Irony? I want to host/go to a MoveOn Healthcare Vigil... but I am sick!

[FirstLight]

ha...that's not funny.

As a Medi-CAL patient for my entire adult life, I have been my own advocate for my health and that of my kids for years...
Thank godness I actually took pre-med clases in college and have a working knowledge of the human body and can ask questions and demand tests, etc from my LESS THAN MEDIOCRE doctors - There is only ONE dentist in town that takes MediCAL and only ONE pediatrician, and only ONE clinic with a rotating door for patients and docs...it's amazing we haven't found ourselves in dire straits due to falling through the cracks. Though on more than one occasion I have had to tell the doc at the clinic "I'm not leaving until you do the strep test!" ...when they are telling me I am upset NOT because I am SICK - but that I need ANTI_DEPRESSANTS!

My Daughter has a birth defect that went undiagnosed until she was 4 1/2 - because the Optometrist & clinic blew us off, and we had to take her to a REAL Opthamologist and pay CASH (on the sly, because a REAL doctor won't even see you as a cash patient if they know you have Medi-CAL..)before we had a full optical exam where he looked at the retina and found her problem... we were referred to the closest specialist for follow up, but because the doc was located in Reno, he refused our mediCAL...so we had to look elsewhere and drive to UC Davis...now we have to travel to the Bay area quarterly for blood tests and annually for an mri. Nobody helps with the costs of gas and travel and hotel... and we had to apply for a special service to get the tests covered. I had to actually look at the laws myself and look up her diagnosis in the health codes to get her case approved, because the person reviewing the case in Sacramento didn't "see" that she had this condition, and denied her claim.

and ya, I have been struggling with my own health over the years with a degenerative auto-immune condtion...where the dr at the clinic that deals with 'rheumatology' had to actually suggest I go to a dr. in Carson City...pay cash for 2 visits...and get them to prescribe the medicine I needed - all so she could then turn around and use the reccomendadtion as justification for giving me the medicine! and it was denied the first time, had to be re-submited by the pharmacy with a special form signed by the clinic, twice. Now I have been on this crazy immune-system destroying medicine for 5 months - WITH NO FOLLOW UP!!! I am "on the list" to be given an appt when the specialist is back in the clinic (she only works there one day a month!) and the the 'regular' dr. I see is booked solid every time I call..no exceptions.
I got a sinus infection that could have taken over my lungs and had me in the hospital...and had to wait a week to get in to see a dr. i had never seen before...thank god he gave me some antibiotics...but did not seem concerned I was taking the immun-suppressant...and never told me to discontinue the shots until I am well (thank god I have the smarts to lay off them myself, which even the Pharmacist in my local store was concerned about!)

so, ya...we all know healthcare is broken
and my rant is just one of millions
and I hate being sick, cuz on top of it all...i have to get ready for school starting and disinfect the house and take care of my kids too...because nobody else is gonna be the mommy...(ya, we won't talk about the jobs I have LOST because my kids get sick and there's no 'sick-child' daycare...)

I just want to scream at the lawmakers and pussies that are talking in metaphors and bipartisan bullshit... this is our LIVES we are dealing with...! and will someone just DO it already and tell the Rethugs and Bludogs to just deal with it and step aside..?!!
he, but I can't scream right now without losing my voice and coughing till i gasp...

Hopefully there will be some more action happening over the next month hat I can light a candle for and get loud about.

[FirstLight]

1. kickety...

geez, dropped like a stone!

[FirstLight]

2. kick again...

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