sick...the sicknesses ranged
from blowing green-brown snots (sinus infection) to having extremely
swollen feet and ankles.
If the Michigan Heart Clinic doctor would hand my husband his last
medical tests, we would not have to pay an additional change to
receive the test copies...and follow the doctor's advice.

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