Forgive me daily Kos gods, it has been a very long time since my last confession/diary (and forgive all voice recognition sins). I am provoked into writing today not by another example of evil in the world but instead by the fitting of my new prosthetic arm which replaces a clunky old hook thing that I had to operate via a strap around my back.
When this arm is delivered to me after I leave hospital it will enable me to return to typing with 2 hands and to use my prosthetic hand to grip essential things like coffee mugs. The arm is operated electronically via muscle contractions in what remains of my forearm, but I am not here to extol the virtues of cyborg technology.
Instead, I want to relate the changes in my life since certain aspects of Obamacare have been implemented in California. I cannot point to chapter and verse of the legislation but I'm relying on what my practitioners have told the. All of them are pleased by most of the provisions in the new law and are willing to shrug at the areas where it remains inadequate.
When I finally escaped my full year sentence in the sniff, about which I have previously diaried ad nauseam I believe, I had to relocate to San Jose as there was not available disabled housing in Mountain View or Palo Alto. After a lengthy search I located an apartment downtown, not exactly a preferred location for residing, and moved in.
Shortly thereafter I was informed that I had to switch my medical care to something called the Santa Clara family healthcare plan. Under this plan I would be forced to choose a primary physician from their list in San Jose and also abandon all my specialists up at Stanford University, where I have been receiving care from a cardiologist, a nephrologist, a urologist, an infectious disease specialist, and most importantly, a vascular department. This was shocking and unacceptable to me. I was not about to go to Yelp to locate a primary physician, but would only rely on someone recommended by my previous physician in San Mateo County, who was located in half Moon Bay and now too far for me to visit.
As I was making my complaints I discovered that under the new health care regulations I could not be forced to join this local health care plan but was free to choose any plan that would accept me or, best of all, no plan at all. I could simply use my Medicare and Medi-Cal coverage to continue to work with my team of specialists, as well as choose a primary physicianthat was part of the Stanford group and therefore all my team would be working together with access to all my medical information.
Circumstances required that I take dialysis in a nearby satellite facility, which has worked out well.
In May of this year I had to suffer another amputation, this time of my toes, in an effort to save my remaining foot from being amputated. I also had to undergo something called hyperbaric treatment, which placed me in a dive tank for a couple of hours every day to get intense oxygen treatment. Both of these were available at the O'Connor wound clinic associated with O'Connor Hospital in San Jose. So I acquired yet another team of doctors and specialists including a podiatrist who have to deal with the fact that my amputated toes were not healing the foot at all and that in fact further complications were introduced in that foot that once again threatened amputation.
In order to avoid the amputation I had to undergo an angioplasty that was successfully carried out by my O'Connor team. I am presently in hospital because while this surgery was successful I have acquired a staff infection and that has to be treated before I'm allowed to go home.
Another complication is that my foot is not permitted to undergo any pressure whatsoever so I need a special lift to get me in and out of bed at home and while I am eligible for such a lift under Obama care I am awaiting its delivery before I can return home.
Under the Medicare i.e. will also receive in-home nursing care 5 days a week to change my dressings and administer certain medications.
My caregivers cannot perform medical procedures even checking my blood sugar so I need all of this additional help.
I won't get into the issues of caregivers where my needs are conservatively calculated at 250 hours per month but I received a little more than 50 under the present funding situation. I am hiring an attorney to fight that battle.
However, when it comes to medical care, you can see that I am receiving an enormous amount of support via Obamacare and am an enthusiastic supporter area I've been able to retain all of my super qualified specialists and the only issues that I have to fight with is medical transportation to and from Palo Alto from San Jose so that I can be treated at Stamford Hospital which performed my arm amputation and amputation of the toes. I enjoy the services of some of the best surgeons in the world and have discussed Obamacare with them and their assistants and everybody is happy with the direction we are going in though no one is happy with where we are at present.
Among this huge team of doctors and nurses there is not one who has voiced any opposition to Obama care and certainly not one whereas endorsed any sort of repeal. Mend it, don't end it seems to be the overwhelming perspective.
So, in a few days I expect I will return home with my new bionic arm and my workable prosthetic leg and continue to fulfill as enriched a life as is available to me. I regret that my physical appearance at protests is no longer feasible for reasons of transportation as I am bound to my motorized wheelchair, obtained through Medicare which I qualified for because I am on dialysis although I have not reached the usual age of Medicare subscription, but that's another issue for another time.
I hope these scribblings have helped to point out some of the virtues of Obama care on a very personal level and that they will help all of you to see in terms of healthcare in America. We must do better, but we are definitely moving in the right direction.