I received a comment yesterday from a father whose son has serious cancer. How does one respond?
I was hit within 24 hours of that by news that my new born grandson has strep B infection, 10% mortality rate with associated risks of awful complications. We are told that he is responding positively to antibiotics.
I have no easy answer. I believe in a sovereign God, and believe we release our loved one's into his final care, and death is not the ultimate tragedy. In the meantime I fast and pray that God will mercifully heal and also thank God for the antibiotics.
Twice this week I have been referred to Fanny Crosby's story. Blinded at the age of 6 weeks by a quack doctor, she went on to write many of our hymns. So one sees from her life the dangers of quack medicine, yet also how a life can still be devoted to God and pleasing to him in spite of blindness.......
Why has God led me to these stories? I trust and pray grandson is not blinded by the strep B, though doctors have already said he has a 50% chance of brain damage.
Sorry to fellow sufferers, I have no easy answer but prayer and fasting.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Shambolic NHS appointments system
Today we go for our fifth attempt to get a mammogram and its result. The process has so far taken well over a month, the Xray was taken on 20th August and it is now 25th September. It needed 5 interactions with the hospital. What a comment on the organisation of our NHS!
The Xray was taken on 20/8/09 and an appointment booked for a consultants visit to follow up. We expect ths to be all clear so should not take long. In fact a simple phone call to say "all clear" would suffice.
The NHS set an appointment for 4 Sept. But we had a phone call on 2 Sept to cancel this.
Rescheduled by NHS, not us, to 18 Sept, which was canceled by a phone call on 16 Sept.
Rescheduled again for the hospitals convenience to 24 September, an appointment at which we attended, a return journey of 30 miles. On arrival at reception we were told it was impossible for us to have been given an appointment for that day as no consultants, and not even a nurse trained in Xray interpretation was available that day. Jan showed them the confirmation letter they had sent, why sent it if the appointment was "impossible?"
Surely we need a management shake up, not more funds for cancer research?
The Xray was taken on 20/8/09 and an appointment booked for a consultants visit to follow up. We expect ths to be all clear so should not take long. In fact a simple phone call to say "all clear" would suffice.
The NHS set an appointment for 4 Sept. But we had a phone call on 2 Sept to cancel this.
Rescheduled by NHS, not us, to 18 Sept, which was canceled by a phone call on 16 Sept.
Rescheduled again for the hospitals convenience to 24 September, an appointment at which we attended, a return journey of 30 miles. On arrival at reception we were told it was impossible for us to have been given an appointment for that day as no consultants, and not even a nurse trained in Xray interpretation was available that day. Jan showed them the confirmation letter they had sent, why sent it if the appointment was "impossible?"
Surely we need a management shake up, not more funds for cancer research?
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Obama row over socialised medicineI
Interesting row seems to have developed over last few days as a senior UK conservative politician has said he would "not wish the NHS" onto the Americans.
Two days ago Gordon Brown appeared on our TV stating how good our health service was. Similarly our health minister stated that queues were small in the NHS.....
The truth? This blog records the accurate diary of one cancer sufferer, how test results were lost for 6 weeks and it took a year to get to see the consultant oncologist.....Each entry is accurately dated, a scan will reveal the aweful truth of Jan's treatment.
On the same day that this row broke out, a neighbour walked past to go for a swim on the nearby beach. He was pleased as punch to be fit again, having had a heart pacemaker fitted three months earlier....I asked, he had gone private. Why after paying taxes to cover this on the NHS did he pay yet again to go private?
His response was to get a quicker result, a 3 month wait in the private system instead of a 6 month wait on the NHS...he didn't want to wait six months as he described his condition before the op as being at half strength.
Obviously socialised medice as practised by the NHS in the UK means no means testing for vital treatment.
But it means our hospitals are strained by hypochondriacs and malingerers who have no financial dissuasion, and our waiting lists are long.
For the rich who can go private there is the farce of paying twice for the work, once direct to the hospital or insurance company, and again through taxes for a service one declines to use.
Two days ago Gordon Brown appeared on our TV stating how good our health service was. Similarly our health minister stated that queues were small in the NHS.....
The truth? This blog records the accurate diary of one cancer sufferer, how test results were lost for 6 weeks and it took a year to get to see the consultant oncologist.....Each entry is accurately dated, a scan will reveal the aweful truth of Jan's treatment.
On the same day that this row broke out, a neighbour walked past to go for a swim on the nearby beach. He was pleased as punch to be fit again, having had a heart pacemaker fitted three months earlier....I asked, he had gone private. Why after paying taxes to cover this on the NHS did he pay yet again to go private?
His response was to get a quicker result, a 3 month wait in the private system instead of a 6 month wait on the NHS...he didn't want to wait six months as he described his condition before the op as being at half strength.
Obviously socialised medice as practised by the NHS in the UK means no means testing for vital treatment.
But it means our hospitals are strained by hypochondriacs and malingerers who have no financial dissuasion, and our waiting lists are long.
For the rich who can go private there is the farce of paying twice for the work, once direct to the hospital or insurance company, and again through taxes for a service one declines to use.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Muslim now BBC head of religion
I was horrified to read this post in the Times on 12 May. One has to wonder about the "political correctness" that permeates our society. Ta appoint a Muslim as head of religious broadcasting at the BBC, the state broadcast medium of a supposed Christian country takes the biscuit.
It saddens me. I still thoroughly enjoy about every third programme in the "Songs of Praise" series. But I even find more than 50% of those programmes poor, and wrote to complain recently about an entire half hour programme broadcast in Welsh, which Aled Jones claimed was "God's own language".
Shame to see the BBC fall so far, particularly as I was an employee. I also notice they broadcast evolution as scientific fact, and try to prevent an Evangelical Christian broadcaster in Holland using their programmes with these unproven claims omitted. How the BBC has lost its way!
It saddens me. I still thoroughly enjoy about every third programme in the "Songs of Praise" series. But I even find more than 50% of those programmes poor, and wrote to complain recently about an entire half hour programme broadcast in Welsh, which Aled Jones claimed was "God's own language".
Shame to see the BBC fall so far, particularly as I was an employee. I also notice they broadcast evolution as scientific fact, and try to prevent an Evangelical Christian broadcaster in Holland using their programmes with these unproven claims omitted. How the BBC has lost its way!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Jade Goody turns to Christ as cancer advances
There has ben much news on cancer recently. I found the story of Jade Goody, a loud and foul mouthed Essex girl who turned to Jesus as her death from cervical cancer approached very moving..
Holidays!
Oops, a long time since the last post...Why?
Jan had her annual check with the oncologist in April. For the first time ever she actually saw the consultant, an oncologist who gave confidence she knew what she was talking about, unlike earlier apointments where so often the replies were "I don't know", or even worse panic inducing tests for potential new cancers.
All was clear, so we jetted off to Portugal for a couple of weeks break on the Algarve!
Jan had her annual check with the oncologist in April. For the first time ever she actually saw the consultant, an oncologist who gave confidence she knew what she was talking about, unlike earlier apointments where so often the replies were "I don't know", or even worse panic inducing tests for potential new cancers.
All was clear, so we jetted off to Portugal for a couple of weeks break on the Algarve!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Prayer in US, yet banned in the UK
We watched a thrilling TV program tonight on Dr Ben Carson, one of the US leading paediatric neurosurgeons. He is a devout Christian who has led the world in seeing "miraculous" recoveries of patients for whom other doctors had given up hope.
He states he prays before each surgery, and asks his patient to do the same as their homework and contribution to the team. The results speak for themselves, this guy is world renowned, and even gets onto TV in the UK....
Yet what of our NHS? Will they learn from such leaders? It seems we are determined to suppress any formal mention of God. Recently a nurse has been suspended just for offering to pray for an elderly patient. The patient was not even offended! Yet the nurse was suspended.
From the BBC:
Community nurse Caroline Petrie says she asked an elderly woman patient during a home visit if she wanted her to say a prayer for her. Mrs Petrie follows the Baptist faith.
He states he prays before each surgery, and asks his patient to do the same as their homework and contribution to the team. The results speak for themselves, this guy is world renowned, and even gets onto TV in the UK....
Yet what of our NHS? Will they learn from such leaders? It seems we are determined to suppress any formal mention of God. Recently a nurse has been suspended just for offering to pray for an elderly patient. The patient was not even offended! Yet the nurse was suspended.
From the BBC:
Community nurse Caroline Petrie says she asked an elderly woman patient during a home visit if she wanted her to say a prayer for her. Mrs Petrie follows the Baptist faith.
The woman wasn't offended but was concerned that someone else might be". As a result of this Mrs Petrie was suspended, without pay, on 17 December 2008 and will find out the outcome of her disciplinary meeting next week. You can sign a petition on her behalf here.
It could be excusable of we had proof that our NHS treatment beat Dr Ben Carson's, but it doesn't. It seem so sad that our NHS take such a line, something that has only come in over the least 30 - 40 years. A London hospital in the 1970s used to start each day with prayers on the wards, and Jan regularly prayed with her patients. What we have lost...
Sunday, March 1, 2009
1 year anniversary - all clear
Jan had her first year anniversary checkup 2 days ago, thankfully all clear. Jan saw the consultant surgeon, who merely felt her breast, and was unconcerned so no mammogram was taken.
As neither he nor she could not feel the original cancer, it only showed on mammogram and then ultrasound this is not too re-assuring, but a mammogram is scheduled for 6 months time.
The nest day I reflected on how we relied on a clear outcome, and how devastating a recurrence of cancer would be. We have just booked two foreign holidays for the next 3 months without any cancellation insurance. Any re-arranging to fit around hospital visits would be so depressing. So we thank God for this good news.
Jan continues with a slight skin rash, attributed to the long since abandoned Tamoxifen, and pain in her shoulder, attributed to Arimidex. But so far she lives with that to reduce the risk of recurrence.
As neither he nor she could not feel the original cancer, it only showed on mammogram and then ultrasound this is not too re-assuring, but a mammogram is scheduled for 6 months time.
The nest day I reflected on how we relied on a clear outcome, and how devastating a recurrence of cancer would be. We have just booked two foreign holidays for the next 3 months without any cancellation insurance. Any re-arranging to fit around hospital visits would be so depressing. So we thank God for this good news.
Jan continues with a slight skin rash, attributed to the long since abandoned Tamoxifen, and pain in her shoulder, attributed to Arimidex. But so far she lives with that to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Socialised medicine - Betsy Kulman
An entry on the UK NHS socialised medicine so that Betsy can ask questions by way of comment.
Socialised medicine is something that we (or at least our government) have been very proud of.
The benefits are that we see our friends receiving modern medical treatment as needed, with almost no regard for cost. Two friends have recently had nerve grafts to recover from cancer and industrial accidents. This is high tech medicine. A german immigrant had his life saved by a UK liver transplant.
However if leads to great inefficiencies:
So I sometimes envy rich Greeks or Americans who have health insurance and choose the best hospital for each treatment as needed.
Socialised medicine is something that we (or at least our government) have been very proud of.
The benefits are that we see our friends receiving modern medical treatment as needed, with almost no regard for cost. Two friends have recently had nerve grafts to recover from cancer and industrial accidents. This is high tech medicine. A german immigrant had his life saved by a UK liver transplant.
However if leads to great inefficiencies:
- Overload due to excessive expectation. Callers to the ambulance service rang to ask crew to help wrap up Christmas presents, and to request an ambulance for a fashion photo shoot because the blue lights would look good..
- Many maligerers visit doctors rather than working
- Inefficiency that seems endemic in any large government run body
- Over regulation prohibits development of alternative treatments - Mexico seems better than the UK on this.
- Excessive and politically manipulated waiting lists. Jan's radiotherapy was way later than government targets. My earlier posts list many NHS delays and manipulations.
- Political interference - we could not top up Jan's NHS teatment by paying ourselves for additional drugs without losing all NHS treatment - the government claim this is to ensure fairness! Is it fair that I cannot spend my after tax hard earned money as I want?
- It is run as a mechanised production line for statistical efficiency rather than as a caring organisation. Staff have been "removed" for offering prayer support. We pay car parking charges just to attend the hospital. Sometimes these are longer than necessary because our shambolic hospital organisation always results in long delays.
- Ambulances have been wheel clamped whilst parked at the hospital!
So I sometimes envy rich Greeks or Americans who have health insurance and choose the best hospital for each treatment as needed.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The drawbacks of UK's socialised NHS
Jan had a further check up between Christmas and the New Year. All was well, the dermatologist reckoned Jan's skin reaction was caused by an allergy to Tamoxifen, so was not Paget's disease or anything untoward.
The visit brought home a snag of our socialised medicine, which enables any waif and stray to demand attention whether needed or not. A consultation fee would stop much time wasting of our hospital staff, which of course has escalated by drunks over the Christmas holiday. A fee might also encourage some respect for our medical staff.
I write this as whilst visiting the hospital we passed a loud youth calling a doctor an "arsehole". |It saddens me that youths can be so uncouth to staff we need to prolong Jan's life!
The visit brought home a snag of our socialised medicine, which enables any waif and stray to demand attention whether needed or not. A consultation fee would stop much time wasting of our hospital staff, which of course has escalated by drunks over the Christmas holiday. A fee might also encourage some respect for our medical staff.
I write this as whilst visiting the hospital we passed a loud youth calling a doctor an "arsehole". |It saddens me that youths can be so uncouth to staff we need to prolong Jan's life!
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