Tag: health care

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 17, 20238:54 pm

Deciduous Delight

Six weeks or so since my last haircut and sports medicine specialist appointment today compelled me to get a trim yesterday afternoon from the Barber of Seville, who at 80ish continues to cut clients’ mops. His shop is located along the main business blocks of Park Blvd in University Heights.

I was on time, but George was late—focused on another customer who dragged out the cut with conversation. While waiting outside, I marveled at the turning colors of leaves on several trees. San Diego’s mild Mediterranean climate and Southern latitude (for the Northern Hemisphere) typically mean later-year seasonal change for deciduous trees. Leaves bursting with color, and being shed, is something seen in December for sure. November timing grabbed my attention.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 23, 20239:44 pm

‘No Contract, No Peace; No Justice, No Peace’

The headline is the slogan I heard chanted by striking workers, seen on the El Cajon Blvd sidewalk between Georgia and Florida streets and alongside—but not on—Kindred Hospital property, which is in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. Last time I saw, and documented, similar picketing was June 2018.

But the tone was different today; hostile even. “No justice, no peace” is more typically associated with cultural and societal protests, particularly regarding equality or race. I always have regarded it as an implicit threat; you may not agree. Putting that aside, how else should “no peace” be interpretated as chanted by unionized workers demanding contract concessions? You tell me.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 22, 20239:21 pm

A Survivor Meets Her Saviors

Our daughter’s best friend received the phone call that she was in an ambulance and hospital bound on March 2, 2023. She was discovered in severe distress during the late afternoon. Her heart stopped enroute, and she suffered cerebral anoxia—meaning no oxygen to the brain. The trauma unit quickly cooled her body; the term is therapeutic hypothermia.

Two hours later, paramedics wheeled in another patient suffering similar situation. He didn’t make it. I later learned that ICU staff rallied for our daughter after losing the other patient. But she was completely unresponsive for the first two full days. “It has been found that only about 12 percent of patients who have been comatose for more than six hours after a cardiac arrest make a good recovery”, according UK-based brain injury association Headway. That statistic might in part explain why we were offered option to suspend treatment and let our only child pass away—on her second day at the hospital.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 18, 20239:50 pm

Ode to a Good Day

“She talked” is how our daughter’s nurse greeted me today. That statement upfront is so I don’t bury the lede. But behind it are several tumultuous days of disappointment and progress.

Consider this the third installment about our adult child, who suffered oxygen-deprivation following an incident that receives no explanation for now. “Our Family Emergency Revealed” and “From Intubation to Extubation” are parts one and two, respectively. Because my Facebook is deactivated (since July 2019), this post means to update relatives and any one else interested in following the saga.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 10, 202310:02 pm

Old Glory Waits With You

While waiting more than 90 minutes in an ICU and surgery recovery waiting room today, I let distraction interfere with my appreciating the brightly-lit, tastefully charming, spirit uplifting surroundings, which included an American flag. Considering how the Stars and Stripes has come to represent all that some people see as wrong about the country, the banner’s presence surprised but delighted.

I took the opportunity to use Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s 50-megapixel camera. The Featured Image shows off some fine detail (zoom in to see)—only rivaled (and exceeded) by the smartphone’s 200MP alternative. Vitals: f/1.7,ISO 160, 1/60 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 1:36 p.m. PST. The photo is cropped but otherwise unchanged.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 21, 202111:07 pm

We Got Tested for COVID-19

The saga starts simply: On Feb. 17, 2021, Annie suffered tummy upset all day, along with loss of energy. By late afternoon, my wife had developed a fever of 37.8 degrees Celsius (100.1 Fahrenheit). Morning of the 18th, her body temperature had fallen to 37.2 C (99 F) before returning to normal and staying that way. But she felt crummy and lethargic. More worrisome: Low-grade fever is one of the signature symptoms of COVID-19—the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2).

Next day, the 19th, I felt off and started coughing; often. If not for Annie’s fever the story would end there, but the symptom shouldn’t be ignored. I checked our health insurer’s website, which indicated that COVID-19 testing would be free with a referral. Around 8 a.m., when the doctor’s office opened, I cancelled a 9 a.m. self-defense lesson with my trainer and called our physician, with whom the scheduler set up an 11 a.m. phone appointment. Who would guess problems would start there.

Living by Joe WilcoxDec 3, 202011:07 pm

California Cancels Christmas

Reading the list from my previous post, Cali life might seem so fab that you’re ready to move to the Golden State. Cool your jets and read on first. Earlier today, Governor Gavin “Gruesome” Newsom extinguished the light at the end of the holidays, by announcing even more SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)—also known as COVID-19—restrictions that assure Santa won’t shimmy down any California chimneys this Christmas Eve, even if wearing a mask or practicing social distancing. St. Nick Corp. isn’t an “essential business”, meaning one exempt from the onerous obstructions to living—or even breathing—under the benevolence of Governor Newssolini’s auspicious authority.

Bigger than the new lockdown protocols is their nebulous nature. Newsom has organized the state into five regions, placing San Diego County with Los Angeles County, which has the greatest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases (e.g. infections) in the United States. He expects that ICU capacity will fall to 15 percent within the next day or two, which will be the event that steals Christmas from Southern California, if not statewide. But he was downright dubious about when this would happen, although he could confidently say that once the trigger pulls, the new shutdown order would be in place for at least three weeks. Do the math. Santa ain’t coming this year!

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 27, 20198:50 pm

Such a Waste

Last month, on a whim, my wife and I took an excursion down memory lane: the narrow, out-of-the-way street leading to San Diego Hospice, where twice weekly my father-in-law played flute for residents before the facility closed. He passed away in January 2017—and unbelievably—the buildings have followed him, as can be seen from the Featured Image.

In December 2012, administrators told him that his playing would end at the start of the new year. Months later, the healthcare operation declared bankruptcy before closing for good. My experience going inside any kind of extended-stay care facility is bad. But San Diego Hospice was good, with clean, wide hallways and walls decorated with art—some of it for sale, if I remember rightly. There was warmth, in a place that could otherwise have born the chill of death. After all, most of the residents received care before their lives ended.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 11, 20183:20 pm

Not Exactly Kindred Spirits

As I prattled about my home office this morning, occasional but distant noise that sounded like live performers caused me to listen and wonder if perhaps there was some special adult gathering going on at […]

Living by Joe WilcoxNov 23, 20155:13 pm

The ‘Cesarean is Safer’ Lie

So I’m sitting at McDonald’s with my 93 year-old father-in-law, who likes to eat from the all-day breakfast menu for lunch. Behind him, across the aisle, sit three elderly gents who don’t look to be quite as old but nevertheless it’s a 70-plus group. They gather daily apparently.

One man announces that he can’t make lunch tomorrow. “My daughter is having a baby”. When, another geezer asks. “At 9:30 in the morning” is the answer. “How do you know?” I could answer that one, and the reason why. I lean forward and listen with greater focus. “She’s having a Cesarean”, the man answers. What he says next chills my bones and inflames my anger: The doctor says that the procedure is “safer” than natural childbirth.

Responsibility by Joe WilcoxJul 1, 20158:45 pm

I Should Thank the President

We are solid citizens again, with health insurance in place for the first time since May 1, 2009. Last November, I shared about “My Uninsured Life“. Now that circumstances changed, update is warranted, even if brief. Our coverage started as of Midnight today. We are among those Americans subsidized through Obamacare.

Our monthly family premium is a paltry $101 and some change per month for HMO plan with $500 annual individual deductible. The subsidy rewards the insurer with another $1,100 during the same time period. Someone please explain to me how such a gap doesn’t somehow reflect increased healthcare costs. What the frak?

Politics by Joe WilcoxNov 6, 200912:24 pm

Shouldn't Healthcare Reform Reward Accountability?

Barack Obama’s healthcare reform plan is a series of compromises that don’t go far enough, but certainly promise improvements. As I write, a vote in the US House of Representatives looms close, and there is much uncertainty that a healthcare reform bill can pass—or should.

A recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece called so-called Obamacare “The worst bill ever.”