TIM NERENZ, Ph.D., tells it like it REALLY is. Right on, Dr. Nerenz.
"I Have A Dream:
Remember these from school? “Ask not what your country can do for you; demand it.” “The only thing to fear is buying our own stuff.” “Give me liberty or give me free stuff.” “One if by land, two if by sea; get off that horse and buy my stuff for me.” And who can forget, “I have a dream…where you have to give me stuff.”
What in the world has happened to us? How did we go from Patrick Henry and Dr. Martin Luther King to some 30 year-old still-a-student from Georgetown going on national TV to demand more government because she can’t figure out how to keep from getting knocked up on her own dime?
President Obama – our President Obama - called to congratulate her for that and tell her she represents all women. Really? All women? How about it, ladies – are all of you spending your days getting drilled by losers who can’t afford their own condoms and then bragging about it under oath on CSPAN? Has your liberation from men left you that completely helpless?
I don’t think she represents very many women at all; most that I know are proud of their independence and character. Sometimes politicians say things so incredibly stupid we wonder how they managed to ever get elected...and then other times they sleep.
But you know what? This whole free contraception thing is the straw that broke the camel’s back. I am tired of pushing the rock up the hill – I’m throwing in with the gimmee-gimmee crowd. Kennedy didn’t know squat, Henry was a flake, Jefferson had it all wrong, and Dr. King must have been some selfish, racist, libertarian with that stupid dream that every individual should be judged by the content of their character. Screw that.
I have a better dream. I have a dream that you buy your stuff for you and then you buy my stuff for me. That’s equality, right there. Whatever I want and just because I want it. Food, housing, day care, abortions, contraception, train rides, a job, pension, health care, a Volt, college, flat-out cash. The way it works is you give me the stuff I need so I can use my own money to buy the stuff I want – Spring Break in Cancun, iTunes, tattoos. You even have to buy my Ambien so I can dream my dream.
I have another dream where you taxpaying welders have to pay for my college as long as I want to keep going, and then I will whine and bitch about my student loans for years until you write them off. And then I will whine and bitch some more because you won’t hire me with my useless degree and pathetic attitude. If that doesn’t work, I’ll sue you. Or boycott, or occupy, or break your glass or light your stuff on fire. I don’t need a reason. You owe me, because I breathe.
I have a dream… In my new dream you have to hire me and then you can’t fire me, and I get sick days and vacation days and holidays and union conferences off, and call-in days, and I can watch porn on school computers and if you fire me for that I get reinstated with back pay. I have a dream…where I can retire early, draw a pension and then get paid again to go back to work at the same job.
How about this one: “We hold this truth to be self-evident - I get my way.” If my guy doesn’t win an election we get to recall the guy who did, and you have to pay for it. I decide my pay and benefits and you pay. I get to tell you what to do and you do it.
In my dream I can stop you from mining on your own land, from owning your own guns, selling your own milk, and growing your own food. We’re all in this together – I say and you do.
I have a dream that I decide how much profit you can make and how much of your own money you get to keep. I have a dream where you have to join my union and dues get taken out your check before the IRS even gets their bite of the apple. I have a dream where you don’t have squat to say about it. Shut up, bitch – this is what democracy looks like. That’s how I sound in my dream - street.
I have a dream where it is a disability to be me, so now I get to park up front and get even more free stuff than if I was a just a regular broke-dick. I want that ID card where you have to give me medical marijuana and King Crimson CD’s. I have a dream… [Alarm goes off and I wake all sweaty and heart-pounding] Wow, that was some nightmare; too bad we are living in it.
Do you know the difference between shame and Beetlejuice? If you say Beetlejuice three times, he shows up. The Wisconsin lefty protesters have proven you can chant “shame shame shame” until the cows come home or flee to Illinois and it won’t instill any in you.
This Georgetown woman did her own shameful three-way; turns out she is not 23, is not a real student, and is a serial testifier – a 30 year-old “activist” fabricated for the cameras by the marketing department over at Democrat Victimhood, Inc. Wham, bam, thanks for the sound bite, ma’am. The party of women creates a new national Lewinsky to humiliate, and the shameless left cheers her on. Cheeky.
The worst thing about his whole incident is that we now know what kind of dipstick gets into law school these days; we can look forward to decades of her suing us because her watch stopped, or the Fox station airs Seinfeld re-runs when she likes to tan, or brunettes earn more than blonds, or guys don’t need tampons, or they play hockey in the South. Who knows what craving for attention will trigger another seizure?
At age 40 she will be up on the Hill testifying about why we need to buy her a tummy tuck and liposuction, and at age 50, it will be breast augmentation and collagen implants. At 60 we will start medicating her libido back into action and 70 she will be hounding us to buy the hubby’s dinger pills and call dermabrasion health care and make us pay for it. By then she will have some money and have turned Republican. It won’t matter; they both want free stuff.
At a panel on nationalizing health care in 2009, I warned the greatest danger of a government-run system was the politicization of illness, disease, and treatment. Equating avoidance of a voluntary condition (pregnancy) with prevention of a disease in order to mandate contraceptive coverage without compensation is just the tip of the iceberg of what we can expect each election year when the pols are trolling for votes in the highly-contested moron community.
When your health care costs go up and your employer drops your coverage, you can’t say that you weren’t warned.
While this young lady was reading her lines over at Nancy Pelosi’s Theatre of the Absurd, the real news was being made by HHS Secretary Sebelius, who gloated that the insurance industry was in a “death spiral” and promising us straight-faced that mandating coverage without compensation had nothing to do with it. No doubt the frisky coeds over at Georgetown Law School believed every word of it."
“Moment Of Clarity” is a weekly commentary by Libertarian writer and speaker Tim Nerenz, Ph.D. Visit
Showing posts with label employer health care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label employer health care. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Sunday, May 15, 2011
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, IT DOESN'T WORK-OBAMACARE
FROM NEWSMAX MAGAZINE--Why I won't vote for Mitt Romney in the Republican Primary for 2012. His Mass. plan was the blueprint for Obamacare.
Mass. Medical Plan Foretells Obamacare’s Ills
Five years ago, Massachusetts’ then-Gov. Mitt Romney approved a new medical plan that requires almost all state residents to have health insurance, just as Obamacare’s individual mandate would for the entire nation.
Today in Massachusetts, the wait time to see a doctor can be as long as seven weeks, and many doctors won’t accept patients in the subsidized insurance program. That does not bode well for national healthcare reform if it is fully implemented as planned by President Barack Obama and the Democrats.
A new study by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS), which has 23,000 physicians and student members and publishes the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, takes an in-depth look at healthcare in Massachusetts under the state program, which is often regarded as a model for Obama’s 2010 healthcare reforms. Among its findings:
• The average wait time for an appointment with an internist is 48 days, and the wait time to see a family physician is 36 days.
• The average wait time for pediatricians is 24 days, according to the MMS’s “2011 Study of Patient Access to Health Care.”
• Access to primary care physicians is becoming more restricted — 53 percent of family physicians and 51 percent of internists are not accepting new patients.
• Patients wait an average of 43 days to see a gastroenterologist, and 41 days to see an obstetrician/gynecologist.
• While 87 percent of family physicians accept Medicare, only 62 percent accept MassHealth, the state’s version of Medicaid.
• Only 56 percent of family physicians and 43 percent of internists accept Commonwealth Care, an insurance program for adults who don’t have private health insurance and don’t qualify for Medicare. Just 44 percent of family physicians and 35 percent of internists accept Commonwealth Choice, a program for uninsured adults that offers unsubsidized health insurance to people who are not eligible for Medicaid or Commonwealth Care.
• Due, in part, to a shortage of doctors participating in the program, the number of emergency room visits has actually risen under the Massachusetts plan.
This is an example of what Americans all over the country will be dealing with if Obamacare remains the law of the land.
Mass. Medical Plan Foretells Obamacare’s Ills
Five years ago, Massachusetts’ then-Gov. Mitt Romney approved a new medical plan that requires almost all state residents to have health insurance, just as Obamacare’s individual mandate would for the entire nation.
Today in Massachusetts, the wait time to see a doctor can be as long as seven weeks, and many doctors won’t accept patients in the subsidized insurance program. That does not bode well for national healthcare reform if it is fully implemented as planned by President Barack Obama and the Democrats.
A new study by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS), which has 23,000 physicians and student members and publishes the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, takes an in-depth look at healthcare in Massachusetts under the state program, which is often regarded as a model for Obama’s 2010 healthcare reforms. Among its findings:
• The average wait time for an appointment with an internist is 48 days, and the wait time to see a family physician is 36 days.
• The average wait time for pediatricians is 24 days, according to the MMS’s “2011 Study of Patient Access to Health Care.”
• Access to primary care physicians is becoming more restricted — 53 percent of family physicians and 51 percent of internists are not accepting new patients.
• Patients wait an average of 43 days to see a gastroenterologist, and 41 days to see an obstetrician/gynecologist.
• While 87 percent of family physicians accept Medicare, only 62 percent accept MassHealth, the state’s version of Medicaid.
• Only 56 percent of family physicians and 43 percent of internists accept Commonwealth Care, an insurance program for adults who don’t have private health insurance and don’t qualify for Medicare. Just 44 percent of family physicians and 35 percent of internists accept Commonwealth Choice, a program for uninsured adults that offers unsubsidized health insurance to people who are not eligible for Medicaid or Commonwealth Care.
• Due, in part, to a shortage of doctors participating in the program, the number of emergency room visits has actually risen under the Massachusetts plan.
This is an example of what Americans all over the country will be dealing with if Obamacare remains the law of the land.
Monday, November 1, 2010
REPEAL PLEDGE! BYE BYE OBAMACARE
WANT TO HELP GET OBAMACARE REPEALED ONCE THE POWER HAS SHIFTED IN WASHINGTON? The link below is a site that lets you lend your support to the Repeal Movement. Be sure to watch the very short video. It's doctors telling us how they feel about Obamacare.
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW. EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS AND WILL BE NEEDED TO THWART VOTER FRAUD.
CLICK HERE
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW. EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS AND WILL BE NEEDED TO THWART VOTER FRAUD.
CLICK HERE
Saturday, October 23, 2010
CHECK 'EM OUT HERE BEFORE PULLING THE LEVER
THIS IS THE NEATEST WEB SITE FOR VOTERS. IT LISTS ALL CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE AND THEIR VOTING RECORD ON KEY ISSUES, I.E., ABORTION, HEALTH CARE, IMMIGRATION, ETC. THEN YOU CAN REGISTER YOUR OWN VIEWS AND IT SHOWS HOW EACH CANDIDATE ALIGNS WITH YOUR VIEWS. CHECK THIS OUT. IT IS VERY EASY TO USE AND GIVES YOU LOTS OF INFO ABOUT EACH CANDIDATE IN ONE EASY-TO-USE LOCATION.
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
Saturday, October 16, 2010
PRAISE OBAMACARE AND PASS THE AMMUNITION
Here's the latest silver bullet aimed at Obamare. Another reason to shoot it down quickly.
Starting January 1, 2011, more than 15,000 over-the-counter medications cannot be reimbursed tax-free from Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) without a prescription.
Approximately 10 million Americans are covered under HSA/FSA plans for their families' health care needs. Those families contribute tax free money to HSAs and then can withdraw it to pay for their health care needs, including over-the-counter medications. That will all stop faster than a speeding bullet on January 1, 2011, thanks to Obamacare.
Following is a list, compiled by Congressman John Fleming, M.D., of some of the over-the-counter medications that will soon require a prescription for a tax-free withdrawal from an HSA/FSA under Obamacare.
acid controllers
allergy and sinus medications
antibiotics
anti-gas products
anti-itch and insect bite
baby rash ointments/creams
cold sore remedies
cough, cold and flu
digestive aids
pain relievers
respiratory treatments
stomach remedies
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU? The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that this provision of the all encompassing Obamacare will cost American families $5 billion. Hey, Barack, what happened to "NO NEW TAXES?"
And think about this! We don't have enough doctors to handle what Obamacare will require. How are they going to have time for appointments to prescribe Tums, Maalox, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and on and on?
Fleming has introduced a bill (H.R. 5126) to roll back these taxes on over-the-counter medications. But I would ask why doesn't Fleming's bill repeal all of Obamacare? Come on, Mr. Fleming, muster up some grit, take aim and fire. It's a huge target.
Now how many Dems do you think will support Fleming's small attempt to kill this provision of Obamacare? I would guess NONE. I urge you to contact your representatives to find out whether they will support H. R., 5126. And then remember their response when you vote in two weeks.
You can reach them through the links on the right side of my blog.
Starting January 1, 2011, more than 15,000 over-the-counter medications cannot be reimbursed tax-free from Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) without a prescription.
Approximately 10 million Americans are covered under HSA/FSA plans for their families' health care needs. Those families contribute tax free money to HSAs and then can withdraw it to pay for their health care needs, including over-the-counter medications. That will all stop faster than a speeding bullet on January 1, 2011, thanks to Obamacare.
Following is a list, compiled by Congressman John Fleming, M.D., of some of the over-the-counter medications that will soon require a prescription for a tax-free withdrawal from an HSA/FSA under Obamacare.
acid controllers
allergy and sinus medications
antibiotics
anti-gas products
anti-itch and insect bite
baby rash ointments/creams
cold sore remedies
cough, cold and flu
digestive aids
pain relievers
respiratory treatments
stomach remedies
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU? The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that this provision of the all encompassing Obamacare will cost American families $5 billion. Hey, Barack, what happened to "NO NEW TAXES?"
And think about this! We don't have enough doctors to handle what Obamacare will require. How are they going to have time for appointments to prescribe Tums, Maalox, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and on and on?
Fleming has introduced a bill (H.R. 5126) to roll back these taxes on over-the-counter medications. But I would ask why doesn't Fleming's bill repeal all of Obamacare? Come on, Mr. Fleming, muster up some grit, take aim and fire. It's a huge target.
Now how many Dems do you think will support Fleming's small attempt to kill this provision of Obamacare? I would guess NONE. I urge you to contact your representatives to find out whether they will support H. R., 5126. And then remember their response when you vote in two weeks.
You can reach them through the links on the right side of my blog.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
MICKIE-D SAVED BY "THE DEAL"
Hey, read my post from 10-2 re. McDonald's mini-med policies. Here's the follow up.
Today Obama announced that 30 businesses will get a 1-year exemption from portions of Obamacare. McDonald's is one of the "chosen," the "exempt."
Good for you if you work for one of the chosen companies, but too bad, so sad if you work for any of the other thousands of companies who will be forced to comply with all Obamacare rules.
Right now it's a crap shoot if you are not a chosen employer. You are at the mercy of Obama and Kathleen Sebelius, waiting for them to decide what they like and whom they want to favor.
And what happened to the "lie" we were told that Obamacare would "level the playing field?" This exemption creates exactly what Obama claimed was a problem - an unequal playing field. What does he think this does??
Oh, yes, and there's the administration's promise that if you like your insurance you can keep your insurance. What they didn't tell you is that you can only keep it as long as they allow for "exemptions" from Obamacare. Listen up, Folks, the exemptions granted today are only good for ONE YEAR. Then it is back to the rules.
This just goes to show what can happen when people with absolutely nil experience in anything decide they can govern an industry better than the industry can govern itself.
And this is just the beginning of the spreading malignancy known as Obamacare.
Congratulations, McDonalds and 29 other companies. You just shafted the rest of us.
Today Obama announced that 30 businesses will get a 1-year exemption from portions of Obamacare. McDonald's is one of the "chosen," the "exempt."
Good for you if you work for one of the chosen companies, but too bad, so sad if you work for any of the other thousands of companies who will be forced to comply with all Obamacare rules.
Right now it's a crap shoot if you are not a chosen employer. You are at the mercy of Obama and Kathleen Sebelius, waiting for them to decide what they like and whom they want to favor.
And what happened to the "lie" we were told that Obamacare would "level the playing field?" This exemption creates exactly what Obama claimed was a problem - an unequal playing field. What does he think this does??
Oh, yes, and there's the administration's promise that if you like your insurance you can keep your insurance. What they didn't tell you is that you can only keep it as long as they allow for "exemptions" from Obamacare. Listen up, Folks, the exemptions granted today are only good for ONE YEAR. Then it is back to the rules.
This just goes to show what can happen when people with absolutely nil experience in anything decide they can govern an industry better than the industry can govern itself.
And this is just the beginning of the spreading malignancy known as Obamacare.
Congratulations, McDonalds and 29 other companies. You just shafted the rest of us.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
MICKIE-D, MINI-MED PLANS WILL BE DEEP FRIED
Remember when Obama stated that he personally wanted a single payer health care system but would have to get it gradually? Well, he wasn't lying. The latest donnybrook started when Janet Ademy, WSJ reporter, this week reported that McDonalds may be forced to cancel its current coverage for 29,500 employees as a result of ObamaCare. McDonalds says new mandates will make its mini-med plans "economically prohibitive."
Mini-med plans are low-cost, low-benefit plans that cover 2.5 million consumers nationwide, mostly in low-wage industries like fast food, retail, and hospitality, where 75% of workers turn over every year and the average age is 25.
DemoBrats despise mini-med plans, believing they "under-insure" the participants, and new you-must-do-it mandates within Obamacare are designed to run them out of business by dictating benefits, eliminating coverage caps and establishing "rules" about how premiums must be spent.
Don't be fooled by the continuing propaganda from the White House about "if you like your insurance, you can keep your insurance." They never intended for you to "keep your insurance."
The forced choice is between relatively affordable coverage that the DemoBrats don't like or dumping coverage entirely. Connecticut, Tennessee and Arkansas offer their own mini-med plans for state residents, and they too will be forced to cancel the plans.
Subsidized Obamacare options won't be available until 2014, but those costs will simply fall on the taxpayers. As if WE can afford more spending.
Read this carefully, People. The daily damage we are seeing as the guts of Obamacare are revealed is not unintended. It was premeditated. They just didn't tell you the truth.
Oh, I almost forgot, most of those who voted for it claim they didn't read it.
November Liberation is only 30 days away.
Mini-med plans are low-cost, low-benefit plans that cover 2.5 million consumers nationwide, mostly in low-wage industries like fast food, retail, and hospitality, where 75% of workers turn over every year and the average age is 25.
DemoBrats despise mini-med plans, believing they "under-insure" the participants, and new you-must-do-it mandates within Obamacare are designed to run them out of business by dictating benefits, eliminating coverage caps and establishing "rules" about how premiums must be spent.
Don't be fooled by the continuing propaganda from the White House about "if you like your insurance, you can keep your insurance." They never intended for you to "keep your insurance."
The forced choice is between relatively affordable coverage that the DemoBrats don't like or dumping coverage entirely. Connecticut, Tennessee and Arkansas offer their own mini-med plans for state residents, and they too will be forced to cancel the plans.
Subsidized Obamacare options won't be available until 2014, but those costs will simply fall on the taxpayers. As if WE can afford more spending.
Read this carefully, People. The daily damage we are seeing as the guts of Obamacare are revealed is not unintended. It was premeditated. They just didn't tell you the truth.
Oh, I almost forgot, most of those who voted for it claim they didn't read it.
November Liberation is only 30 days away.
Hopefully then we can stop the madness -- or at least slow it down.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
TESTIMONIAL RE. EXCELLENCE OF CURRENT HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Rebecca Kleefisch is running for WI Lt. Governor, along with Scott Walker for Governor. This is her story. It is a testimonial on why the government should keep their crummy Obama hands off of our health care system. Very interesting and uplifting. Under Obamacare she may not have lived.
Dear Friends,
About two and a half weeks before I became Scott Walker’s running mate, my life changed. No doubt my life changed the night of the primary, too, but what happened before is something I want to share with you.
Statewide campaigns are a rigorous business. I had traveled Wisconsin time and time again getting to know you. I was eating on the run, drinking a lot of coffee, and keeping a demanding schedule. My excuse for exercise was 8 consecutive Independence Day parades!
That’s why, when I started having stomach cramps and feeling tired, I blamed it on my schedule. I went to my doctor a couple of times and he agreed that I probably needed a lifestyle adjustment after the election.
A few weeks before the primary, I told my doctor that I was sick. Not just campaign-sick. Really sick. He ordered some blood tests and called me with the results. He wanted to know how I was feeling. “Fine,” I told him.
The test results were not as fine. He said that I was bleeding somewhere, that I might have an ulcer and that I needed an endoscopy right away, and probably a blood transfusion. I hung up the phone and got back behind the camera to shoot my “Mom with a Minivan” ad. I didn’t want a blood transfusion. The next day, I had an endoscopy that revealed no ulcer, but instead of being excited, my doctor told me I needed a colonoscopy the next morning.
It was August 26th. Two and a half weeks before the primary I woke up from my colonoscopy to my doctor telling me, “Becky… you have colon cancer, but, 9 years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer, and I’m here to tell you about it.” He was like an angel, giving me the bad along with hope. He refused to guess what stage the cancer was.
Eight years earlier, my dad died of pancreatic cancer, and I was so thankful the doctor hadn’t said “pancreatic cancer.” Regardless of the stage, I knew I could beat colon cancer. I went straight to get a CT scan and transfusion.
That weekend I researched my disease and the treatments available. I found the best colorectal cancer surgeon around: Dr. Kirk Ludwig. He was internationally renowned and taught others how to remove colon cancer laparoscopically. He was at Froedert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin…amazingly, just 30 minutes away.
I saw him Monday morning. My tumor was the size of a grapefruit, he said. When I asked whether he would still be able to take it out laparoscopically, he said it wouldn’t be a problem.
“And in ten years…?” I said. “In ten years, you’ll look back on this and say, ‘Oh, that wasn’t so fun.’ And that’s it.”
The next day when I went for genetic testing I started bleeding and was admitted Wednesday. Thursday morning, around the same time I got my diagnosis the previous week, the cancer was gone.
Dr. Ludwig sent my tumor to pathologists to determine the stage of the disease. After I had been home for a day, he called with the results: despite the fact that the tumor had broken through my colon wall and was creeping up my side, despite the fact that it looked like it had compromised lymph nodes, all the nodes tested negative. I had survived Stage 2 cancer. It was like a miracle.
Last week, the genetic test results finally came. “No mutation detected” they said. I will not pass this on to my daughters. Another miracle.
I’m telling you because perhaps you’ve been touched by cancer. If you have, you know that the stories of hope, of beating it, are the ones you hold on to. Just like my doctor awakened me with a story of hope, I hope you will share my story with someone who needs it.
My story also illustrates how dire my future might have been if we had socialized medicine. What if the government had told me I had to wait in a 6 month line to get a CT scan? Or that I couldn’t have Dr. Ludwig perform the surgery? That’s unacceptable to me and my family.
So please hug your family tonight and be thankful for your blessings. I have a renewed gratefulness for each day. And please join me in fighting for healthcare reform that keeps us in charge of our choices.
Rebecca Kleefisch
Dear Friends,
About two and a half weeks before I became Scott Walker’s running mate, my life changed. No doubt my life changed the night of the primary, too, but what happened before is something I want to share with you.
Statewide campaigns are a rigorous business. I had traveled Wisconsin time and time again getting to know you. I was eating on the run, drinking a lot of coffee, and keeping a demanding schedule. My excuse for exercise was 8 consecutive Independence Day parades!
That’s why, when I started having stomach cramps and feeling tired, I blamed it on my schedule. I went to my doctor a couple of times and he agreed that I probably needed a lifestyle adjustment after the election.
A few weeks before the primary, I told my doctor that I was sick. Not just campaign-sick. Really sick. He ordered some blood tests and called me with the results. He wanted to know how I was feeling. “Fine,” I told him.
The test results were not as fine. He said that I was bleeding somewhere, that I might have an ulcer and that I needed an endoscopy right away, and probably a blood transfusion. I hung up the phone and got back behind the camera to shoot my “Mom with a Minivan” ad. I didn’t want a blood transfusion. The next day, I had an endoscopy that revealed no ulcer, but instead of being excited, my doctor told me I needed a colonoscopy the next morning.
It was August 26th. Two and a half weeks before the primary I woke up from my colonoscopy to my doctor telling me, “Becky… you have colon cancer, but, 9 years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer, and I’m here to tell you about it.” He was like an angel, giving me the bad along with hope. He refused to guess what stage the cancer was.
Eight years earlier, my dad died of pancreatic cancer, and I was so thankful the doctor hadn’t said “pancreatic cancer.” Regardless of the stage, I knew I could beat colon cancer. I went straight to get a CT scan and transfusion.
That weekend I researched my disease and the treatments available. I found the best colorectal cancer surgeon around: Dr. Kirk Ludwig. He was internationally renowned and taught others how to remove colon cancer laparoscopically. He was at Froedert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin…amazingly, just 30 minutes away.
I saw him Monday morning. My tumor was the size of a grapefruit, he said. When I asked whether he would still be able to take it out laparoscopically, he said it wouldn’t be a problem.
“And in ten years…?” I said. “In ten years, you’ll look back on this and say, ‘Oh, that wasn’t so fun.’ And that’s it.”
The next day when I went for genetic testing I started bleeding and was admitted Wednesday. Thursday morning, around the same time I got my diagnosis the previous week, the cancer was gone.
Dr. Ludwig sent my tumor to pathologists to determine the stage of the disease. After I had been home for a day, he called with the results: despite the fact that the tumor had broken through my colon wall and was creeping up my side, despite the fact that it looked like it had compromised lymph nodes, all the nodes tested negative. I had survived Stage 2 cancer. It was like a miracle.
Last week, the genetic test results finally came. “No mutation detected” they said. I will not pass this on to my daughters. Another miracle.
I’m telling you because perhaps you’ve been touched by cancer. If you have, you know that the stories of hope, of beating it, are the ones you hold on to. Just like my doctor awakened me with a story of hope, I hope you will share my story with someone who needs it.
My story also illustrates how dire my future might have been if we had socialized medicine. What if the government had told me I had to wait in a 6 month line to get a CT scan? Or that I couldn’t have Dr. Ludwig perform the surgery? That’s unacceptable to me and my family.
So please hug your family tonight and be thankful for your blessings. I have a renewed gratefulness for each day. And please join me in fighting for healthcare reform that keeps us in charge of our choices.
Rebecca Kleefisch
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