July 30, 2010

Wednesday evening the rest of my family was sleeping when I got home. One of my daughters was curled up on the couch, the other one was in her room and they're not normally sleeping before seven at night but things have been hectic lately, they were at camp all day and I figured they could use a little extra sleep because we had worked hard in the pool the night before. Swimming laps with the girls has been an interesting experience. I'm not a very strong swimmer myself and there are lifeguards on duty but I worry that they'll forget how deep the water can be and how quickly people can drown.

Before my husband left to go back to work on Wednesday night he mentioned that my oldest daughter hadn't had anything to eat before she went to bed. When she woke up I asked what she wanted for supper, I didn't see what she had eaten of her lunch but I threw out the rest of her tuna salad when she told me she wasn't hungry anymore. Her sister slept a lot longer than she did, when she woke up she talked to me for less than a minute before moving from the couch to the bed. Periodically kids need recovery time from their busy schedules so I wasn't overly concerned about either one of the girls until my oldest woke up around midnight and she was running a temp of 102.5.

The next morning she was still feverish. After her bath she told me that she felt dizzy. I had her lay in my bed for the rest of the morning. She ate a small bowl of watermelon cubes for lunch and throughout the day her sister and I kept bringing her different things to drink. She seemed to improve as the day went on, by late afternoon she felt well enough to watch a movie. The girls had ice cream for a snack which isn't something I would normally allow but my children don't weigh much and I figured they could both use some extra calories and a nice cool treat.

For supper I made the girls broccoli soup which is what my oldest daughter had requested. She ate about six bites but she said it was good and she drank some lemonade as well. After that she told me she wanted to lie down again so I got her washcloth wet again and gave her a different cool pack for her forehead. Hopefully this doesn't sound like I'm complaining but after trying to keep my youngest daughter entertained while making sure my oldest didn't need anything - she can be a demanding patient - I was exhausted. Instead of doing laundry I sat in the catbox for a while. I was in the middle of planning out the rest of my upcoming week when I heard my daughter in the other room.

When I felt her arm she felt much warmer than she had earlier. I took her temperature and quit reading the thermometer after the numbers hit 103.7. I'm always telling others that staying cool in a crisis is one of the best things you can do for yourself and others around you however that is tough to do when your child is sick, dizzy and you have no idea what is wrong with her. The one thing I did remember to grab was her fairy blanket. I'm always cold in the air conditioning and I thought having something from home would help her at the ER.

The nurse practitioner at the ER prescribed Tylenol and Advil, they gave my daughter a popsicle and then started asking questions to determine what could be causing the fever. After a urinalysis came back normal they ordered a chest x-ray. I was almost a hundred percent sure my daughter did not have a strep infection or pneumonia but I guess they have to rule things out when there is an unexplained fever. When the chest x-ray came back negative I thought we'd be able to leave however this nurse that my daughter really liked told my daughter that her heart rate was too high to leave.

Within fifteen minutes of them starting the IV I could see my daughter responding. By that time we were in a room with a TV. King of the Hill was on and I had forgotten how funny that show was. In the room next to ours a little girl was being treated for an ear infection. My daughter was sitting up and asking questions about the girl next door. Her coloring was much better than it had been earlier and she was no longer huddled under a pile of blankets.

By the time we were discharged from the ER my daughter was able to walk by herself. I had carried her into the hospital and she didn't want to stop and pick up Tylenol so we ended up borrowing some from one of our neighbors. After we got my daughter in bed I was so wound up I couldn't sleep. My body was tired but my mind was racing. I loaded the dishwasher and worked on getting the kitchen cleaned up. After that I went to bed. I think I fell asleep right away. This morning I woke up early. I thought about calling my sister however one of the reasons we are friends is that I don't call her when I wake up and she doesn't call me after a certain time at night.

Last night was something I would rather not have to go through again. Maybe health-care is outrageously expensive in America however if that means I have access to knowledgeable concerned professionals then I guess for me that's a price I'm willing to pay. This coming Thursday I have a job interview. I have to do some more research on the company but right now a Monday through Friday job with stable hours and benefits sounds a lot more appealing than the schedule I have now. For today I'm going to take it easy. This morning I went for a swim. Next time I get paid I think I'm going to sign up for lessons and I'm looking forward to taking both girls to the pool when everyone is healthy again.

I have spent the morning gearing up to do a local Mad as hell doctor fundraiser.

I'm going to join the second trip for a week, here's the link

This is about single payer health care in the United States. As a Family Doctor, I just don't understand how we've let the stupid insane system that we have come about. I think docs are at fault for part of it: running around trying to save lives while the insurance and pharmaceutical companies got a lock grip on congress. I do not understand how anyone can justify spending 6 million dollars on the salary of an insurance CEO. That is 6 million dollars of health care dollars that are from your and my premiums that are NOT going to health care. 1/3 of every health care dollar goes to administration and profit. The administration of medicare is 8% and of the VA 3%. And people say that they don't want the government "in health care". Well, hello, between medicare, medicaid, the VA, the military and all, 60% already IS government. We spend twice per person for health care in the United States as the next most expensive industrialized country. Our country ranks 37th in measures of health care among industrialized countries. What do we rank #1 in? COST! So for you rich investors out there, send a message: divest from health insurance. It's making you money? Well, that is by refusing care for people, so you are unethical scum if you continue to be invested in a for profit health insurance company. DIVEST! I think we're up to 45,000 people dying a year prematurely because they can't access care, don't have insurance, or have to choose between losing their house and going bankrupt from care, or not seeking care.

My clinic has been open since April 30 and is doing pretty well. Since I am fighting for single payer, I am taking Medicare and NO OTHER INSURANCE, CASH ONLY! I want Medicare for everyone or some single payer system We've gone from 0-1 patient a day to our grand record so far of 7 this past Monday. Still, it is climbing fast and I am still working to set things up. We are redoing the budget based on real numbers instead of the numbers I guessed at for the business plan. We are appalled at the fraudulent business offers we are getting by phone and mail and internet. (Remind me to write about that). I think my clinic will "fly", though the double duty of running the place and being the doctor is tricky. The doctor thing is, if not easier, much more familiar and I'm better at it, so I have to remind myself that running the business end is part of the job. I don't understand the language of accounting and bookkeeping but being a good and fast mathematician really helps make up some of the gap.

So, now that I'm getting too busy already, time to add something. Ha. Well, I've been planning to do a week of the Mad as hell thing anyhow, so I think I should fund raise. It is a little scary. I talked to my accountant about the balance of politics verses running a business. He is not touchy-feely. But still, he said, "Do what you believe in and don't worry about it. I have clients who would definitely not agree with my politics. But they are seeing me for business and know what I can do, so we don't discuss politics. And I don't put political signs in front of my business, but I put whatever I want in my yard at home." That made me happy. Onwards.

This morning I watched the documentary of the first Mad as Hell Doctor's trip. I've been avoiding it, mostly because I'm in it. I have not explored why I'm not really afraid to talk to a crowd, but I don't want to watch a video of myself. Never mind. Eeeeee. Ok, I was not horribly awful. The rest of the documentary was fabulous, but my brain skips like a rock over my bit.

Now I have emailed a local healthcare advocate/organizer, another doctor who is involved in PNHP, the local improvisation teacher/magician, one small branch of my family and three of the other Mad as Hell organizers. Start the ball rolling. I don't have that much time, so need to move pretty fast. I am one of those thinker types who appears to do nothing for a really long time and then moves all at once, when the planning is complete. And I don't write down a plan or anything that appears organized.

So, send your checks to the Mad as Hell Doctors or Physicians for a National Health Care Program (PNHP)! Say you heard about it on Everything2, from the Lizardinlaw! Tell your friends! Tweet it, Facebook it, pray for it. Talk about it. Request a copy of the documentary and have a party and show it to ALL of your friends. Loan it out and have them show their friends.

nuf said