warning: this is about healthcare

if you are sick of hearing about this subject, please close your browser now. i am pissed off. and in need of some serious venting. i am a social worker. my job is to listen to people who are often pissed off. and i am good at it. but there are also times i need to be MAD AS HELL.

i will attempt to make a long story (of which i do not know all of the details anyway) short. my co-worker/friend came to me yesterday for help b/c her sister has been so weak she can't walk, falling on the floor and cannot get herself up, in severe pain, cannot urinate, etc.etc. background: she was a victim of a shooting (multiple gunshots to her body) approx. 10 years ago; the surgeons were not able to remove all of the bullet fragments fearing they would severely injure her spinal cord. fast forward to last week, she was working full-time, raising 2 young children, and relatively healthy. oh, and did i mention: she cannot afford health insurance.

then she went to the emergency room at ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL IN SUGAR LAND, TX for treatment of the above symptoms. they did an examination, stated that she might have a pinched nerve, gave her some steroids, and stated "well, it might be the bullet fragments shifting, but we can't do any further testing because you don't have insurance."

so she went home. and for the next 6 days continued to decline and the pain became increasingly worse. which is when my friend asked me for help. i told her my recommendation was to go to BEN TAUB HOSPITAL IN THE MEDICAL CENTER, which happens to be a county hospital, and also happens to be where she was initially treated for her GSW.

she was admitted last night and will undergo neurosurgery tonight or tomorrow. aaarrrggghhhh!!!!! what.the.hell.is.wrong.with.our.medical.system????? i don't have any intelligent comments at this time...and i haven't done any research to develop my arguments further today. so, i will go to bed feeling a bit less pissed off because i told this story. and sometime soon i will develop this into a much more compelling and well thought-out piece for your reading pleasure. stay tuned...