Thursday, September 6, 2018
Word of the Day (Not Tistrya this time)
Lodestar: Who would ever have thought that an elegant word such as lodestar could be a threat to its user.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Perfect Timing
A surgeon operating at Stratton VA Medical Center performed radio-frequency ablations on patients at Stratton. He was unable to do the ablation but let the patients think he had. When later MRI's showed increased size of mass, he informed them the masses were residual or recurrent. The report from the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General said this was inaccurate and deprived the patients of full understanding and the option to select another provider.
The OIG report noted that the surgeon "did not have adequate documentation showing competence to perform the procedure." The OIG made recommendation to Stratton VA to improve their processes. The surgeon was not disciplined. Or named.
Likely scenario: Doctor hears about fairly new procedure called Radiofrequency Ablation. He thinks, "Ah, new, sounds easy." And though he has no training in this specialty, he decides to try his hand. He found he was not able to ablate anything, but didn't admit to it. When follow-up testing showed increased mass size, he told the patients either the tumor was left over from the ablation or was a new growth altogether. That can be called misrepresentation, but seems more like an outright lie. The surgeon was not disciplined, or named.
The article states that the patients were referred to an interventional radiologist who treated the patients successfully. So Surgeon #1 was evidently not in that field; the OIG report noted he lacked adequate documentation and they recommended the hospital review its credentialing program. YOU THINK!
Disoriented Maybe
Somewhat improved. Morphine takes its toll, I'm told.
Monday, September 3, 2018
Out of the Frying Pan
Not referring to my grandson's frying pan. He was a winner in a game on the midway of the Schaghticoke Fair. He chose as his prize not the typical stuffed animal or the usual doodads, but a frying pan. Yes, it was one of the prizes offered. He said it was for his father, but he garnered so much attention with his selection, testament to his individuality, that when he got home he hung it on the wall of his bedroom.
But going from the frying pan to what lies beyond is an entirely different matter. My frying pan, figurative of course, brimmed over these past few weeks, fueled by delays, repetitions and misunderstandings which came to a boil or broil almost simultaneously.
Maybe needed medical attention, I gathered, by the way she was eating and her gazing at me with a low meow, as if I could help her in some way. Or so I concluded. So off to the vet's, but she could not have just a single visit, She needed examinations, inoculations, and medical clearances first. So her primary visit, for dental extractions, had to be scheduled several weeks away, to tomorrow, Sept. 4. Not an optimal time period, as stuff needs to be picked up post-Fair, and her Lyft driver has conflicts with her primary employment.
As ongoing for many years now, plans for baking fair entries were expected to be as usual, in regular period of time. But conflicts arose. Not only did bakers have other obligations to work around, primarily sports in nature, but the baking mentor had unexpected appointments as well.
Recommendation for a procedure was made, the expected date was set, pre-procedural events carried out, well before the month of September, and Fair Time. So far in advance of September, that when another date was set, all the pre-procedural testing had to be repeated. The accepted time lapse is 30 days, not 31. Medical clearance appointment: Aug. 31, third day of the fair. In addition, in early August, I perceived a minor but potentially significant complication from a previous dermatologist's visit. Only available appointment: Aug. 29, first day of the fair.
Alternate medical visits with cookie baking, time's of the essence. and of course the entries have to be brought to the designated departments just days before the start of the fair.
Our upholstered furniture has suffered, time to replace it. Company is coming, Dave will be arriving. Furniture ordered in August, and to be delivered, with old stuff removed, weeks before the Fair. But no, delivery was delayed, then delayed again, so arrival was set for August 30, my chosen day to attend the fair, but truck arrived too late for that to happen. No fair for me that day.
So August, with all its activities, has come and gone. Same for the fair, Visitors have also made their appearances and left. The house is empty, just me, the cat and the new furniture.
Tomorrow is the day after Labor Day: If all goes as planned, the cat will be transported to the vets, to be picked up after her tooth / teeth extractions. We will pick up the fair-ravaged entries, and the ribbons, and attempt to cash the award checks.
All the activities which overfilled the spaces on my calendar for the last weeks are in the past. Only a single entry remains, the calendar square is marked for one week from today.
In exiting the frying pan of the cliche, the hope is to avoid stepping into the fire.
But going from the frying pan to what lies beyond is an entirely different matter. My frying pan, figurative of course, brimmed over these past few weeks, fueled by delays, repetitions and misunderstandings which came to a boil or broil almost simultaneously.
Maybe needed medical attention, I gathered, by the way she was eating and her gazing at me with a low meow, as if I could help her in some way. Or so I concluded. So off to the vet's, but she could not have just a single visit, She needed examinations, inoculations, and medical clearances first. So her primary visit, for dental extractions, had to be scheduled several weeks away, to tomorrow, Sept. 4. Not an optimal time period, as stuff needs to be picked up post-Fair, and her Lyft driver has conflicts with her primary employment.
As ongoing for many years now, plans for baking fair entries were expected to be as usual, in regular period of time. But conflicts arose. Not only did bakers have other obligations to work around, primarily sports in nature, but the baking mentor had unexpected appointments as well.
Recommendation for a procedure was made, the expected date was set, pre-procedural events carried out, well before the month of September, and Fair Time. So far in advance of September, that when another date was set, all the pre-procedural testing had to be repeated. The accepted time lapse is 30 days, not 31. Medical clearance appointment: Aug. 31, third day of the fair. In addition, in early August, I perceived a minor but potentially significant complication from a previous dermatologist's visit. Only available appointment: Aug. 29, first day of the fair.
Alternate medical visits with cookie baking, time's of the essence. and of course the entries have to be brought to the designated departments just days before the start of the fair.
Our upholstered furniture has suffered, time to replace it. Company is coming, Dave will be arriving. Furniture ordered in August, and to be delivered, with old stuff removed, weeks before the Fair. But no, delivery was delayed, then delayed again, so arrival was set for August 30, my chosen day to attend the fair, but truck arrived too late for that to happen. No fair for me that day.
So August, with all its activities, has come and gone. Same for the fair, Visitors have also made their appearances and left. The house is empty, just me, the cat and the new furniture.
Tomorrow is the day after Labor Day: If all goes as planned, the cat will be transported to the vets, to be picked up after her tooth / teeth extractions. We will pick up the fair-ravaged entries, and the ribbons, and attempt to cash the award checks.
All the activities which overfilled the spaces on my calendar for the last weeks are in the past. Only a single entry remains, the calendar square is marked for one week from today.
In exiting the frying pan of the cliche, the hope is to avoid stepping into the fire.
Wrong Shoes Oh, the Horror.
It was a dream but it could happen: I was going somewhere, a rather important visit, and was dressed for the occasion. We were more than half way there when I saw that I had forgotten to change my shoes. I wear the same pair of old shoes every single day around the house and in the yard---green DKNY slides. I can't wait to change into them every time I come home. They may not be as bad as they look, which is horrifically gross, as I throw them into the washing machine on a regular basis. But this is what I saw:
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