I hate these stories

I hate these stories about the tragedy befalling someone because of missed medical tests. They are 'tragic' and the media picks them up and tells us about the tragedy and this poor person is going to die.

This is one about a woman in England who had breast cancer and now has brain tumors and was told that she has weeks to live. The media tries to blame this one on the health care system. I'm sorry and its a tragic story but still the patient should have done more on her part as well.

If you go to the doctor and they tell you its whatever - arthritis - and gives you medication. You take the medication and it doesn't work, you need to go back to the doctor and say this isn't working and demand more care. If its still a problem keep going back to the doctor until you are feeling better. If you still are refused care, find another doctor. You can't sit there and let them tell you its nothing if its something that gets worse.

I'm such a patient patient, I would be hanging out in my doctor's waiting room and getting more opinions to find out what is wrong.

Being a patient is a two way street. If you go to the doctor, you need to listen to their instructions and avoid them at your peril. If you follow their instructions, you should expect to feel better in the long run. On the other hand if you go to the doctor and follow their instructions and don't get better or achieve the expected results, speak up and demand more. Don't sit back in pain or discomfort and let them tell you its nothing.

Time to tone it down

Why does it take a tragedy like what happened yesterday in Arizona to make us realize that there has been too much mudslinging and polarization in the past few years? We need to tone it down. We are all entitled to our own opinions and to talk about them and discuss them and allow others to disagree. We are not entitled to make targets out of others in any manner.

In addition to the shooting in Tucson yesterday which left a politician and others injured and caused 6 deaths including a child, six middle school girls in Nevada are in trouble for targeting teachers on Facebook. One girl posted and five others responded. They were all arrested. These girls have learned behavior from what they have seen take place around them.

What I don't understand is why this is an acceptable behavior. Sarah Palin, before the elections, posted a target list with cross hairs on Facebook that said 'don't retreat, reload'. I don't care about your politics - as I said everyone is entitled to their own opinion - and your opinion of Ms. Palin, but I fail to see how this is an acceptable behavior.

I have always thought the US was a good place to live. We can have an election without it resulting in a political coup, riots, or a revolution. I am trying to live my relatively quiet life with out a lot of stress and distress from the outside - as I have enough of that from my own life. The time is now to tone things down and not focus on what others are doing that you don't like, but what is an acceptable way to live with our differences.