The Deal Is!

You know how they say you should “get a second opinion” when it comes to doctors or your health in general? It’s true and it’s also true that you should always check to make sure your doctor doesn’t have his or her head up their ass, and make sure they tell you what they did after they did it, especially if they said they were going to do something else!

Case in point: I developed a hernia in my right lower abdomen in the spring of 2009, and my family medical doctor (who is now my former doctor-read on to find out why) referred me to a certain general surgeon in Tacoma. This surgeon was described to me as “really good.” Maybe that wasn’t enough.

The Surgeon (who I will not name here-read on to find out why) told me prior to the surgery that he was going to insert a small mesh patch over the herniated area and sew me up and I would be “good to go” for many years down the road. The surgery was scheduled for August 7^th, the year of our Lord, 2009. Sorry, I had to be a smart ass for just a moment. Now, this is the point in the story where you need to remove the children and faint of heart from the room.

The Surgeon came to talk to me in my hospital room after the surgery. He told me that after he had opened me up, the plan suddenly changed and he had to use a medium patch instead of a small one. I was on major pain killers at time, was in a lot of pain and really didn’t give a rat’s ass what he had to say. But I’m glad now that my wife was in the room at time. She’s now a witness.

I complained to the Surgeon for two months after my surgery that I did not feel like I was getting any better, and in fact sometimes I was feeling worse. I told him I could actually feel the patch inside me and he told me I was imagining things, and there was no way I could be feeling anything like that. That is exactly what he said. He then told me if I had any more problems I should go see my family doctor as he (the Surgeon) was not going to deal with me anymore, since I didn’t have a problem and it was all in my head.

From late 2009 until November of this year, I have made dozens and dozens to visits to my (former) family doctor’s office, complaining of pain. We’re not talking about just garden variety pain here. I mean PAIN. I mean as in screwing up your life pain. We’re talking about pain that has been so bad over time, that I lost my job in July of this year from too many absences from work. Before you rush to judgment, let me explain what kind of person I am and what I’m not. I’m not a “woosie.” This has not been “oh I just don’t want to go to work so I’ll pretend I’m in pain crap.” People who know me know about the extremely active life I have lived since I was a kid. I’ve been more physically active in my 40’s than many young men in their 20’s. I’ve jumped off high things and done things at high speed. Physically grueling activities. I’ve “played through the pain.” So you see, when I say I have been in pain, I mean it.

My (former) family doctor during this entire time has diagnosed me as having Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a urinary infection (without doing a single test!), bad diet and eating habits, stress (geez go figure), and I have even had such answers like “I don’t know what’s wrong with you.”

Last month I decided I was tired of taking prescription pain killers for an entire year and took some action on my own. I went to the hospital and got a copy of my operative report from my surgery. It was a bit hard to understand but I found the brand name of the patch implanted in me. Specifically, it’s a Bard brand Kugel patch. The Kugel patch is a piece of synthetic mesh with a nylon ring sort of built into the outer diameter to help hold the patch in place after surgery. Want to have some fun? Do a Google search on those patches and see what you find. It’s not pretty. I found that the specific patch that the Surgeon used has been deemed un-wise to use in surgery by the U.S. FDA and a Federal Judge because of product defects. There are tons of law suits pending regarding this product. I did more research and have recently found out the Bard Kugel patch that is inside me right now is coming apart. No, that’s not a typo. The patch is now in more than one piece. It’s doing damage to the tissue inside me, is damaging my colon and maybe much of my digestive tract, and causing problems with certain private parts that I would rather not name here.

Needless to say, I have dumped my former family doctor (now you know why!) and have a new family doctor who I have found to be very, very intelligent and well read. A very knowledgeable guy. When I consulted with him for the first time about two weeks ago, I didn’t even get half way through my horror story when he stopped me short. He said “I think something went wrong with the surgery.” Wow! Enlightenment! I’m consulting with a NEW surgeon this week to see what we can do to fix me. Oh, and lest I forget, I’m currently consulting with a couple of attorney’s too. The manufacturer of the patch, in my opinion, manufactured a piece of shit and the Surgeon used a patch to repair my hernia that he should not have even considered using! This is why I am not naming names, for legal reasons I think it’s wise not to with legal action pending.

If you must have surgery done on yourself, your family members, your neighbor, etc., don’t just blindly trust the people with the knives. It’s no coincidence that you see so many television commercials about suing “Such and Such Company” because of medical negligence. The companies that make things that repair us and the medicines we swallow are of no higher quality than Wal-Mart. This is not meant to be a slam against Wal-Mart, I shop there. Hey, if you want low prices, geez! A no brainer, right? But Wal-Mart is also known for crappy quality and products that come apart. Unfortunately, the same has become true of the companies that we hire and trust to hold our bodies together too. Don’t forget: “Medical patiens caveo.” That’s Latin for “Medical Patients Beware.”

There are many reason for purchasing a garden water fountain or garden waterfall. The most obvious one is to enhance the look of your garden or patio but there are many other benefits. There are some other benefits for purchasing a fountain that are often overlooked!

In the home or office a water fountain can be welcoming, and serve as a beautiful art piece. Water fountains can be used in foyers as a way to invite your guests into your office or home, in the living area and in doctors or dentists waiting rooms to calm the waiting patients. The peaceful sounds of running water can be a big help in times of stress. In meditation the goal is to find a higher sense of calmness and peace and the perfect water fountain can help to achieve this goal.

Continue reading if you like riddles It is a camping trip companion You can take it your to your college dorm It’s perfect company for a sleep-over at your friend’s house The simple answer to this riddle is airbeds

The circumstances in the riddle are pretty commonplace . At one time or another, most people must have considered buying airbeds . There are so many models and types to choose from . An informed choice could be achieved with research. Relying on pricing will not suffice. The best choice may not be the cheapest or the costliest. I personally love sleeping on my double airbed

All the necessary accessories must go with airbeds . It must have an air pump otherwise the purchase would be useless. The product catalog should be consulted thoroughly. Determine how long the airbed will be used, whether it’s just temporary or permanent . Decide on the desirable add-ons such as adjustment devices, built-in pillow and air-pump system.

Bear in mind that an airbed is quite different from a regular mattress. Regular beds are more comfortable even though an airbed has been designed well. An airbed with a good foam would be a superb choice. This foam is the layer atop the plastic housing of the airbed. Memory foam as this top layer offer an excellent choice. This type of foam provides the right padding so you won’t feel just lying on air bladders . This layer should approximate the feeling of lying on a regular mattress . I keep a inflatable single bed in my guestroom.

Try to avoid pre-assembled airbeds, which could cost more in terms of shipping . Some airbed models have frames or other components that have to be assembled . It is therefore a necessity that your skill level is enough for such an assembly. If you are bringing the airbed for camping, better choose those with sturdy design and portable power supply for the pumps .

One good airbed to consider is the Simmons Beauty Rest . This is a multiple-capacity airbed suitable for travelling couples that wish to sleep together . However, if you intend to have more than two people sleep on it, it is better to first check the limit capacity of these air beds.

A high-end airbed that would be right if you want one is the Somma Air Mattress. With its high price matched with its higher quality, this airbed works more as a permanent bed . Another homebound airbed is the Serta Air Mattress . While it is a good airbed, frequent recharging of its pump is needed because it is limited power storage .

Convenience is the main selling point of the Wenzel Air Mattress, which has a pump built in . It needs batteries to operate, but you won’t be bothered with carrying a pump .

There’s an especially designed airbed for babies, the Air Flow Mattress . It is reputed to prevent the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) that occurs among newborns . This airbed has crib-friendly designs, which keep air flowing towards the infants and help prevent SIDS . All my kids sleep on a children’s airbed.

We went to the Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Wa the other day, we typically get over that way about once a week.  We had a waitress that was absolutely terrible.  I won’t mention her name here but it rhymes with booth and the first letter is an “R.”  She’s an older lady with glasses.  She’s been waiting there for a while since we’ve been going for the past year or more I have seen her a handful of times.  She started to take our order then proceeded to ask my 11 year old daughter how old she was as she attempted to order.  My daughter said that she was 11 going on 12 and the waitress said that she would have to pick different food since she was too old to order from the kid’s menu that the hostess had provided her with.  My daughter felt uncomfortable and told me she didn’t want to eat at all now.  I ended up ordering and sharing with my child.  The waitress asked if I wanted to hefty size my meal since we were sharing, I told her, “No!”  I ordered hot tea and she brought me the tea bags and hot water, I proceeded to make a cup of tea.  She came and picked up our salad plates next and then started to remove the rest of the tea bags from the table, when I asked her if she could leave the tea she said she could not but if I wanted to take a bag I could.  I felt like she was really pushing buttons here, I know everything she was doing was probably “by the book” but it just felt riduculous.  It was pretty obvious that she was trying to get the bill as high as she could so she would get a higher tip.  She kept asking if we wanted to upsize things and telling us what we could and could not do etc.  We felt very strange about the whole ordeal.  I will not be frequenting this restaurant again for a long while.  Another thing that is annoying about the Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma Wa is that there is paid parking outside.  This is Tacoma people, it’s the Spaghetti Factory, it is not a 5 star restaurant, and this is not a major metroplois.  I would rather go to Joespeepi’s where they tell us they are “Happy to Have Us” every time we eat there.  Joe is always friendly and the food there is just as good as The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, WA.  Joeseppi’s is on North 26th and Pearl Street in Tacoma, WA and their number is 253-761-5555.  Might I reccommend the ravioli with the duo which is both red and white sauces and the spaghetti there is great also.  If you get it to go ask to have the sauce in a seperate container from the noodles so it doesn’t get messy in the bag.