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January 12, 2005
My Own Experience with the Lawsuit Cutlure, DNC Chair Race, Monday, The New Slogan of the Democratic Party
As I write this, I'm sprawled out on my parents couch in Northern VA right outside of the District - recovering from knee surgery. The experience of finally having my knee handled is an interesting one - having turned from annoyance into saga over the course of 6 months of defensive medicine.
I was running on the treadmill in my building when I noticed my knee was hurting. So I stopped. And then after working the following day, I made a Doctor's appoint with my primary care provider. He recommended me to an Orthopedic Surgeon.
Doctor #1: He checks me out, observes a chondroma (benign bone tumor) on my femur - said it should be checked out, but nothing to really worry about. Orders MRI to find source of pain.
My father, also being a doctor, knows of various websites where you can checkout other Doctors. Low and behold, we can't find any information about whether this guy is board certified or qualified to be an Orthopedic Surgeon. So my father gets a recommendation from his friend on another Doctor - and I go to see him.
Doctor #2: Reads the MRIs, does an X-Ray, and wants me to see the Cancer Specialist.
Doctor #3: Spends the next 4 months doing CYA medicine, trying every possible technique to treat this without actually going inside and checking it out. Meanwhile, my knee has been hurting like hell since June and we start in August. My last visit with this guy was in December.
Finally, tired of no answer and a sharp pain in my knee I book a last minute flight to DC. I arrive on Wednesday, have an appointment on Friday, and surgery today. The moral of this story - if you're treated where the Doctor doesn't fear massive malpractice insurance costs and where he's comfortable to go with his instinct - you're going to get better treatment.
My knee is fixed, and I've grown disgusted with the Florida BAR Association.
Howard Dean is officially running for DNC Chair. I still haven't made up my mind. My gut tells me to support Howard, but I'm also very intrigued by Simon Rosenburg. I'll need to find out more about them before I make any kind of decision... Not that my opinion really matters on this one. But perhaps one of those voting members is reading.
And if you work for either Howard Dean, or Simon Rosenburg - I'm looking for a job.
Speaking of looking for a job, that adventure gave me some unique experiences on Monday. Monday afternoon I had lunch at the Four Seasons with a friend in Georgetown, rode the same Metro as Mike McCurry, and then had coffee in the basement of the Hart Senate Office Building. All in all, that was pretty damn cool.
I have a proposed new slogan for my party: "Democrats - By Committee". There's a noticeable lack within the party to let someone have a final say, or have a coherent decision on what they're saying. We're never going to win anything if we can't reach a consensus amongst ourselves - come on people!
Posted by MikeSager at January 12, 2005 1:43 PM
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