There are quite a few of these videos on YouTube; this is a brief compilation of a few of them. They wipe me out, but I love them. God bless our men and women in uniform. Whether they ever see combat, or not, they make sacrifices in order to serve us all. Some sacrifice everything they have. Dear God, please don't let their sacrifices be for nothing!
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I haven't blogged much, of late. My mom had a minor stroke, over a week ago; minor, but it took a significant toll on her, anyway. She was in the hospital for two days, and then returned to her apartment. I went over to do what I could to help both her and my sister, who--along with my niece--had done yeoman's duty, and then some. I was actually there for only three days, with two long driving days. We accomplished everything that we wanted to get done, except for getting her switched to a doctor specializing in geriatric medicine.
Cain't be done, they said. Naturally. A specialist can't possibly be a primary physician, now, can he (or she)? So just exactly how does an elderly person take advantage of the knowledge and training of someone who has studied and done a residency in geriatric medicine?
CLARIFICATION: I am told that I wasn't clear about why we didn't get mom switched to a doctor whose specialty is geriatric medicine. It wasn't that we couldn't find one; the insurance person my sister spoke with said that, because geriatrics is a specialty, such a doctor can't be the primary-care physician.
Okay. I know that is the way our stupid, mismanaged-care system operates, and certainly, few people would need a surgeon or an orthopedist or a dermatologist for primary care. But we're talking about elderly people, whose needs are not always well understood by other doctors, maybe because their needs are not only physical. Our aged may be angry and/or depressed simply because they are old, their bodies are broken down, their memories are failing them, and they lose more and more control over their lives and their very selves. They may take out their anger on a doctor who isn't able to fix their aches, pains, and memory lapses, and it must take a whole lot of compassion for a doctor to be able to respond in a caring manner. I'm making a broad assumption that someone who specializes in geriatric medicine really has a heart for older people. I could be wrong.
Anyway, the reason we couldn't hook Mom up with such a doctor is that her insurance won't allow it. We think it's an utterly stupid policy, because it bars access to the kind of care aged folks need. I have to wonder who gets seen by a geriatric physician, and how that person gets there.
CLARIFICATION #2: Originally, I used two different terms in reference to the branch of medicine focused on elderly patients and their needs. The two terms are gerontology and geriatric, but they do not mean the same thing. The correct term is geriatric, and I have made the corrections, above.
