-         Light physical activity such as walking offers protection from getting sick.

-         Physical stress of heavy training can make an athlete more vulnerable. For example, in one study runners averaging more than 96km/wk were twice as likely to suffer from colds as those running less than 32 km/wk.

-         Poor nutrition and psychological stress that can occur with over-training weakens immunity.

-         If symptoms are confined to the neck or above, it is probably fine to work out but at a reduced level initially and then advance the intensity and duration as tolerated.

-         Exercising with a fever can also be a recipe for dehydration.

-         Muscle aches, diarrhea, and difficulty breathing all indicate that an infection is more serious and that the body needs rest in order to heal.

The best way to approach this winter season is to be on the flu-defense by practicing good prevention: 

-         Avoid over training to keep antibody levels and immune system in top condition.

-         200 mg of vitamin C daily helps. Those studied who exercised in cool weather they cut their risk of getting a cold in half.

-         Frequent hand washing and cleaning of exercise equipment is highly recommended.

-         Inhaling chlorine gas can cause lung inflammation, so make sure your indoor pool facility has adequate ventilation.

-         FLU SHOT!

You don’t have to cut ties with your local pool, take a “break” from the relationship you have with your speed bike, or somehow avoid eye contact when you pass the FSU track. Instead, take it easy on training and make sure you are staying healthy with your diet and along with practicing cleanliness. When feeling sick, know when enough is enough and stay home for a day or two and get your health to 100% before hitting up the weekly workouts with your awesome club officers!

For more info visit:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=395

ERIN

Club Secretary

But in America, we’re assured, we have a greater sense of political decorum.

That “decorum” was “shockingly” violated when Rep. Joe Wilson blurted out, “You lie!” during a speech that President Obama called Congress into session to make.  It didn’t matter that Joe Wilson was actually RIGHT when he said Obama was lying.  As the Washington Examiner pointed out, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office declared:

“Under H.R. 3200, a ‘Health Insurance Exchange’ would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option…H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens—whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently—participating in the Exchange.”

No, it was beside the point that Joe Wilson was right and Obama really WAS lying.  What mattered was that decorum had been violated.

And then there was somthing else that Nancy Pelosi made – inspired by the “hateful remark” made by Joe Wilson – that further ratcheted up the debate:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw … I saw this myself in the late ’70s in San Francisco,” Pelosi said, choking up and with tears forming in her eyes. “This kind of rhetoric is just, is really frightening and it created a climate in which we, violence took place and … I wish that we would all, again, curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements that are made.”

(Youtube here).

Nancy Pelosi, as I point out here, cried her alligator tears to demonize Wilson and by extension Republicans, all the while pointing out invented facts.  Among other things, the violence that she alluded to was committed by a career DEMOCRAT, and it didn’t have anything to do with “rhetoric.”  Rather, Harvey Milk and George Moscone were murdered by a San Francisco District 8 Democrat official named Dan White because Milk and Moscone had refused to reappoint him.

So Nancy Pelosi came out and lied about and then demagogued a historical event as a ploy to demonize Republicans and anything they might say in opposition to the liberal agenda.  It was a vile thing for her to do.

The fact of the matter was that Joe Wilson was wrong in his outburst, and he apologized both personally and in a letter.

Didn’t matter.  Nancy Pelosi’s House censured him anyway, taking a day of the people’s time to do it.  “Decorum,” remember.

So with all that as backdrop, let’s proceed to the latest bit of “This kind of rhetoric” that “is just, is really frightening” and which could easily create “a climate in which … violence” could take place.

Representative Alan Grayson, Democrat-Florida, came to the same House floor that Joe Wilson had sat on, and said:

“It’s my duty and pride tonight to be able to announce exactly what the Republicans plan to do for health care in America… It’s a very simple plan. Here it is. The Republican health care plan for America: ‘don’t get sick.’ If you have insurance don’t get sick, if you don’t have insurance, don’t get sick; if you’re sick, don’t get sick. Just don’t get sick. … If you do get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: ‘die quickly.’”

(Youtube here).

It was utterly outrageous.  For two reasons.  Number one, the Republicans – who have submitted more than three dozen health care reform bills and who actually held them over their head and waved them during the Obama speech – currently have a major bill to reform health bill available to any who would just look at it.  It is just a lie that amounts to rank demagoguery to claim that Republicans don’t have a plan beyond, “don’t get sick” and “die quickly.”  Number two, the polls are crystal clear: senior citizens – who presumably would not want to rely on a plan to “not get sick” and then to “die quickly” – are opposed to the Democrats’ plan by a nearly 2-1 margin.  From Rasmussen:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% are opposed to the plan.

Senior citizens are less supportive of the plan than younger voters. In the latest survey, just 33% of seniors favor the plan while 59% are opposed. The intensity gap among seniors is significant. Only 16% of the over-65 crowd Strongly Favors the legislation while 46% are Strongly Opposed.

So according to Alan Grayson, not only Republicans, but nearly two out of every three seniors who basically support the Republican position on health care, want seniors to die.  Grayson’s remark was both insane and immoral.

Republicans called upon Alan Grayson to do what Joe Wilson had done (RIGHT AWAY) and apologize for his statement.  Here’s what they got:

Republicans got an apology of sorts from Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson Wednesday – it just wasn’t the one they wanted.

Instead of saying he was sorry about accusing Republicans of wanting people to “die quickly,” he gave an apology “to the dead.”

“I would like to apologize,” he said. “I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.”

And thus a man representing the party that has murdered nearly 50 million human beings before they could even enjoy being born compares Republicans to Adolf Hitler and their actions to the murder of six million Jews.

That same article, for what it’s worth, also further points out what a patholigical liar Grayson is:

Grayson provided the contretemps of the day on Capitol Hill, and even one of his party’s leaders, Democratic Caucus Chairman John B. Larson of Connecticut, at one point publicly called on him to apologize for Tuesday night’s speech.

“I wouldn’t have used the words that Mr. Grayson has,” Larson said. “I would encourage Alan to apologize.”

Later, Grayson contested whether Larson really meant what he said.

“I spoke to him and he did not ask me to apologize,” Grayson offered.

He also claimed he hadn’t said “Republicans want you to die quickly” – until a reporter read his words back to him.

Not only did Grayson say “Republicans want you to die quickly”; he literally had the words written down on a giant card which he displayed on an easel as he spoke.  That’s how much of a twisted lying weasel this guy is.

And do the Democrats – who as we now know so value decorum – call upon Alan Grayson to first apologize and then shut his lying mouth?

Absolutely not.

Did the Democrats – who literally shed alligator tears decrying the hateful rhetoric – demand that one of their own cease and desist from hateful rhetoric?

Absolutely not.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had this to say to defend the man who said that Republicans want seniors to die (with said Republicans supported by 59% of seniors) and that the Republicans had created a holocaust of people dying without health care:

“We have to have a debate that is not distracted from… Apparently Republicans are holding Democrats to a higher level than they are holding their own members,” she said, referring to floor comments by some Republicans who have said Democratic health care reforms would lead to higher deaths among seniors.

“There’s no more reason for Mr. Grayson to apologize… If anybody’s going to apologize everybody should apologize,” Pelosi said at her weekly press conference.

Well again, Nancy Pelosi, in defending Grayson, has to lie to do it.  Republicans aren’t trying to hold Democrats to a “higher standard”:

Wilson’s conduct was denounced by Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Senator John McCain of Arizona, Obama’s Republican opponent in the 2008 presidential race, called Wilson’s outburst “totally disrespectful.”

“He should apologize,” McCain said in an interview on CNN.

Many other Republicans called for Wilson to apologize, including his Republican House leadership.  And Joe Wilson DID apologize.

“I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health-care bill,” Wilson said in a statement. “While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable.”

So it’s a lie that Republicans are trying to hold Democrats to a “higher standard.”  Rather, they are trying to hold Democrats to the VERY SAME standard Republicans had held for themselves, and in fact the VERY SAME STANDARD THAT DEMOCRATS HAD JUST HELD REPUBLICANS TO.

Note to Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat minions: please don’t get so damn hoity toity with your self righteous outrage when it suits you, only to show what blatant hypocrites you are the very next moment when it suits you.  Your hypocrisy shines through like brilliant glittering diamonds.

As vile, hateful, and dishonest as Alan Grayson’s remarks have been, that isn’t where the real outrage is.  No, the real outrage is the complete dishonesty and the rabid demagoguery of the Democrat leadership – especially as epitomized in Nancy Pelosi.

When a party demands that one party be held accountable to violations to “decorum,” and then cynically violates that very same decorum with far more loathsome and dishonest outbursts, it is past time to remove that party from power.

Rep. Jimmy Duncan (R-TN) said of Grayson’s tirade, “That is about the most mean-spirited partisan statement that I’ve ever heard made on this floor, and I, for one, don’t appreciate it.”

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Andy Sere said, “This is an unstable man who has come unhinged. The depths to which Alan Grayson will sink to defend his indefensible comments know no bounds.”

And how does the Democratic Party feel about Rep. Grayson’s outburst? Democratic Caucus Chairman John B. Larson of Connecticut, at one point publicly called on him to apologize for Tuesday night’s speech.

“I wouldn’t have used the words that Mr. Grayson has,” Larson said. “I would encourage Alan to apologize.”

Similar to the democrats who reprimanded Rep. Joe Wilson’s for his outburst during Obama’s speech to the joint session and refusing to apologize on the floor, the republicans now demands the same from Grayson. And how did Grayson respond:

“I would like to apologize; I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.”

Holocaust? We really need to shut down that Auschwitz Episcopal Hospital. Its insane. What was that? Where is this hospital? I have no idea but I bet Rep. Grayson can tell you.

When asked by FOX News why he won’t apologize, Grayson said, “Because I told the truth.”

Well, let’s just see how credible this man who is full of piss and vinegar really is.

Town Hall More Like a Union Picnic

You would think during Congress’ recess break over the summer that their town hall meetings would be business as usual. But home videos have captured many meetings where scandalous and unethical dealings were going on. Grayson was one of several staged meetings:

Hmmm. So Rep. Grayson and his staff prefer to “stack” his town halls with leftist extremists, pro public health care, activists before his very own citizens from his district are allowed in. Its exceptionally odd for a man who declares on the side of righteousness. But, just to make sure the video is legit, let’s take another view from the same town hall meeting:

Well, I guess our Florida representative is not that trustworthy after all. And he had the audacity to stand before Congress and portrayed himself like a conqueror of the damned. Typical liberal attitude.

The President Rebuffs Our Proposals

Grayson accuses the Republican Party with NO type of health care plan proposal. Do you really think so, Rep. Grayson? Well, let’s just take a peek, shall we?

When Obama announced blame toward republicans for not being forthcoming with new ideas for a public health care plan during his speech to the Joint Session of Congress, republicans sitting on the right were waving their proposed bills.

Republicans have quite a few proposals. More than 30 total. You would think the Democratic Party or the president would read just one. Nope. The left, including the president, refused to read any of these bills. Partisanship in action. And Obama wanted to reach out to the republicans. Yeah, right.

Why use the props? Rep. Tom Price, the Georgia Republican who heads the House GOP Study Committee said, “To say in a quiet and respectful way, ‘Here are our ideas.’ To say to the president, ‘You’re not being honest with the American people when you say that there haven’t been ideas put forward, and that you’ve listened to them, because you haven’t.’ “

So you can imagine the frustration from republicans when lies and deceits from the president and the democrats are involved. And that is perhaps why Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) made the outburst during Obama speech when he said, “You lied!” I would have done the same.

Rep. Price has introduced H.R. 3400, the Empowering Patients First Act, back in July to the floor but was cut off at the pass by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the president. Price states that “the White House, in spite of saying they look forward to meeting with anybody who wants to solve these challenges, has rebuffed us at every turn.”

A search of the LexisNexis database of newspapers, magazines, television programs and major blogs finds about 3,000 mentions of the major House Democratic bill, H.R. 3200, in the past six months. (Those are just the stories that refer to the bill by its House number; there have been thousands more stories referring generally to the Democratic legislation.) A similar search found only 60 mentions of H.R. 3400, the Republican bill.

Just for the record, in case you want to check them out, these are the bills proposed, so far, by Price and his allies in the House: H.R. 77; H.R. 109; H.R. 198; H.R. 270; H.R. 321; H.R. 464; H.R. 502; H.R. 544; H.R. 917; H.R. 1086; H.R. 1118; H.R. 1441; H.R. 1458; H.R. 1468; H.R. 1658; H.R. 1891; H.R. 2520; H.R. 2607; H.R. 2692; H.R. 2784; H.R. 2785; H.R. 2786; H.R. 2787; H.R. 3141; H.R. 3217; H.R. 3218; H.R. 3356; H.R. 3372; H.R. 3400; H.R. 3438; H.R. 3454; and H.R. 3478.

Wow! And Grayson said the Republican Party had nothing to offer. He must have been asleep in his chair when these bills were introduced. Only if we could get that scene on video!

What Now

It appears that Rep. Grayson is hanging on a fine rope with his constituents. The probability of his re-election is nil at best. He does not represent his constituents in the 8^th District and surely does not tell the truth to all Americans. All he did in achieving on the floor was making a total ass out of himself.

The best thing for him to do if he wants to preserve his dignity is to pick up his fictitious poster boards and with his embarrassing tail tucked, go back to his seat and not say another word during his remaining days in the House of Representatives.

Grayson told reporters he’s not worried at all about a backlash from voters and instead thinks his chances for re-election have been boosted.

“It improves them,” he said. “People like elected officials with guts who say what they mean.”

Really Rep. Grayson? I think using common sense is a far better tool than arrogance. As the song goes – “Na na na na, na na na na; hey hey hey, goodbye!”

PDF DOWNLOAD

Rep. Alan Grayson, a democrat from the 8^th District of Florida, uncovered his bitterness toward the right as he took the floor in the House Tuesday evening. He ranted about the Republican Party having only two solutions to the health care plan – “don’t get sick and if you do get sick, die quickly.” However, Grayson tantrum was nothing more than a child throwing a fit because he didn’t get his way.

Rep. Jimmy Duncan (R-TN) said of Grayson’s tirade, “That is about the most mean-spirited partisan statement that I’ve ever heard made on this floor, and I, for one, don’t appreciate it.”

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Andy Sere said, “This is an unstable man who has come unhinged. The depths to which Alan Grayson will sink to defend his indefensible comments know no bounds.”

And how does the Democratic Party feel about Rep. Grayson’s outburst? Democratic Caucus Chairman John B. Larson of Connecticut, at one point publicly called on him to apologize for Tuesday night’s speech.

“I wouldn’t have used the words that Mr. Grayson has,” Larson said. “I would encourage Alan to apologize.”

Similar to the democrats who reprimanded Rep. Joe Wilson’s for his outburst during Obama’s speech to the joint session and refusing to apologize on the floor, the republicans now demands the same from Grayson. And how did Grayson respond:

“I would like to apologize; I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.”

Holocaust? We really need to shut down that Auschwitz Episcopal Hospital. Its insane. What was that? Where is this hospital? I have no idea but I bet Rep. Grayson can tell you.

When asked by FOX News why he won’t apologize, Grayson said, “Because I told the truth.”

Well, let’s just see how credible this man who is full of piss and vinegar really is.

Town Hall More Like a Union Picnic

You would think during Congress’ recess break over the summer that their town hall meetings would be business as usual. But home videos have captured many meetings where scandalous and unethical dealings were going on. Grayson was one of several staged meetings:

Hmmm. So Rep. Grayson and his staff prefer to “stack” his town halls with leftist extremists, pro public health care activists before his very own citizens from his district are allowed in. Its exceptionally odd for a man who declares on the side of righteousness. But, just to make sure the video is legit, let’s take another view from the same town hall meeting:

Well, I guess our Florida representative is not that trustworthy after all. And he had the audacity to stand before Congress and portrayed himself like a conqueror of the damned. Typical liberal attitude.

The President Rebuffs Our Proposals

Grayson accuses the Republican Party with NO type of health care plan proposal. Do you really think so, Rep. Grayson? Well, let’s just take a peek, shall we?

When Obama announced blame toward republicans for not being forthcoming with new ideas for a public health care plan during his speech to the Joint Session of Congress, republicans sitting on the right were waving their proposed bills.

Republicans have quite a few proposals. More than 30 total. You would think the Democratic Party or the president would read just one. Nope. The left, including the president, refused to read any of these bills. Partisanship in action. And Obama wanted to reach out to the republicans. Yeah, right.

Why use the props? Rep. Tom Price, the Georgia Republican who heads the House GOP Study Committee said, “To say in a quiet and respectful way, ‘Here are our ideas.’ To say to the president, ‘You’re not being honest with the American people when you say that there haven’t been ideas put forward, and that you’ve listened to them, because you haven’t.’ “

So you can imagine the frustration from republicans when lies and deceits from the president and the democrats are involved. And that is perhaps why Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) made the outburst during Obama speech when he said, “You lied!” I would have done the same.

Rep. Price has introduced H.R. 3400, the Empowering Patients First Act, back in July to the floor but was cut off at the pass by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the president. Price states that “the White House, in spite of saying they look forward to meeting with anybody who wants to solve these challenges, has rebuffed us at every turn.”

A search of the LexisNexis database of newspapers, magazines, television programs and major blogs finds about 3,000 mentions of the major House Democratic bill, H.R. 3200, in the past six months. (Those are just the stories that refer to the bill by its House number; there have been thousands more stories referring generally to the Democratic legislation.) A similar search found only 60 mentions of H.R. 3400, the Republican bill.

Just for the record, in case you want to check them out, these are the bills proposed, so far, by Price and his allies in the House: H.R. 77; H.R. 109; H.R. 198; H.R. 270; H.R. 321; H.R. 464; H.R. 502; H.R. 544; H.R. 917; H.R. 1086; H.R. 1118; H.R. 1441; H.R. 1458; H.R. 1468; H.R. 1658; H.R. 1891; H.R. 2520; H.R. 2607; H.R. 2692; H.R. 2784; H.R. 2785; H.R. 2786; H.R. 2787; H.R. 3141; H.R. 3217; H.R. 3218; H.R. 3356; H.R. 3372; H.R. 3400; H.R. 3438; H.R. 3454; and H.R. 3478.

Wow! And Grayson said the Republican Party had nothing to offer. Surely he nodded off  in his chair when these bills were introduced. Only if we can capture the scenario on video!

What Now

It appears that Rep. Grayson is hanging on a fine rope with his constituents. The probability of his re-election is nil at best. He does not represent his constituents in the 8^th District and surely does not tell the truth to all Americans. All he did in achieving on the floor was making a total ass out of himself.

The best thing for him to do if he wants to preserve his dignity is to pick up his fictitious poster boards and with his embarrassing tail tucked, go back to his seat and not say another word during his remaining days in the House of Representatives.

Grayson told reporters he’s not worried at all about a backlash from voters and instead thinks his chances for re-election have been boosted.

“It improves them,” he said. “People like elected officials with guts who say what they mean.”

Really Rep. Grayson? I think using common sense is a far better tool than arrogance. As the song goes – “Na na na na, na na na na; hey hey hey, goodbye!”

I adore Alan Grayson. First he gives it to the Republicans — who are totally used to dishing it out but not at all used to getting it back. Then they get all het up and demand an apology and he apologizes — the Grayson way. Get ‘em, Grayson yay!

 

---

 

 

---

:::act blue support grayson:::

 

Podcast-Kids Learn How To Wash Hands

I decided to write this post when I was thinking back on an incident that happened to me a short time ago. I was at a well-known coffee house getting my caffeine fix. I placed my order and the barista then turned around and sneezed into both of his hands. Let me tell you we are talking a big juicy sneeze. He then wiped his hands on his apron and then wiped his nose again. There were probably 10 people in line behind me. I thought to myself wash your hands; you better wash your hands. He did not wash his hands and began making my drink. I was thinking OK do I say something in front of all these people or do I just ignore it and don’t worry about it. Well, he finished making the drinks as he wiped his nose again, then handed me the two drinks with his hands over the sipping hole. Yuck! I decided to stay quiet as not to make a scene. I walked out of the store and threw the drinks away. Side note: the store gave me vouchers for new drinks after I let them know what took place.

My point of this story is to point out how important washing your hands is. Washing your hands properly with plain soap and water is one of the best ways to avoid colds and flu. Not to mention the many other illnesses. As a Registered Nurse I have taken many classes on proper hand washing technique. In my early education there was a very memorable demonstration in one of the classes. We all had to sign into the class. We used the pen that was sitting on the form. At the end of the class the instructor turned out the lights and turned on a special lamp. There were spots glowing all over the classroom. We had it all over our hands, and on our face. The pen had a harmless dye on it representing germs. It showed us how the germs traveled. And how each of us had a part in that spread. This exercise was not designed to freak us out so we would never touch anything. Or to make us wash our hands so much they bleed. Thank goodness we have wonderful body’s and immune systems that take care of us if we take care of them. It only takes 15-20 seconds to wash, but it makes a huge difference.

Teaching Kids How To Wash Hands

If you would like a very fun way to teach little kids about hand washing I invite you to listen to this podcast.

Billy Gorilly’s Podcast for Kids episode #10 Sorry no longer available

On Billy’s podcast page you will find a link to a great hand washing poster for kids and a hand-washing guide for kids. The rules apply to adults as well.

I wish all of you a Happy Healthy Holiday Season,

Tamara

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]]> http://writingbyear.com/2008/06/17/get-well-soon/ Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:22:37 +0000 WritingbyEar http://writingbyear.com/2008/06/17/get-well-soon/ A quick recap. Mom ended up back in the hospital unexpectedly due to a giant blood clot in her “bad” leg (the one recently broken). We are SO lucky it was found (purely by chance) — clots often cause fatal pulmonary embolisms (a piece of the clot breaks off, travels to the lungs, and kills you). She was never in any pain, has been resting comfortably in the hospital with her blood-thinning cocktail, and should come home soon.

This post is really about what it took to get her to this point. When her clot was discovered during an exam at the hospital for another issue, the technicians and docs knew she had to be admitted immediately. We were already at the hospital, so this should have been easy, right? Right.

• First, knowing what we were in for at “big-city hospital,” my sister and I wanted to take her ourselves to our local hospital — part of the same hospital system as ”big-city hospital,” but closer to home, quieter, and less crazed. But no, the doc nixed that idea, saying it would be much faster and better to admit her immediately through the emergency department (ED) so she could get immediate blood thinners. Time was of the essence. We shouldn’t fool around with moving her. (And we were clearly insane for even thinking of that.)
• Anyhoo…45 minutes later…they finally managed to get someone there with a wheelchair to take her up one floor to the ED (we were just about to get one ourselves and take her).
• The ED was a zoo — a Friday morning and it looked like the set of ER during one of their many disaster-du-jour episodes. Long story short — my mom laid on a gurney in the hall for 5-1/2 hours. It was 2 hours before she got the oh-so-essential blood thinner shot. Two hours! We could have been to our local hospital in 15 minutes and she could have been in a ROOM within 2 hours. She ate her box lunch on the gurney in the hall, with chaos all around.
• Once she got into a room, it took 2 more hours for her “orders” to make it up the 9 floors from the ED to her floor, via computer. We could have carried the orders up in the elevator in 5 minutes. So, this meant she was not allowed any food or drink until the floor nurse knew what was what. By then, the cafeteria was closed, so she had another box lunch for dinner.
• Throughout the course of our 9 or so hours before she made it into her room, we answered the same questions about her medical history, prescriptions, and recent health situation at least 4 times to 4 different people. And then we did it all again for the floor nurse, after the “orders” finally came. The same information 5 times! How is this even effective or possible in today’s “modern” health care system? Whatever happened to having one chart that stays with the patient with all the info on it? It was mystifying to me and still is. (Not to mention she had been to this hospital just a few months ago for the original surgery on her ankle, and last year for another surgery. They freakin’ should know her medical history — they created a lot of it!)

I write this knowing that I live in Pittsburgh — one of the top cities for medical care in the country. As a friend pointed out, imagine if we lived in one of those other cities?! Imagine indeed.

I know her wait for a room was not because there were no beds available — clearly the hospital is full of empty beds. The problem is having no one to staff those beds and oversee her care. I get it; there’s a nursing shortage and hospitals are understaffed. (Maybe they would have more time if they didn’t have to take the same information from every patient 5 times.)

Unfortunately, I don’t have any answers, only many questions. We pay exorbitant costs for health care. We have technology and resources that are the envy of the world. We have dedicated professionals. We just can’t seem to bring them all together to work efficiently. 

Still, the system does its job for the most part — it saves lives. Maybe the rest just doesn’t matter? Hard to accept that thinking, but at this point, it’s all I have.

Getting out of the hospital is a lot like resigning from a book club.
You’re not out of it until the computer says you’re out of it.
                                                                   ~ Erma Bombeck