BACK
FROM THE BRINK
As many
of you have heard, two weeks ago, I suffered a massive heart attack. With so much heart damage, blocked arteries,
etc., things did not look good. A priest
gave me the last rites and the family stood watch not knowing which way things
would go that Sunday and into Monday.
Then, gradually I got better and now two weeks later I am home and
working on a recovery program.
The main
reason I am writing this – besides letting people know first-hand how I am
doing – is to share my takeaways from this experience in case it may be helpful
to others going through the same experience.
First and
foremost, I am deeply grateful to get another chance at life, that most
precious of gifts which we all tend to take for granted until it is deeply threatened. One of the nurses in the cardiac care unit,
knowing what I had been through, put it best when she said: “God clearly has
something more for this patient to do.”
I believe that and I want to spend a lot of more time listening and
paying attention to what God has in mind.
Secondly,
I got a renewed appreciation of the incredible family I have – my wonderful
wife of 45 years, Brigitte, and my sons, John and Andrew. The love and care they showed me, and one
another, during these past two weeks was extraordinary. I hope never to take them or family for
granted again.
Next, my
relatives, friends, and former colleagues.
The outpouring of genuine love and concern was deeply touching and
humbling, reminding me again of how lucky I have been over the years to have
such quality people grace my life. There
were so many visitors that at one point a nurse asked my wife: “Is this guy a Senator or something?” In addition to the visitors, many people sent
messages expressing their concern and offering prayers and best wishes. In
particular, I want to mention my Jesuit colleagues – current and former Jesuits
– whose bonds of friendship were forged more than a half century ago and still
remain as strong as ever. The same is
true for some of my former colleagues at the FAA. It was a deeply satisfying reminder that in
this throwaway society some good things really do last.
Last but certainly not least, I have gained a
deeper appreciation of health care providers – doctors, nurses, and
technicians. The care I received at Fairfax
Inova Hospital – a mere seven minutes from home – was nothing short of
extraordinary. A special tip of the hat
to the nurses who do the dirty work and provide the unheralded but critical care
for patients around the clock. I can say
unequivocally, without the slightest bit of hesitation, that Nurse Ratchett is
dead. Or at least she would never make
it at Fairfax Inova Hospital.
My
hospital experience also deepened my conviction of the need for a universal
health care system. It saddens me to
think that the kind of care I received is out of the question and out of reach for so
many of my fellow .Americans. They have
no choice but to die. That’s deeply
wrong and this country must so something to correct that injustice. I intend to do what I can as a private
citizen to help promote that cause.
Finally,
to so many of you out there on Facebook and other social media who sent best
wishes and prayers, I can’t thank you enough.
I would like to acknowledge each one of you personally, but as I am sure
you understand that is not possible.
So, to
sum up, what is my overriding takeaway from this experience? I’d say all in all it was a really good
couple of weeks.
Jerry
We are so so happy that we'll see you again soon so we can tell you how special you are.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Marie
Looks like your ability to write is unaffected by your "event." I look forward to more of your insights.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Jay
So glad you are back in action! Stay well.
ReplyDeleteOn the healthcare issue, being a nurse, I have some observations. Often in the healthcare field, we see instances of the poor "wasting" resources. The homeless drug addict who runs up tens of thousands of dollars in the ICU every couple of months, all the while telling us point-blank that they have no intention of changing their behavior, and like clockwork, they are back in a month or two. Eventually, they will finally have done enough damage to their brain and body that they end up in a vegetative state, and since their is no family to say otherwise, they go to a long-term ICU where they will remain on life support indefinitely, costing thousands of dollars a day.
I bring this up because these scenarios are often are often cited as reasons for healthcare workers to be against universal healthcare. The fact of the matter is, however, that the poor people who get this extravagant healthcare DO have health insurance. They have Medicare or Medicaid. When we get a poor person in the ICU who actually has no insurance, it's a different scenario entirely.
One gentleman in his early 50's, for instance, had been laid off from his job as a mechanic for almost a year. He had just recently returned to work, but hadn't been there long enough to get his insurance back when he had a stroke. We got him stabilized, and I ordered all the consults he would need: a neurologist, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and so on. When I came in the next day, I asked which doctors had been in to see him. The answer was none. Not one. He didn't have insurance. And he was already leaving the ICU to go to the floor. I said, "but he can't move the left side of his body; he can barely talk." The answer? Yeah, but he doesn't have insurance.
My overall point is that it's not just universal healthcare we need, because insurance companies themselves are a major source of waste. If we just replaced half the liquor stores in poor neighborhoods with free clinics, the homeless drug addict would have access to medications and resources that would dramatically reduce their trips to the ICU, and the unemployed gentleman could have gotten the high blood pressure medication that he stopped taking when his insurance ran out, and he could have been educated about the importance of taking the medicine to prevent a stroke.
That high blood pressure medicine, by the way, is very cheap.
Mr. Lavey,
ReplyDeleteWe want to thank you for such a powerful and wonderful message. We would like to connect with you to hear more about your experience and share your message with our caregivers. If you are interested, can you please contact us at socialmedia@inova.org?
Thank you,
Shana R.
Inova Health
Glad to hear you are in recovery and doing well. You are fortunate in that it could've been a much worse outcome for you. Thanks to the excellent healthcare you do get, you are surviving to talk about it. I agree with you that nobody should have to die just because they can't afford healthcare. Universal Healthcare, i.e. Single Payer, is the road we should be on. Eventually, we'll get there so more people can be saved.
ReplyDeleteTake care...
Jerry,
ReplyDeleteI was keeping tabs on you from various posts and was so worried!! Glad to see you are at least back and well enough to type a few lines.
Your commentary about insurance and indigent care really hit home with me. I have recently been the participant in a couple of medical events that put me in the care of both Sibley Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medical and can not say enough good things about the availability and quailty of care. Since I'm also the beneficiary of a really good insurance policy, I have contemplated my fate if that were not so. What would I have done if I had had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to ensure that I wasn't going to die? Would I have had the money? If not, then what? The diseases are scary enough, but to face them without at least catastrophic coverage would have been overwhelming. I don't know all of the answers, but I can't disagree with Miss Siladi's comments above about neighborhood clinics. Pam Freni (Pfreni@yahoo.com)