I just had my left kidney removed this past Tuesday.

[Lint Head]

I'm still sore and taking major medications for pain. I'm home now and awaiting the biopsy data on the mass they found. The preliminary outlook is good and they feel they have removed everything that looked suspicious.

My thoughts have been with not only my family but the folks that do not have medical coverage and would never have found this type of mass and gone on to die from cancer. We need a public option for all Americans regardless of age. This "Medicare at 55" crap is just not good enough.
Better yet we need universal health care now. People are dying.

Another thing that was obvious. Corporate America has definitely taken over every aspect of the care one receives in a hospital while healing. The one thing that defined it all for me was the programming on the pitiful cable tv in my room. There was CNN, ESPN, Fox and several other vague and boring channels but there was also a proliferation of channels, no MSNBC, sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and health industry companies.

I feel lucky though I should not feel lucky. Luck should not be involved in whether someone lives or dies because they do not have health care.

[Thickasabrick]

1. Thanks for posting....feel better...and I totally agree with your sentiments. nt

[varelse]

2. Why did some dumbass unrec this post?

I am glad you came through the surgery ok. I hope everything goes well with the prognosis.

[Lint Head]

3. Thanks.

I've had lots of friends pulling for me and I've always had good friends and support here at DU when I needed encouragement.

[JohnnyLib2]

4. All kinds of good wishes for you.

:hug:

[Arctic Dave]

5. Get well soon my friend.

[Lint Head]

7. You are kind.

:loveya:

[Odin2005]

6. Get well soon!

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. Get well!

:-)

[intheflow]

9. Thank you.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this even with insurance and I hope you heal soon. :hug:

I agree with you on the "Medicare at 55" bullshit. I'm 45 and work two 15-hr/wk jobs, neither of which offers healthcare or sick leave pay. I've had the flu this week, have missed a week of work, which basically boils down to 1/4 of my monthly income, gone. I'm starting to feel better, but what if I relapse and need to see a doctor? Clinic guidelines say I make too much money to qualify for their care (I make just under $18K/yr) and I can't afford to go see a doctor, who all demand payment up front. I'd go if I could--I believe in preventive care, as it's certainly more cost-effective than late-term care--but I literally cannot afford it. And this is just the flu! If I had to have a liver removed I'd literally be homeless and penniless upon my release from the hospital.

[Lint Head]

11. I feel for you. I have friends in the same situation. Hopefully things

will change in the near future. I have an 18 year old son that works at a job but it's not full time.
He doesn't work enough hours to qualify for insurance. He is not currently in school so we cannot cover him on our at-work co-insurance. He is just out of luck unless he joins the military. I think that is part of the reason Congress will not pass total coverage for all. It's part of the incentive to join the military. There is 'more than meets the eye' when it comes to the reasons politicians don't support universal coverage.

[intheflow]

17. That makes sense.

I have a friend who suspects that's the reason why there's a big push to make abortion and birth control clinics inaccessible: so there will be plenty of poor young adults whose only option for a better life will be the military. :(

[barbtries]

31. i think so too

i think that's why it's become prohibitively expensive to get an education as well. they need bodies to throw at their fucking wars. cheap bodies. aargh.

i read the other day that it costs a million dollars to keep one soldier in afghanistan for one year. i would LOVE to see a breakdown of where that million dollars goes.

edited because i can't type this morning.

[laughingliberal]

54. "I think that is part of the reason Congress will not pass total coverage for all."

I think that is, likely, true. I had a duh moment last night when catching up with a friend on the phone. We talked extensively about the paltry help for getting people back to work after bailing out the banksters. Our talk turned to our disappointment over the Afghanistan escalation and she said, "Well, it's part of the same thing. As long as they keep these guys overseas they aren't showing up in unemployment numbers." It never occurred to me to think about that aspect of it.

Best of luck with your recovery from surgery. Will keep my fingers crossed about your test results.

[bluethruandthru]

10. You are 100 percent right!

We need to keep working toward single payer universal health care.

My best wishes to you for a speedy, successful recovery!

[StarfarerBill]

12. Keep getting better, and thanks for posting your thoughts.

:)

[slipslidingaway]

13. Best wishes and positive thoughts. n/t

[EFerrari]

14. Get well, Lint Head.

Only on DU do I read post ops posting out of concern for less fortunate people.

:loveya:

[blm]

15. I agree 100%.

And I have no idea why ANYONE would not understand the simplicity of it.

[tXr]

16. Get well soon!

Anyone with a Robert Johnson user pic is ok by me!

[ChicagoSuz219]

18. I'll keep you in my thoughts & prayers...

...for a full & speedy recovery!! (Right next to healthcare reform... ;-)

[donheld]

19. All the best to you

:hug:

[Th1onein]

20. Lint Head, I hope you recover soon and that the mass is benign.

My thoughts are with you.

[seemunkee]

21. Had my right one removed 2 years ago

Take care and watch your blood pressure.
I know what you mean, I'm lucky enough to have good health care. That's why my cancer was found and treated. Without it, I hate to think what would have happened.

[Stinky The Clown]

22. Get well, friend ..... and its obvious you're a liberal .......

..... through your own travails, you worry about someone else.

Good for you! :hug:

[niyad]

23. get well soon.

[JackDragna]

24. You should have every hope for recovery.

My father had his out when he was nearly 70..worked like a charm. Hope yours does, too. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

25. Get Well, and keep on caring.

There's so much in the world that's so wrong.... sometimes I think I might just explode at the wrongness of it all, so much beyond my control.....

But I always like your Robert Johnson pic :)

[SoCalDem]

26. Positive vibes to you.. and wishes for a speedy recovery

It is sad though, like you said, to have to be "lucky" to have medical care ..

and all that seems to be debated here in the US is what legislation needs to be made, to cover insurance PREMIUMS...not about the actual health CARE of people:grr:

[Hekate]

27. Best wishes for your recovery, and I hope our nation recovers its sanity one day. KnR

[monmouth]

28. Get well, feel well and thank you for a great post....n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. I am rec'ing this thread, not your kidney removal

Get well soonest!

[barbtries]

30. i feel you on all you said

and having said that, i am happy for you and wish you the best for a full and speedy recovery.

[Solly Mack]

32. Positive thoughts and well wishes!!!

[LeftishBrit]

33. Do get well soon!

[LibDemAlways]

34. I wish you a full and speedy recovery. The fact that

the politicians are not seriously overhauling healthcare to make it accessible and affordable for the masses....but they have unlimited funds to wage war against third world countries tells me all I need to know about this nation's priorities. Not only do people die unnecessarily, but those in a position to do something about it won't. When I hear someone pontificating that this is the greatest country in the world, I just shake my head. What fools.

[Lugnut]

35. Get well soon!

:hug:

[Iwillnevergiveup]

36. Lint Head, under the circumstances

I'm sure it was somewhat of an effort for you to post here. I really appreciate that!

All the best to you for a speedy and full recovery - we're pulling for you.

:hug:

[MissDeeds]

37. Glad you're on the mend, Lint Head

So kind of you to think of others at a time like this. Let's hope (and demand) that everyone in this country will soon have quality health care.

Take care, and visit us when you can. :hug:

[Altoid_Cyclist]

38. Best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery.

Hope that the biopsy results are positive also.

My wife lost one kidney to a Wilms tumor about 40 years ago and has had no problems since.

Maybe some day this country will join the other nations that realize that everyone has the right to health care that is affordable for ALL of its' citizens. In the meantime, you're correct about too many people having to rely on luck when it comes to life and death. That's way beyond pathetic since we hold ourselves up to be so much more advanced than most of the countries that we ridicule for "Socialized Programs".

[onehandle]

39. Best of luck.

Whether you feel the luck or not.



:)

[Fire1]

40. You're absolutely right, Lint Head and get well soon. n/t

[earcandle]

41. Thank you for being able to see from the specific to the general. Trust your healing is strong and

your biopsy normal. 

[amborin]

42. all best wishes to you!

[comrade snarky]

43. You know, there are easier ways to lose weight

:evilgrin:

Seriously, get better and the best of luck to you with the biopsy. You're right too, if all this bill does is lower medicare to 55 it's no where near enough.

[tpsbmam]

44. I hope you heal rapidly & completely. Thanks.....

for your excellent post. As one of the people without insurance, it's terrifying. I'm 54, disabled from MS, and have kidney disease. I had two hospitalizations this year due to the MS progressing (went from walking to wheelchair) -- needless to say, my medical bills are overwhelming. Fortunately, I live in a place where affordable decent preventive care is available and there is a program to provide care from specialists on a sliding scale basis, including for free (and LOTS of the specialists around here participate in the program). I can't get on disability/Medicare because of a ridiculous loophole in my case (believe me, I've tried, as has a good lawyer and there are too many people who are hit with the same loophole). So here I sit with no Medicare, no insurance, and no hope for insurance. Imagine how I feel as I watch our Democratic legislators make concession after concession, bow to their insurance industry overlords, snivel and grovel when the Republicans roar, and generally sell all of us out and put all of us in peril when it comes to our health, indeed our lives.


Edited to correct some bad wording.

Oh, and obviously K&R

[Joe Chi Minh]

45. K&R

[Mithreal]

46. K&R, may you heal quickly. I am lucky too atm and I agree.

No one should have to feel lucky this way.

[graywarrior]

47. I feel fortunate that I live in MA where I can receive medical coverage at no cost

Just had a lot of tests done after years of being afraid they'd find something I couldn't treat. I hope your tests come back negative for anything. I had a mass on my ovary 20 years ago and fortunately I had coverage that allowed surgery to remove a benign tumor. It kills me to think of those who cannot get treated because they have no coverage.

Take care and keep us informed. Glad you are doing better.

[Omaha Steve]

48. Glad your doing so well

K&R!

[Profprileasn]

49. Take care

Hope the healing continues and you feel better soon.

[Lenomsky]

50. If you are poor you die ..

far less burden on the rich stakeholders. WIN-WIN
Work your life away and die early perfect solution!

[knitter4democracy]

51. I lost my right one three years ago. I feel your pain.

I can't take pain meds, so I just had ibuprofen for it. That pain's a b****. Be gentle with yourself--it takes awhile to heal from that one.

My tumor was benign, though it took four pathologists a month to figure that out. If it takes awhile, let them work, and try not to stew, though it's really hard. If you want to talk, PM me any time.

I totally agree--everyone should have health care. Everyone.

[Demoiselle]

52. All the best...vibes and prayers.

[midnight]

53. Thanks for sharing, I hope you feel better...

[roguevalley]

55. Get well, honey. take care.

[defendandprotect]

56. And while recuperating, you're trying to warn us all and worrying about others . . .

:) :) :)

Yes -- it should be MEDICARE FOR ALL, EVERYONE IN - NO ONE OUT --

Speedy recovery -- Best wishes -- and if our government was made up of

people like you, we'd be on the right path!!


:hug:

[defendandprotect]

57. Too late to Rec . . .

[goclark]

58. Feel better and keep us updated mt