Patterico's Pontifications

10/17/2017

Hospital Delays Toddler’s Surgery After Dad’s Arrest

Filed under: General — Dana @ 9:57 am



[guest post by Dana]

Making a toddler pay for the sins of his father just isn’t right.

AJ Burgess is a 2-year old toddler in need of a kidney transplant. Testing revealed that not only is his father, Anthony Dickerson, a perfect match, he is, in fact, “a 110 percent match”. However, the necessary surgery is being delayed because Emory University Hospital is requiring a waiting period to see if Dickerson complies with the conditions of his parole:

Burgess, who only weighs 25 pounds at age 2, spent 10 months in a neonatal intensive care unit. Dickerson was tested and proved to be the perfect match to give his son a kidney, WGCL-TV writes.

“He made it his business to say, ‘Once I get out, I’m gonna promise to my son that he can get a kidney,” A.J.’s mother Carmella said.

As soon as Dickerson was released from prison, he was about to go through the steps to donate his kidney on Oct. 3. However, he returned to jail for violating his parole again for possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, according to WGCL-TV.

According to AJ’s mother, Carmella, the hospital informed her that it would be another 3 or 4 months before AJ’s father, who has a history with the criminal justice system, could donate the needed kidney:

“The lady said we need your parole information and your probation info. He said ‘why?’ We need you to be on good behavior for three to four months before you can give your son the kidney. And January 2018 we will think about re-evaluating you basically,” Carmella said.

It’s puzzling because it appears that the parole violation wasn’t an issue at first:

That didn’t initially seem to be an obstacle. A letter to the Gwinnett County jail from Emory’s Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program requested his temporary release.

“If Mr. Dickerson could be escorted to Emory for blood work and a pre-operative appointment tomorrow, September 29, we will be able to continue with the scheduled surgery,” the Sept. 28 letter says.

But then Burgess received a letter from the hospital saying the surgery would be delayed until Dickerson can provide documentation from his parole officer showing compliance for the next three months.

“We will re-evaluate Mr. Dickerson in January 2018 after receipt of this completed documentation,” the letter said.

Here is the statement released by Emory Healthcare after being questioned about the situation:

“Emory Healthcare is committed to the highest quality of care for its patients. Guidelines for organ transplantation are designed to maximize the chance of success for organ recipients and minimize risk for living donors”, the statement read. “Because of privacy regulations and respect for patient confidentiality, we cannot share specific information about patients.”

The family fears that AJ will not be able to wait the three of four months given his declining health. According to Carmella,”A.J.’s body is failing and he needs bladder surgery”. The family has set up a petition page in hopes of urging the hospital to proceed with the surgery before January 2018:

My 2-yr-old son’s dad, Anthony, was cleared at Emory University Hospital as a 110% match for giving our son his left kidney.

But Anthony went to jail last month for violating his parole, & now he is being denied the chance of giving Anthony Jr. his kidney.

We feel that the hospital is only focused on dad’s behavior & not focusing on The More Important Part…which is our son getting his father’s kidney so he can begin to live a healthy life. Dad making a mistake shouldn’t affect his ability to help his son.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

103 Responses to “Hospital Delays Toddler’s Surgery After Dad’s Arrest”

  1. Am I missing something here?

    Dana (023079)

  2. I think we’re probably missing most of the story. The hospital, quiet rightly, cannot discuss the specifics of the case, but there’s no way they did not fully inform the family. And the family is not fully informing us.

    nk (dbc370)

  3. I can’t find anything to substantiate that, nk. But even if there is an extenuating circumstance, what threshold would it need to meet to delay such a necessary surgery?

    Dana (023079)

  4. That didn’t initially seem to be an obstacle. A letter to the Gwinnett County jail from Emory’s Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program requested his temporary release.

    “If Mr. Dickerson could be escorted to Emory for blood work and a pre-operative appointment tomorrow, September 29, we will be able to continue with the scheduled surgery,” the Sept. 28 letter says.

    That’s all it takes? And there I was wasting the courts’ time and mine with writs of habeas corpus?

    nk (dbc370)

  5. I think it’s a question of the hospital trying to avoid liability for malpractice.

    As part of that they want to know if he will comply with the treatment regimen after the operation, and if he is jail, the doctors at Emory won’t be able to treat him. So they won’t start unless they can pretty sure he will stay out of jail.

    Sammy Finkelman (26a080)

  6. Sorry. When the State’s Attorney’s Office of Cook County needed a daddy who was in prison to be present at his child’s abuse and neglect hearing — just to be present, not even to testify — I had to get a writ of habeas corpus from the court. And he was brought in manacles and leg irons, connected to a chain at his waist, by two guards.

    That part I know. I wish Mike K would chime in about hospital transplant protocols.

    nk (dbc370)

  7. I have experience helping someone with an organ transplant. In that case, the hospital delayed the procedure because the patient lived 5 hours from the hospital and had a 12-year-old DUI on his record. Like the case in the post, the hospital gave conflicting reasons for its denial over several weeks and months. It seemed heartless and we couldn’t understand why the hospital did not want to help the patient, who desperately needed a transplant.

    Ultimately, it became clear that the hospital did not want to do the procedure because its protocol and experience suggested transplant patients/families with specific issues like these are bad candidates for transplants. The hospital wanted to use its resources to help patients who were more likely to comply with the rigid pre-existing and post-operative requirements. Living hours from the hospital made it less likely the patient would return for the frequent post-operative hospital visits. Having a criminal record, even an old one, made it less likely the patient would comply with the stringent post-operative rules and guidelines. It doesn’t matter if the patient intends or wants to comply, only what the hospital’s experience suggests will likely happen in cases like this.

    It can seem cruel but my perception is that hospitals triage transplant patients just like they triage ER patients, because there are not just limited organs but also limited transplant resources. When patients don’t prepare for and follow through after the transplants, they are more likely to fail and to require valuable and scarce post-transplant interventions. My guess is that the hospital looked at this case and decided the family situation made it less likely this transplant would succeed, and the hospital’s transplant program would be able to better serve its current and future patients if it did not take on this case.

    It is heartless to every patient that gets denied or delayed. It seems especially bad when it is a child paying for the father’s mistakes. My guess is the hospital will relent under public pressure or another hospital will step in, but this happens a lot.

    DRJ (15874d)

  8. DRJ (15874d) — 10/17/2017 @ 10:27 am

    t can seem cruel but my perception is that hospitals triage transplant patients just like they triage ER patients, because there are not just limited organs but also limited transplant resources. When patients don’t prepare for and follow through after the transplants, they are more likely to fail and to require valuable and scarce post-transplant interventions.

    Which may not be paid for too, since they probably charge according to DRGs.

    I think 95% of this is a question of money. And Emory Hospital is supposed to be a non-profit institution.

    Sammy Finkelman (26a080)

  9. @Sammy:Which may not be paid for too, since they probably charge according to DRGs.

    A toddler would get Medicaid. That’s what it’s for. The hospital will get paid.

    Frederick (64d4e1)

  10. True, Sammy, the interventions cost money, but they also take the time of the transplant staff and thus they aren’t available to help other patients. Transplant programs don’t have unlimited doctors and staff, and it’s not easy to find qualified doctors and staff from other areas if they need help. They can’t “afford” too many interventions in a monetary sense and in a practical sense.

    DRJ (15874d)

  11. When “You are the father” Goes Wrong.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  12. Thank you, DRJ. I do know a guy who got a kidney transplant. He will be on immunosuppressants all his life (which is ok because he’s pretty old already). Can the hospital count on these parents to provide that kind of care to the kid?

    nk (dbc370)

  13. Emory Healthcare is evil they should transfer the kid somewhere that’s not possessed by Satan

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  14. @Sammy: And Emory Hospital is supposed to be a non-profit institution.

    “Profit” is an accounting term. If by “profit” you mean “charge more than cost” then non-profits have profits.

    I haven’t got into their finances in detail but I have for other non-profit health providers, as well as for-profit ones, so the difference is this:

    A for-profit has shareholders who need to be paid. To pay them, the enterprise has to get paid more than it spends on costs.

    A non-profit has bondholders who need to be paid. To pay them, the enterprise has to get paid more than it spends on costs.

    Bonds are debt, of course, and debt payments are not profit, in the accounting sense. But in the sense of “I have to make money” debt payments require what profits do, that more money comes in than goes out.

    Frederick (64d4e1)

  15. “He made it his business to say, ‘Once I get out, I’m gonna promise to my son that he can get a kidney,” A.J.’s mother Carmella said.

    As soon as Dickerson was released from prison, he was about to go through the steps to donate his kidney on Oct. 3. However, he returned to jail for violating his parole again for possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, according to WGCL-TV.

    This guy sounds like a real piece of work. “I’m going to stay on the straight-and-narrow to help my son, right after I get a gun and a knife and hold up a liquor store.” What a depressing story. Maybe the kid would be better off if he was taken away from this clearly dysfunctional family and placed somewhere else.

    JVW (773988)

  16. if the dad gives his son a kidney and the kid dies cause of his family doesn’t follow the regimen that’s ok

    if the kid dies cause some skanky-assed doctor-trash can’t be bothered to perform the surgery that’s not ok

    this is not hard

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  17. I agree, nk. Other criteria that hospital transplant programs look at are family stability and support for the patient. That wasn’t a concern in the family I helped but it might be in this case. There is a chance that any transplant won’t work but that risk is magnified in cases where the patient doesn’t comply with the post-transplant protocol. A toddler can’t fill his own prescriptions or take his own medicines, so the family situation is critical.

    As bad as this case is, the transplant is not a cure but a complex lifetime treatment with medicines, continuing interventions, and possibly more transplants. The hospitals that do this are right to screen the patients who get transplants, but our society loves children and wants to safeguard them so I hope there is a way to help him.

    DRJ (15874d)

  18. Which transplant patients have to give up their place in line for this child, hf? Getting an organ isn’t all that is at issue. It takes a team of professionals, operating rooms, beds, and ongoing treatment to do transplants. Hospitals do this full-time and there are still waiting lists. Which people on the lists who have met the stringent criteria should be good to step aside?

    DRJ (15874d)

  19. Which people on the lists who have met the stringent criteria should be told to step aside?

    DRJ (15874d)

  20. If you tried to take this to the Emory board they would just wear you down.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  21. managing transplant lists is not hard you can do it in excel

    you put the name of the patient in column A

    in column b you put an ordinal number what reflects the order they were admitted into the transplant program (i.e. if you are the 37th transplant patient to come to this hospital the number you put in column b is “37)

    in column c you put the drop-dead date they need their organ by

    then you sort the data oldest to newest by column c and smallest to largest by column c

    it’s easy peasy!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  22. oops the number you put in column b is “37″) i mean

    i did the punctuate wrong

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  23. JVW, if those people told me it was daytime outside, I’d check.

    nk (dbc370)

  24. levelheadedness is lacking

    mg (31009b)

  25. Thank you, DRJ. I do know a guy who got a kidney transplant. He will be on immunosuppressants all his life (which is ok because he’s pretty old already). Can the hospital count on these parents to provide that kind of care to the kid?
    nk (dbc370) — 10/17/2017 @ 10:52 am

    They can’t manage Depo-Provera or a nuva ring.

    But it is hard to pull hood rat stuff when you are on your back recovering from major surgery.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  26. OMG

    then you sort the data oldest to newest by column c and smallest to largest by column *b* i mean

    ANYONE WHAT’S WORKING AT A HOSPITAL AND FOLLOWED THESE INSTRUCTIONS NEEDS TO RE-SORT THEIR SPREADSHEETS

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  27. I say you get your place on the transplant list by dice throw.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  28. there’s more than one way to skin a cat

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  29. So it’s not easy beansy after all? Hoist by your own petard. I’m giggling.

    nk (dbc370)

  30. Do you work in healthcare, hf?

    DRJ (15874d)

  31. i deserve that

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  32. i was going to Florida for to do a nursing program then Chicago called

    what appeals to me about being some kind of health care flunky is you’re super mobile and my current skills kinda keep me in just a handful of cities what have robust media and advertising sectors

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  33. First-come, first-served works in fast food and walk-in clinics but not critical care healthcare.

    DRJ (15874d)

  34. that’s why you have two columns DRJ

    pls to review the procedures

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  35. On sort of a side note a guy got arrested for firing off an AK style weapon next to Titan (Nissan) Stadium during a TSU v Austin Peay football game. His bail was $6,000 and he was out in an hour.

    He probably went to the Red Cross right after that to donate blood.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  36. How long does it take for HIV or Hepatitis C to become detectable after infection? Could it be three or four months? Asking for a kid whose daddy says he wants to give him a kidney.

    nk (dbc370)

  37. in the biz Mr. nk this is what we call making transplant non-affirmative value judgments and they really suck all the fun out of what’s essentially one of the most life-affirming and joyous branches of surgery

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  38. How long does it take for HIV or Hepatitis C to become detectable after infection?

    Mr. Google has the answer. Both can take up to three months. Thank you, Mr. Google.

    nk (dbc370)

  39. I was under the impression that at least for some common transplants, there is some sort of national clearinghouse that coordinates among donors and hospitals with recipients, and that the conditions for participation included agreement on a common set of criteria for setting priorities. But thinking about it, I’m not sure if that’s something I read about in a legal or even press report, or just saw on “Grey’s Anatomy” or the like.

    Whatever the process is, it ought to have consistent standards and reasonable transparency.

    By “ought” I do not at all imply that the government ought to make that happen, much less that the government run it.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  40. Beldar,

    I believe there are national standards for procuring organs donated by strangers, but this would be a family donation. The rules I was talking about (above) are established by the hospital, and my impression is that every hospital sets up its own standards regarding which patients are accepted.

    DRJ (15874d)

  41. Then why is this family still asking that hospital? Because that’s a barbaric decision, if it took place as described by the family.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  42. If they’re not distributing a scarce organ among many justifiable recipients, what business do they have at all in passing upon the fitness of the recipient in that family?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  43. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network clearinghouse matches patients with donated organs but I think the doctors and hospitals decide who goes on the list for each hospital. That is where they control the process.

    DRJ (15874d)

  44. I’m okay with local hospitals having a big, maybe even decisive, role in deciding who ought be on their own priority lists for scarce organs going through the national network.

    I just can’t see how that’s comparable to the situation of an in-family donation. Is the justification there that they are allocating scarce charitable resources?

    (I know, of course, you’re not defending these policies, you’re just trying to help me and the rest of us figure them out — for which I’m grateful, my friend.)

    Beldar (fa637a)

  45. You have to go through the hospital because it puts you on the list to get an organ. It won’t put you on a list if you don’t meet the hospital’s criteria for a transplant, and the criteria is more than medical. That’s probably what is bothering you, which is understandable.

    There are answers. Try another hospital, although often the patients are so sick and the process so expensive that it’s very hard to do that. Or try to meet the criteria. In the case I discussed above, the patient considered asking a court to expunge his record to get rid of his DUI and moving closer to the hospital.

    DRJ (15874d)

  46. My son spent some time on a transplant ward because he was very sick and had a weak immune system, and transplant wards are designed for people with no immune system, so I’ve seen this from the patient’s side.

    The transplant itself is fairly quick and easy. It’s the recovery and follow-up that takes most of the resources, and they are limited. My impression is that hospitals are reluctant to put patients on the list that aren’t good risks, and I’m not talking about had risks for surviving the surgery. I’m talking about surviving the next 6 months or so. But every hospital is different, and some have much bigger programs than others. Some also specialize in specific organs.

    DRJ (15874d)

  47. There could also be special risks about kidney transplants in young children or in this particular child.

    DRJ (15874d)

  48. NHS provokes fury with indefinite surgery ban for smokers and obese

    the commodification of survival

    i abjure this

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  49. One issue in transplantation I can think of is the reliability of the patient/family to give the medicines and do all the followuo. That may be an issue with this father.

    Here is a report on pediatric kidney transplant.

    Steroids still seem to be part of the package and these created major morbidity in my era, which was 30 years ago.

    Since 2000, there were seven pediatric patients with ANCA GN (four MPA) transplanted. Mean age at ANCA GN diagnosis was 11.8 ± 2.8 (range, 7.2-15.4) years. All seven were ANCA (three anti-PR3/four anti-MPO) positive. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at diagnosis was 11.7 ± 6.3 ml/min/1.73 m2. All received steroids and cyclophosphamide and three (23.3%) received plasma exchange.

    No three years olds which must be a very negative prognostic factor.

    One patient lost her transplant to acute cellular rejection following non-adherence to immunosuppression after 21 months of stable transplant function.

    That is the patient factor.

    Mike K (b3dd19)

  50. That’s very helpful information, Mike K. Thank you.

    DRJ (15874d)

  51. Having been on the lung transplant list now for 13 months I can say it ain’t great. Since I need a bilateral transplant that cuts into the available donors. I am healthy other than my lungs which sort of acts against me as I’m not as in such imminent threat of death my score is not as high as others. Being uncomfortable, limited in life and generally miserable doesn’t count. I will see my pulmonary surgeon Dr. Cantu, in November and I will have a new number moving me up the list further. That’s good. The COPD part of my diseases gets worse so it automatically moves up your position over time. It sometimes seems they’re waiting for me to die of heart failure to avoid the lung transplants.

    I’ve already been on two “dry runs”. The first I was at University of Penna Hospital all prepped and the doctor appeared after several hours and informed me the donor had traces of pneumonia and they cannot transplant. The second time they could only offer one lung and my surgeon turned it down due to the deterioration of both. So I wait. I really feel bad for my wife.

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  52. Forget HIV and Hepatitis C. The kid will be on immunosuppressants. Any infection jailbird daddy gifts him along with the kidney could kill him.

    But I thinks it’s all a shuck. Daddy is facing a substantial stretch in the pokey and is looking for ways to stay out, and GoFundMe money for his bail, lawyer and a good time with baby-mama for as long as it lasts, in my opinion.

    nk (dbc370)

  53. hang in there we all want a happy ending on this one Mr. Reverend

    plus science is so close to fixing this whole dealio using science

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  54. and you know what Mr. nk that’s ok

    this lil tyke should have his bite at the apple

    just cause his parents are trash doesn’t mean he can be flushed down the toilet of life hello Kevin Williamson

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  55. If Harvey Weinstein wasn’t so jacked up this would be a good opportunity for a John Q sequel.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  56. I read NHS as NIH in happyfeet’s #48 and my blood pressure didn’t go down until I saw the pound sign. Big deal, anyway. If a surgery can wait until you’ve lost weight or quit smoking for eight weeks, you should not have it at all. “Don’t let them cut you!”, is my motto.

    nk (dbc370)

  57. So it’s illegal to pay for an organ but how about to sign people up for organ donation? A weekend in Chicago could clear the boards.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  58. I’m so sorry, Hoagie.

    DRJ (15874d)

  59. I’m fortunate that I haven’t had occasion to learn of these things before. Thanks to all for their insights and experience. Hoagie, you know we’re rooting for you, brother.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  60. 9. Frederick (64d4e1) — 10/17/2017 @ 10:46 am

    The hospital will get paid.

    I mean will they get paid extra for their extra work, or as much extra as it costs them extra?

    DRJ @10 10:47 am.

    True, Sammy, the interventions cost money, but they also take the time of the transplant staff and thus they aren’t available to help other patients. Transplant programs don’t have unlimited doctors and staff, and it’s not easy to find qualified doctors and staff from other areas if they need help. They can’t “afford” too many interventions in a monetary sense and in a practical sense.

    This doesn’t place so much extra demand that they and it’s not likee, if cases like this were taken into account, they could expand their capability. I think it’s really a question of money, and they wouldn’t have to deny anybody else a transplant.

    While they have a policy of not starting something that won’t go smoothly, if they did, they could handle them, But it’s just that the hospital won’t get paid as much extra as it costs. It probably goes under the guise of medical ethics.

    14. Frederick (64d4e1) — 10/17/2017 @ 11:00 am

    If by “profit” you mean “charge more than cost” then non-profits have profits.

    I really should have said something like this: It is supposed to be a charitable institution, but that ethic is long gone. Now the people in charge get large salaries.

    Sammy Finkelman (26a080)

  61. @51. Hoagie… your courage, strength and endurance is simply inspiring. It puts so much in perspective. You hang in there and know that plenty of people are pulling for you.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  62. @55. Wankstein was gonna dispute his firing; resigned instead; financiers are eyeing TWC assets and projects in work– expect TWC to dissolve soon.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  63. 18. DRJ (15874d) — 10/17/2017 @ 11:17 am

    Hospitals do this full-time and there are still waiting lists.

    The waiting list is for amatch, not for a doctor, and if it is for a medical team, that’s only because the hospitals have scaled up only to a certain point, and the point to which they’ve scaled up probably has to do with the cost of the treatment versus payment.

    But there’s always a certain amount of excess capacity, so an individual case doesn’t squeeze anyone out – but it may cost the hospital money, and especially may expose them to a malpractice lawsuit, if they don’t spend extra money, and I think it’s that that’s really driving this screening. It’s not a defense to malpractice to say, well, in the case of this patient and family it would have cost us more than average to avoid a bad outcome.

    Sammy Finkelman (26a080)

  64. It is supposed to be a charitable institution, but that ethic is long gone. Now the people in charge get large salaries.

    How much do you think someone with a medical degree who runs a transplant section of a hospital should be paid? As much as a cry-baby NFL star? I guarantee they don’t. So why should George Clooney get 20 million a movie while a heart transplant surgeon gets $150,000 an operation. Whose life did Clooney save?

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  65. clooney’s a harvey rape-enabler what played a smarmy undead ping pong ball in Alfonso Cuarón’s movie Gravity plus he makes tequila and pretends to like women (sexually)

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  66. 39. Beldar (fa637a) — 10/17/2017 @ 4:57 pm

    I was under the impression that at least for some common transplants, there is some sort of national clearinghouse that coordinates among donors and hospitals with recipients,

    I think there are separate local waiting lists, and Steve Jobs researched this, or had people research this for him, and got onto a short list in Tennessee. Billionaires can do things like that. They can fly across the country for their surgery. Complying with protocols in no problem, and the doctors aren’t wprried that it could be said to be malpractice.

    But he had treated his disease too late, trying alternative therapies that didn’t work because he was into that sort of thing..

    Sammy Finkelman (26a080)

  67. It’s the executives who make the real money, because they are in charge of the money.

    Sammy Finkelman (26a080)

  68. Hoagie, one option for kids with Cystic fibrosis is to take one lung lobe from each parent. I doubt that is an option for you but there are some centers that do the lobe transplants. USC is one such center but I don’t know if Vaughn Starnes does any adults. USC also does live donor partial liver transplants. My niece works on the transplant team at Rush in Chicago and tells me they don;t do partial liver transplants,

    I don’t know where you are but you might inquire,

    Here’s a paper of lobe transplants,

    It may be applicable but that is a consideration.

    Since 1988, 50 LLTs were done for cystic fibrosis (n=35), fibrosis (n=7), bronchiectasis (n=3), emphysema (n=3) and lymphangiomyomatosis (n=2). There were 44 females and 6 males (mean age 31±13 years, mean size 155±5.5 cm and mean predicted total lung capacity (TLC) 4463±598 ml).

    Mike K (b3dd19)

  69. My continued prayers for you and your wife, Hoagie.

    Dana (023079)

  70. 41. Beldar (fa637a) — 10/17/2017 @ 5:10 pm

    Then why is this family still asking that hospital?

    They probably don’t have any insurance that other hospitals will take, or their doctor(s) don’t have admitting privileges there, and they’d need to switch doctors too.

    Sammy Finkelman (26a080)

  71. Omg god only knows.

    ferjubg eg.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  72. tennessee sleaze-pig lamar alexander and meghan mccain’s cowardly torture-turd war hero daddy are having a hard time selling their yummy nummy obamacare subsidy bill

    it wasn’t supposed to end this way

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  73. Sammy, if that kid is not on SSI and government health insurance, whether Medicaid, Obamacare, or whatever else you get for children with permanent disability, then I’m a supermodel in the next Sports Illustrated swim suit issue. If you believe the so-called reporters, he was in intensive care for ten weeks after he was born. I estimate he has already cost the taxpayers the price of at least one Tomahawk missile (with conventional warhead).

    nk (dbc370)

  74. Min21

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  75. Thanks to all you well-wishers. You might not realize it because you can’t see me but sometimes I get horribly depressed because of my inability to do things. Especially to help my wife out. Thank the Lord I can still do a little cooking but even that takes me twice as long as it used to. I have to keep pausing to breathe. So far I’ve managed to pull myself out of the funk but it gets worse the longer I have to wait. I do pulmonary therapy twice a week at Abington Hospital which is close to my house and I exercise daily but it’s difficult to keep my weight down when I’m so immobile. And as you guys pointed out the doctors want me fit for recovery so weight and strength are important.

    Thanks also to you Mike K for the info on lobe operations. I was originally sent for a lung-reduction treatment but when they saw all the COPD the removal of the upper lobes was moot. Cutting out the emphysema and leaving a progressive disease like COPD is a non-starter for the doctors. Like it or not I’m in for the long haul, the whole enchilada as they say.

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  76. BTW, nk when you talk about costs listen to this. In order to qualify to get on the transplant list I had to be tested for everything. And I mean everything. From toenail fungus to dandruff. I also had to get shots for everything including Hepatitis. They gave me batteries of tests on every organ and bone in my body to make sure there is nothing else wrong before they invest lungs in me. No point outing la scarce set of lungs in a guy dying of prostate cancer or heart failure. Anyway, the tests ran about 4 months till completion about a year and a half ago and my insurance paid $256,000 for the tests. Yep! a quarter million just to see if I qualify for the half million dollar transplant. Plus I have continuing maintenance test all along costing about $25k per quarter. It’s a huge investment they are making on my behalf and I am very thankful. We haven’t even talked medicines and the cost of oxygen and pulmonary therapy.

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  77. Hoagie,

    I know your situation is on a different level, but as someone who has experienced a big physical setback for a long and very painful season, and was forced to rely completely on my spouse to take care of me in almost every way, I can say that while it was extremely frustrating, it was also a tremendously humbling experience, as well as an opportunity to really see just how loved I was. For my spouse, it was an opportunity to express through daily care for me, just how rich and deep that love for me ran within his heart. And for a person of few words, every need he filled was a wordless declaration of love. It was never ending. I’m sure Mrs. Hoagie is no different. Her love for you is limitless, and to take care of you is to express and live out that love. After all, you are her heart.

    Someone on Twitter said that marriage was basically yelling “What?!” to you from another room in the house for 30 or 40 years. I agree. But there’s nothing finer than the opportunity to yell What?! and know that your best friend in the whole wide world is there to hear you (with complete exasperation, and of course, love!).

    Dana (023079)

  78. Thank you, Hoagie. Like Beldar, I also learned a lot about what’s involved in a transplant. And hang in there.

    nk (dbc370)

  79. You’re correct, Dana and that is a fine explanation of that fantastic phenomenon. I just feel as I’ve failed in my promise to her. We are supposed to be enjoying our time together but I am wasting hers. We can’t really even go anywhere since I must be within a one hour drive to U of P hospital at all times. Plus, where can I go with an oxygen concentrator going 24/7?

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  80. Hoagie, all love to to you.

    From a Sailor.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Benavidez

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  81. you people

    you’re making me tearful and in the most poignant way as we stand on the very precipice of the holidays

    this’ll be quite the holiday slog we’re in for at this pace

    and the shelves yet bare of gluehwein

    it’s not proper

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  82. For goodness sake, Hoagie, do you really think there is anywhere else she’d rather be than by your side, or hollering What?! from across the house? Oh please.

    Dana (023079)

  83. 9

    A toddler would get Medicaid. That’s what it’s for. The hospital will get paid.

    There are risks for the donor too. Especially if he is an irresponsible idiot. If the donor ends up requiring expensive care for the rest of his life who is going to pay for that?

    James B. Shearer (951d11)

  84. Wow, Steve57 and I moan about two wounds while Master Sergeant Benavidez was shot up and cut to ribbons. What a brave American. He does Honor to us all with his Valor and Selflessness for his men. I was in Lộc Ninh, South Vietnam. It’s a sh!thole.

    thanks Steve57, you old squid , you.

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  85. Oh, you also celebrate “No! Day” on October 28, happyfeet?

    nk (dbc370)

  86. 82.For goodness sake, Hoagie, do you really think there is anywhere else she’d rather be than by your side, or hollering What?! from across the house? Oh please.
    Dana (023079) — 10/17/2017 @ 7:44 pm

    Oh, I understand that Dana. I’m not talking about where she’d rather be but where I’d rather see her. I already buried one wife this one needs to hang around a lot longer. She’s just so sweet she deserves better, that’s all.

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  87. I am in awe of you Army types,

    Mostly because I can’t ride a horse.

    But I do have to give a shout out, pride in service https://www.facebook.com/PaulHenryCarrMemorialFoundation.

    https://www.facebook.com/PaulHenryCarrMemorialFoundation

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  88. you bet i will this year

    be worth a trip to greektown it might

    mostly for the metaxa, and especially so if we find winter’s paid an early call to our stalwart and broad-shouldered city

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  89. You also have to listen to the lyric opera Axion Esti (It Is Worthy) by Theodorakis. The lyricist (poet) got a Nobel for it. You can find it all on YouTube. Here’s a sample. That’s in the dromos/scale/mode called Niavent, Pinandpuller.

    nk (dbc370)

  90. ok i put this one in me cloud

    now i just need to learn how to ask alexa for to play it

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  91. nk

    I promise I’m going back to the Passion of Matthew thread to read your followup. I have a bad habit of asking questions and then malingering.

    Are you sure that’s opera? I actually liked it. I can’t believe it’s not opera!

    Is all Greek Music in 3/4 or 6/8 time?

    I was messing with a free version of Ableton 9 last night. I need a dedicated laptop with enough memory to run the basic or middle versions of it. I think I’m going to start working on something called Eine Kleine Housemuzik (Hausmuzik?)

    Think a kick drum beat with classical melodies and themes over the top and I suppose a bass line that actually does something besides pound the GHB out of your head.

    It’s just a concept right now. I may just end up debasing classical music and scrap it but who know?

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  92. he is being denied the chance of giving Anthony Jr. his kidney.

    Am I the only one who thinks Anthony Sr isn’t the one being harmed? Who cares about Dad. Probably the only worthwhile thing he will do in this life is help his child.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  93. No, 2/4 and 9/8 are the most common, I think. You’d know this better than me: Music written as 9/8 but played in triplets(?) sounds like something else?

    Is this 9/8? An old standard.

    nk (dbc370)

  94. I’m going to try out those Greek scales tomorrow. I’m thinking about buying a mandolin for practicing with.

    I wonder if I can combine Greek and House music?

    When Greeks get hungry

    We dance

    When Greeks get sad

    We dance

    When Greeks go to raves

    We DJ

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  95. nk

    Not sure. I know “Money” is in 7/8 time and parts of “Tom Sawyer” are 5/4.

    Which one is Systolic and which one is Diastolic? I think if you play triplets you can have an even Diastolic. Or is that denominator?

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  96. Looking forward to hearing it.

    nk (dbc370)

  97. This is 7/8. Greek wedding dance music.

    nk (dbc370)

  98. we talk of greek wedding dance music whilst a toddler bereft of both a father and a sea-worthy kidney braves the uncertain morrow alone

    who are we

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  99. Steve Taylor

    Sounds like Der Commissar but it’s timely

    Meat the Press

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  100. Hoagie,

    I think I know how you feel. Our family has dealt with chronic illness and it dramatically changed the path we planned to take in life. Sometimes it was hard to stay positive and not be resentful about the things we planned but could never do. Sometimes it still is. However, it has also opened our eyes to the things that (we now realize) matter most in life. It is a comforting feeling and I hope you can find a similar comfort.

    DRJ (0280d9)

  101. 73. nk (dbc370) — 10/17/2017 @ 6:59 pm

    Sammy, if that kid is not on SSI and government health insurance, whether Medicaid, Obamacare, or whatever else you get for children with permanent disability, then I’m a supermodel in the next Sports Illustrated swim suit issue. If you believe the so-called reporters, he was in intensive care for ten weeks after he was born…

    I was being a little inclusive of all possibilities. It could be not all hospitals take Medicaid for transplants, or do them at all, and this is really their only possibility. And it could also be yes, the father is volunteering for self-interested reasons. But they always encourage family members to be tested, Apparently it’s only later on that they turn around and say that that person is not good enough to be a donor.

    Sammy Finkelman (3915d0)


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