At least where I live, in the state of Maine, it's very important to take charge of your own medical care. If you can't because you are mentally unfit to do so, then make sure someone can act on your behalf. Otherwise you might just die sooner than you should.
I recently was diagnosed with the "suspicion" that I have a "disease" that might be quite serious and in need of treatment, possibly medication or even surgery depending on the results of a necessary diagnostic test called a Cardiac MRI. This bleak news was delivered to me by a nurse practitioner in the office of my cardiologist who works at Maine Health Cardiology in Scarborough, Maine. She said the earliest they could schedule me for that test is next January. She also said I shouldn't drive until then as I might black out at the wheel. (Which I did a few weeks ago.) January. Hmmmm, let's see -- that's five months from now.
Deeming that unacceptable, my husband spent a few diligent hours on the phone finding other sources of this test, and I am now having it in two days at one of the most reputable hospitals in the country, in a neighboring state a two-hour drive away from our home. (Odd that my doctor didn't suggest that!)
Maine's Democratic Governor Janet Mills earmarks plenty of money for free food, free housing, free daycare and free health care for all those "new Mainers" who flock here from foreign countries, but apparently not enough for a few more MRI machines which are desperately needed by many "old Mainers."
No comments:
Post a Comment