Sadness

I hope as I write that I find the title for this entry. Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful day that was overshadowed by sadness,  My wife is an O.B. nurse at a local women's clinic. Last year Kaiser Permanente notified the local private clinics that they were cancelling all contracts with them. What this meant for my wife's clinic was a loss of 40% of their patients. At the time the notice was served, there were four baby doctors in the clinic.One of the doctors realized right away that the clinic could no longer sustain 4 physicians and moved his practice back east somewhere. A few months later the writing was on the wall. The clinic would not survive. This clinic was opened in 1924 by the great grandfather of one of the Doctors currently on staff at the clinic and three generations of that family had delivered babies in our community out of that clinic. If this is hard to follow I am sorry. It would be much easier to name names but for the sake of the family I feel I must keep them anonymous. A month or so ago the 2nd doctor from the clinic retired. Another o.b.doctor to take his place could not be found and with only 2 physicians on staff the clinic could no longer stay open. Last Friday, the third doctor, the great grandson of the founding father so to speak took his own life. Rumor has it he never told his father that the clinic was closing. He left behind a wife and 2 daughters in collage. Tears flow as think of the pain all who knew him are now forced to endure. He was loved by his family, his staff, and his patients. He delivered thousands of babies in his 40 years of practice.
   What the hell is this world coming to. What gives big profitable cooperation s the right to come to town and destroy lives. The above mentioned Doctor even applied at Kaiser Permanente and they would not hire him. Cooperate America is not God. The bottom line is not all that matters. Every day decisions are made for all the wrong reasons. When did things get so screwed up? What happened to doing things to make people's lives better? Does anybody do anything without asking what is in it for me? I hear a lot these days about paying it forward and random acts of kindness but those phrases do not apply to the .5% They only apply to the pawns of the world.
    How dare a Man who was so loved by so many commit such a stupid selfish act and cause so much pain.

Who am I to judge..... 8 years ago I was the one who tried to end his life. I get it. I understand better than most I suppose. I can barely read the words I am typing through the tears and I ask myself why. I barely knew the man. I only met him a couple of times.
    I tried to save the clinic. The committee I sit on within my ;labor union met with officials from Kaiser to try and get them to reconsider. They were really nice to us but there was no way they were going to change their minds. I am so angry.
   Today I must go to the Kaiser oncology infusion room and get my bone strengthening infusion.

I Get it. I understand. When I go to Kaiser, no matter what for, I pay $25.00........ A $40,000.00 Provenge treatment cost me $25.00 A surgery cost me $25.00. No matter what prescription I need it costs me $25.00 and all cancer meds are free.


I could go to the local mom and pop furniture and electronics store and buy myself a new t.v. or I could go to Walmart and get the same t.v. for a couple hundred bucks less. We get what we pay for. Everything around us is changing and we are the reason for it. Obamacare will soon be fully enacted and I predict we will see more and more of this kind of thing happening. I was one who thought it was a good idea. I am no longer so sure of that. Lets face it. We get what we pay for. Good aint cheap and cheap aint good. Sure it will provide healthcare for a ton of people who didn't have it before but who is going to pay for it.
  I am done writing for the day. I still don't have a title. I think I will call this post sadness. Todd