After reading TampaCPA's diary on his experiences trying to get a CPAP machine, I felt that I needed to provide just a small amount of balance, because there really are some wonderful physicians out there who really are dedicated to helping the patient.
Five years ago I passed out in the garage on a Saturday night and ended up having emergency open heart surgery that Monday morning. According to the doctors I came within a whisker of dying and only prompt action saved me.
Flash forward three years and follow me over the fold.
My surgery was a complete success, my recovery was without incident and I felt better than I had in years. Two years ago I was laid off from my job of 15 years. At my age I knew that the chances of my ever working again were slim, but I knew that unemployment insurance would carry my to my 62nd birthday and I could get Social Security. And thankfully, the government was willing to pay a goodly chunk of my COBRA.
A couple of months before my COBRA ran out I woke up with severe chest pains. My wife called 911, the ambulance came, off to the hospital and a bunch of tests. Whatever it was, it wasn't my heart.
Then a couple of weeks before my COBRA ran out, it happened again. A little searching on the net, my wife said it sounded like gall bladder. I called my doctor and got an appointment. He wanted an ultrasound. I explained that my COBRA was running out. He managed to get the appointment for the ultrasound quickly and off I went. A few days later I got a call from the doctor's office with a referral to a GI doctor. We are now 9 days from my COBRA running out. I called the doctor and got an appointment that Friday. I was a little puzzled that he was in Ohio instead of Kentucky, but oh well. (I live in Northern Kentucky, just over the Ohio river. Going to Ohio is no big deal, but we have lots of doctors on this side of the river.)
So, on Friday (my COBRA would run out the following Tuesday), we drove over to Ohio. Turns out that there were two GI's with the same last name, one in Northern KY, and the one whose office I was sitting in. Evidently, someone looked in the physician's directory and gave me the wrong one.) However, the doctor had the ultrasound report, and said, yes, I definitely had a gall bladder problem and it had to come out.
I explained my insurance situation. He turned around, picked up the phone and called a friend of his who happened to be a surgeon. He got me an appointment that afternoon with the surgeon. So, off we went to the surgeon.
By the time we arrived at the surgeon's office, the first doctor had already arranged for my admission at a hospital in Ohio the following Monday. They would do a laproscopic exam on Monday and I would have my gall bladder out on Tuesday. The surgeon also had the ultrasound reports by the time I arrived at his office. He explained what was going on, what the surgery would involve, and had the OR reserved.
I checked into the hospital Monday noon and left Wednesday around noon sans gall bladder. I never received a single bill from either of the doctors, the hospital, the anesthesiologist, or anyone else.
These were two doctors who had never seen me before and realistically had no expectation of ever seeing me again. But they saw a patient in need who needed expedited help and they stepped up. In the space of a couple of hours they pulled together the hospital bed, the OR, the tests, and the surgery so that my insurance would cover the procedure.
Since my surgery I have completely recovered and am feeling great. We have switched to a low-fat diet, lost weight, and gained more energy. I am feeling better than I have in probably at least 30 years.
Thanks to a couple of doctors who stepped up, did what was needed, and helped. Sometimes the system works.
Tue Jan 31, 2012 at 3:26 PM PT: In response to a number of comments, let me change the ending. The system is broken, but there are those whose caring, skill, and compassion allows them to keep battling the broken system and continue to overcome the system and provide for their patients.