Recent Personal Events With U.S. Healthcare

If anyone has wondered as to my whereabouts for the past week or so, I have been mostly sleeping in hospital waiting rooms.  I am pleased to say that all seems to be heading in the right direction, but this ordeal has given me some real world experience to back up all of the theory expressed here regarding the state of our healthcare system.

My Paternal Grandfather, my “Pa”, is 80.  The man put a lot of the work into my upbringing, and we are extremely close.  Pa has already had three artificial hip surgeries (two replaced, one repaired again) and he has pretty serious arthritis in other places as well.   His heart has been weak since the 70’s but it has not slowed him down much until very recently. About a month ago it became apparent even to him that something was going to have to be done with his heart or things were going to get very sad very quickly.  He spent a week in the hospital getting his blood pressure and fluid levels optimized for surgery and the surgeon and other assorted doctors decided that he was a candidate for a double valve repair surgery and MAZE or Cardiac Ablation procedure using the DaVinci Robot.  This is where a robot performs the operation endoscopically with the surgeon controlling the robot from several feet away.  Very new, very expensive, but less invasive and more precise, with the hope of faster recovery. 

He was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, February 10th.   The two nurses and the anesthesiologist I met in Pre-op were very caring and professional.  One of the nurses informed us that she would be calling every hour or so with updates as the surgery progressed.  We sat in a nice waiting room staffed by a couple of  volunteers.  We received our update calls and were informed that the surgery was successful and they were finishing up.

Unfortunately this is where things took a downward turn.  It seems that due to several factors when the blood flow was rerouted back through the heart a very bad bleed developed around the sutures on the heart.  The machinery had to be re-positioned and restarted and the surgeon had to double the stitches.  This meant a lot more time on the machines and a lot more blood lost.

The first night Pa spent in the CCU was not a pleasant one.  His nurse Leigh was very frank (possibly too frank) about his situation and what the next 8 hours would decide, she also plainly took her job personally and seriously.  We were told that there was a brand new family waiting room with plenty of couches, pillows, and blankets would be provided and we could all stay.  We did, and Pa made it through that night.  We met Jeanine in the morning, Jeanine was much more positive regarding Pa’s outlook but admitted that the prior evening was pretty touch and go.  We were encouraged to somewhat ignore visiting hours and just pop in from time to time to check on him, a trend other nurses continued (or at least tolerated).  Thursday night Dad and I did not stay, letting my Aunt and Uncle take a shift. Friday brought new nurses, who continued to impress with their understanding and level of care.  Pa’s situation was improving in tiny increments but we were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.   Dad and I stayed Friday night again in the family waiting room.  Saturday brought on the weekend staff and it continued to impress.  Saturday was a day of remarkable progress towards getting Pa’s fluid levels down.  In fact we were so sure things were going smoothly Dad and I left again.  I got one hour of sleep,  at midnight we received a phone call that his heart had stopped, but the the nurses got him back. About halfway to the hospital we got another call that it had stopped again, but that it had restarted on its’ own.  The usual hour drive from Dad’s house to the hospital took considerably less time than usual.  Before we got to the CCU it had stopped and restarted once more.  I slept in the CCU room that night, what little I slept.  The nurses were completely understanding of us all. Sunday was a long day, getting his electrolyte imbalance (apparently the cause of the problem) under control and getting his heart rhythm sorted out.  Monday was a Good Day, he got his breathing tube out, he knew who we all were and I got to see his baby blues.  We had a little conversation and he told me to go back to work.  It was a long drive home, but it was a good drive.  He is still there, but he is still improving.

Throughout this entire ordeal every single person that we encountered from the volunteers, the housekeeping staff, the cooks in the cafeteria, the security guards, the nurses, and the Doctors treated my Pa as a person, and the family as important.  We were shown caring and compassion.  We and pa were treated with respect.  We feel that Pa received a top notch level of care.  So to the staff of St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau Mo; from the Security guards who helped us find our way around and were always polite, David and Jody (I think); to the nurses Leigh, Jeanine, Heidi, Denise, Amalaya, Lori and the others whose names I did not get or cannot remember; to Doctors Beck and Jones, to the ones who are still taking care of him during his stay, and all the volunteers and kitchen and housekeeping staff, Thank You.

Now I ask you, if Obamacare were to pass do you honestly believe that we would have such high quality customer service?  Do you really think that an 80 year old man with advanced arthritis and a very badly degraded heart would succeed in becoming a candidate for robot assisted heart surgery?  I think not.  Do you think that in the sort of environment sure to evolve in a government run, certain to be unionized, bureaucratic nightmare, where pay is guaranteed to be substandard, and Doctor’s decisions have to pass a panel of government flunkies (political officers) that we would have had such a good experience?  Our system may suck, but it is still the best in the world.  My recent experience has proved that to me.

-KOOK

The K.O.O.K's Manifesto

33 Years ago today…

 
ME!

And on this most auspicious occasion I feel it opportune to say what I am thankful for (besides another year of being an efficient exchanger of Oxygen and the deadly seal and Goreacle killing CO2). 
I am thankful for My Life, My great loving Family, My Friends (on and offline), and my Career. I am also thankful for each and every Massachusetts “Brown” voter for apparently killing ZeroCare. I am thankful for each person (of the hundreds of thousands) who marched with me on 9/12 (even though we were mostly ignored); I am thankful for all the men and women who have sacrificed both past and present to keep us free; and I am thankful for this country which, despite what many on the left would say, is the defender of freedom, and the last best place on earth. 
Here’s to another year of keeping it that way.
and remember…Today is better than yesterday, because today is my birthday and yesterday was one year of Chairman Zero’s residency at 1600 PA Avenue; although we can all choose to remember yesterday as the day that a Democrat lost in Massachusetts!
-KOOK

Here is Where I Score

I am playing along with The Humble Libertarian’s “How Libertarian am I” Quiz challenge.   I took most of them and below are my scores.  You should be able to click to enlarge the picture.  Most of them scored me like I thought they would; I consider myself a Constitutional Libertarian.  I am for personal liberty, but a strong military, low taxes, and limited government.  However, I know I am a bit socially conservative.  I think morals are important and I don’t favor the early sexualization of kids, or drug zombies wandering the streets.  Take the quizzes to see where you stand, then share them with the group.  I am interested in where many of my fellow patriots stand.

 

-KOOK

Load and Make Ready!

Rounding out my membership into the RWBCNJ* club I thought I would post some of my Tools of Evil Destruction(TM)…also known as Guns to all the rest of you, my comrades in arms. I do not know why I have been remiss thus far in sharing these with the rest of the group. I shared pics of the Boat, the Tractor, and the 4x4…this is all that is left other than a cooler of beer. Then my credentials as a RWBCNJ Redneck will be complete. I won’t share all the pics at once that way if any of our friends of the more liberal persuasion see this they won’t go into shock and run hysterically screaming from the room. It is not my intention to scare anyone.

Just bought this TO-DAY. My first foray into the “scary black guns” It is a Hi Point 9mm Carbine. It shoots SA-Weet. Burned about 100 rounds through it today. My ears are still ringing. A Flashlight and a red-dot scope are definitely on the list.

Due to the fact I have a surgically repaired shoulder I get to play with these too. Cross-bows are bad ass. Silent and deadly. Just the way I like it.

Remington model 742 in 30.06. I actually have matching ones. Because one 30.06 just is not enough. In the picture here it is snuggling up to the new ‘9.

Here is one you won’t see every day. On the left is a Bolt Action 16 Ga. Shotgun that belonged to my Pappy…er…Maternal Grandfather to any of the elitists still with us. To the right of that is my .50 cal Muzzle Loader.

And lastly, for this post, (and I had to go downstairs to the other gun case for this one) is my .22-250. You know for those long distance calls. Nothing like shattering everlasting gobstoppers at 200 yards. Who knew they exploded when hit by a tiny projectile traveling a coupla times the speed of sound?

So….there is a few of my odes to the second amendment. What d’y’all think?

*Right Wing Bitter Clinging Nut Job.

More Useless Info about the KOOK.

I do not know if any of you will care in the least, but since I have not posted much lately I fell back on one of these MEME’s. Just in case you want to know more about who I am.

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yep. I've been called by my middle name all my life, and my Mema got it from an actor. But I share my first name with my Father and my Grandfather.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Reading stories on ambulancedriverfiles. I cry occasionally, and I ain't ashamed to admit it.

DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not really it is somewhere between harried scrawl and 4th grade penmanship, but it is mostly legible if I try. Cursive it is not.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Roast beef, thickly sliced, or Turkey thinly sliced.

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Almost. I seem to have one around a lot.

IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? That is a really interesting question. I am not sure if I could put up with myself. Seriously, you have read my blog right?

DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Nah…I am neither sarcastic nor cynical.

DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep. Still have my tonsils, No appendix, though

WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not. On. Your. Life. I could be forced to jump out of a plane as long as you could ASSURE me that the crash would kill me if I didn’t.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Shredded Wheat, and there used to be this cereal called S.W. Graham, it was like shredded wheat but made out of graham crackers.

DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope. I just kick them off, and most of my shoes I just step back into when it is time to go.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I used to be. Legs were always much stronger than upper body, but I could bench press my weight fairly easily. I can still bench press my weight, too. I might just have to do it in stages, you know like in fifty pound increments.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Bunny. Tracks. or a Dream Lover from the custard shop.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Shoes, and I am a sucker for a nice rear end on a lady…

For males, it's the handshake. I cannot stand a limp handshake.

RED OR PINK? Neither.

WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My tendency to procrastinate. I've been meaning to join a support group, but just haven't gotten around to it. No biggie, though - they still haven't scheduled their first meeting.

WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? There was a girl in HS that I was super close with and really had a crush on too. She has completely disappeared. My cousin, we have always been close but now do not get to see each other often and do not talk nearly enough.

WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Khaki and Brown. Soon as I get home that will change to blue jeans or shorts and none.

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Mexican Buffett.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The Hum of the air conditioner. But lately a lot of Colt Ford in the truck.

IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Blue, Electric Blue….duh.

FAVORITE SMELLS? In no particular order: Horses (if you don’t get it, you don’t get it); Fresh Mowed Hayfield (sneezes and all), that particular smell you get when you mix lake water, fiberglass, gasoline, and 2 cycle engine oil, in the hot sun; Diesel Smoke, unburnt gas coming out of a 4 barrel carb; Honeysuckles.

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My Grandpa.

FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? MMA, Rodeo, Motorsports, Football, then everything else.

HAIR COLOR[S]? Brown. Used to be much much blonder, but it is getting darker with age.

EYE COLOR? Green. really Green.

DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope. I do have a prescription for computer glasses, but I suppose my eyes were tired when I took my eye exam. I was diagnosed with mild astigmatism, but I can see 20/20ish when my eyes are well rested.

FAVORITE FOOD? Steak, and whatever comes with it. Marinade in allegro, liberal amounts of garlic, grill it about 4 minutes on each side When you cut into it, it should be seared on the outside and gently fade towards a light pink in the middle and juices should run across the plate into your garlic mashed potatoes.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings. I am not entertained by scary movies in the least. Blood and gore do not bother me, but the suspense and impending doom in horror movies just isn’t my thing.

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? 8 seconds, last night.

WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Maroon, Blue, and White; striped.

SUMMER OR WINTER? Neither. For me, it's fall, the time of year I get to indulge my inner predator and go slay some of God's furry little creatures. Also the best time to go camping and have hayrides and cookouts. Summer is fun for the lake and women’s wardrobes. Winter is fun for 4 wheeling in snow and ice. Spring is for allergies.

HUGS OR KISSES? Both if you are a cute female

FAVORITE DESSERT? Not much into sweets. I usually get too full on the aforementioned steak

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Enders Game; Right Nation; The Leave us alone Coalition. I also read Demon’s Seed by Dean Koontz on the plane from Atlanta last week. I keep books in different rooms and sometimes read several at a time.

WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don’t use em.

WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Fox news and 8 Seconds

FAVORITE SOUND[S]? A Ford Powerstroke starting up (it is weird I know); Water gently lapping the side of the boat; my system in full bump, a Ford NAA tractor, cicadas and whippoorwills.

ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? That's like asking me if I prefer shit or vomit. Can't really stand either one too much but If I had to choose I pick the Stones.

WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? In terms of mileage? Los Angeles, California. In terms of politics and ideology? Los Angeles, California.

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? After hearing a song a few times I can listen to it in my head and hear all the lyrics. I kill at the Singing Bee; Not bad to have at Trivial Pursuit. I have mad Excel skills. I am a jack of many trades and a master of none. I can do a little carpentry, auto mechanics, residential electrical, drafting, welding, minor veterinary care (large animal), decent on a computer, and if it has wheels or a hull I can operate it.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Cape Girardeau Missouri, Home Town of Rush Limbaugh.

Who is the Kook?

It is neither here nor there, but I thought by now someone would have made a comment at some time regarding my avatar. I thought it was very appropriate when I chose it and I thought someone would have wondered what the deal was, why I didn't use my name or my face.
Like I said, it is not an issue, I am just surprised. I didn't really have a reason as to why I didn't want to put my real name on the web, other than it just seems a little odd to me, and I must confess there must have been some embarrassment as part of it.
Honestly I didn't know anything about blogging. Had no idea that there were that many like minded people like me. I have said before where KOOK came from, but for all my new friends and fellow KOOKs I will go over it again. One of my co-workers thinks I am a conspiracy theorist (great movie btw) and maybe I am a little, but he called me a Kook one day. Then I remembered Rush talking to or about the Keeper of Odd Knowledge Society. Then I read where Rush said they all died. Well the world needs Kooks, so there is the name. I guess it is tongue in cheek as well, one of those issues of embracing the label to let it give you power or something.
Well I had a name but I needed an Avatar. I am also a geek, and I like comic book heroes. I think Wikipedia would be better for this part.

The Question is one of the more philosophical superheroes. As a tireless opponent of societal corruption, the Question was an adherent of Objectivism (Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged) during his career…
Victor Sage (his alter-ego) is an investigative reporter for the news station KBEL in Hub City, who uses the identity of The Question to get the answers his civilian identity cannot. Unlike other vigilante superheroes, O'Neil's Question is primarily focused on the politics of his city, and rather than hunting down the perpetrators of petty theft, he tends to fight the corrupt government of Hub City. O'Neil's Hub City is noted as being "synonymous with venality, corruption, and violence", perhaps even outranking Gotham City as the most dismal city in the DC Universe version of the US. Despite the impoverished and scandalous nature of Hub City, O'Neil insisted repeatedly that it was based on an actual US city, though for most of the series' run he refused to comment on which one that might be. He eventually confirmed, near the end of the run, that Hub City was based on East St. Louis, Illinois (corrupt Illinois politics…get it?)
The Question's appearance — ordinary clothes, fedora hat, and a face with no eyes, nose or mouth — was very similar to two other similarly-attired and blank-faced characters who appeared in comics in the late 1930s

• Rorschach — When Alan Moore was unable to use Charlton Comics characters by name in his comic book series Watchmen, he patterned Rorschach after the Question, making him a merciless and faceless trenchcoat-and-fedora-clad vigilante who took moral absolutism to its most violent extreme.
• The Question was featured in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again as a libertarian, anti-government conspirator.

The Question uses a special mask (bonded to his face by a gaseous chemical) to conceal his identity. He is portrayed as a conspiracy theorist, a blend of Rorschach from the Watchmen comics and Fox Mulder of the popular X-Files series. The Question of the DC Animated Universe is a completely obsessive, darkly comic loner — skeptical, eccentric, paranoid, antagonistic and somewhat unpredictable. He is given to believing in abstruse conspiracy theories and is suspicious of even his fellow League members; despite this (or perhaps because of it), he is one of the Justice League's best detectives. At one point, he mentions that Supergirl eats peanut butter sandwiches before going to bed, to which she asks him whether he goes through her trash: he responds, "Please... I go through everyone's trash."
The Question's various conspiracy theories, which he insists are a single, tied-together theory, are usually portrayed in a humorous manner. He claims the motives and purpose of aglets (the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces) are "sinister", that the government is brainwashing people through "secret messages, coded in amino acid chains in low-carb cereal bars", believes in ominous links between boy bands and global warming, though in the episode "Question Authority" when he cracked the inscription on a file he stole from the government, one of the files was named "BRAZILBOYZ" meaning that the government did have a hand in boy bands. Question believes that the Girl Scouts are either the cause or connected to the crop circle phenomenon, and that fluoridated toothpaste doesn't prevent tooth decay, but renders the user's teeth detectable to spy satellites. He also believes there was a literal 'magic bullet', forged by Illuminati mystics to hide 'the truth' (although as this was said under torture, he may have been mocking his captor). In recent investigations in the episode "Grudge Match", he confirmed his suspicions when he broke into one of Baskin-Robbins ice-cream freezers and discovered that there are in fact thirty-two flavors of ice cream, and that they were concealing the thirty-second for dubious reasons. All of these theories are apparently tied to a single, vast conspiracy by a hidden cabal dating back to ancient Egypt, which has supposedly ruled the world from the shadows for millennia, aided by the common man's ignorance of it. In "Fearful Symmetry" he is also shown to enjoy "Corporate Prepackaged Pop" music, made for kids. Ironic as with all of his crazy theories about brainwashing people would think that he wouldn't listen to it, for fear of being brainwashed.
After the events of "Fearful Symmetry” Batman assigns Question to investigate and find out whatever he can about those responsible, much to the chagrin of the other League founders. (Batman admits that The Question is "...wound up a bit too tight" and obliquely indicates that the Question's detective skills may even exceed his own. (which would make him the best detective in the DC Universe)
"Question Authority" has several homages to Ditko's Objectivist beliefs, as well as to Rorschach, Alan Moore's infamous Question pastiche. As he recoils from the information he's discovered, he begins to speak in monotone sentence fragments, as Rorschach did. ("Not alternate reality," he quavers. "Time loop.") …
Later, he declares that; "Everything that exists has a specific nature, and possesses characteristics that are a part of what it is. A is A... And no matter what reality he calls home, Luthor is Luthor." This is an explicit statement of the Law of Identity, upon which Ditko based certain characters and their opinions.
Question (comics) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So… I thought it fit. Now it is just who I am I guess.