4 Years of Blogging

Recent events caused me to sort of miss my 4th anniversary of writing Random Thoughts Of A Random Guy From A Random Place Up In The Sky. A pretty good summary of the entire health story can be found here in a very good guest written article. So, allow me to crow a bit on this 4th anniversary about what I feel were pretty dang good articles and eat crow a bit about articles that failed.

Last year, I recorded a short video about writing this blog and it was 5 days before the first blood was in the urine, thus starting me down the long road that I am still walking on to this day. A lot can happen in a year. Have I pondered the health thing long enough now? OK, here are a few of the eat crow articles that come to mind.

In no particular order are the following, such as, "Riveting Testimony By Fetus", which I found funny, but has been by far the most ignored. Therefore, it is in the eat crow bin; I mean, only 8 views in four years? Maybe the counter for this one was 'accidentally' shut off. However, this next one was a definite stinker. What the hell was I thinking when writing and then publishing this one? Why didn't I just link the videos and be done with it? Then, there was this failed attempt at satire and political smugness. At least, that's what I thought I was going for, when I should have obviously been going for another bottle. Here, I'm just rehashing old opinions that have been better served and then stapling it to the cause du jour. Very eating crow-ish! Finally, I'll add this one because my gesture was NOT reciprocated and by pointing out that it was NOT reciprocated also shows I can be a bit vindictive at times.

All right, let's move on to the crow a bit articles. Again, in no particular order. OK, I'll admit I like this one because it was the very first and was largely ignored, too. "The Strange & Deadly Journey Of Navy Seal Team 6" is not only wildly popular (for my blog anyway), but I really like how it all came together in a coherent fashion. It's was strange and deadly narrative, too. What's this? More stuff about Obama? Well, for awhile there, him and his administration were a source of a lot of WTF moments. Nothing has happened since then to alter the facts written therein. Well, here is one of the several, "what the hell, this makes no sense, but is being passed off as average news that we won't examine any further" articles I have written. I will also admit I'm very pleased with this series of articles about John Lennon's songwriting and such during his tenure with that obscure rock combo from Liverpool. And just to round things off a bit, here are two more: one where I admit my guilty pleasure of enjoying "Gilligan's Island" and the still bafflingly overly popular post about Mitt Romney eating children. Baffling to me anyway why it's so dang popular. Yeah, it's funny and sort of pointed, but still...

Those are my choices and, as always, the reader is free to pick and choose their own. My biggest complaint, however, is the constant removal of links, photos and videos that can sometimes ruin an article. It's rather difficult keeping up with that and replacing said removals.

It's been an interesting four years as I went from living in Portland to making the huge leap of faith and moving to Los Angeles. Getting cancer along the way is what Mr. Spock might have called, "fascinating". Thanks again to you, kind and gentle readers, for supporting this blog, and I hope you continue to enjoy future random thoughts.

 

The Service Requested is Not Medically Necessary...

Written by Justin Lane
(guest author)

The Affordable Care Act was admittedly, a step forward. Millions of Americans who could not access health care before because of costs and pre-existing conditions are finally able to access the medical services they need. That said, it is far from a perfect system – and is a poor substitute for publicly-funded, guaranteed, no fuss, no-nonsense health care services enjoyed by those living in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany (which instituted universal health care in 1872), France and virtually every other industrialized nation. Periodically, there are reminders that health care services in the United States are still operated by a corrupt, for-profit system – and too many Americans are still falling through the cracks.

Case in point – Rod H.
An aspiring actor residing in Los Angeles, Rod's income disqualified him from obtaining insurance through California's marketplace. Fortunately, California is one of the states that has adopted the Medicare Expansion, so he was able to obtain coverage through Medi-Cal. Unfortunately, when the rubber hit the road and Rod was in serious need of medical attention, the company he wound up with – a “managed care” network known as “Preferred IPA” – demonstrated that in many ways, the bad old days of bureaucracy, denials and “profits over people,” bottom line corporate mentality are still with us.

Given Drugs and Sent Home
Rod had been with Preferred IPA only a short time when he began experiencing pain and started noticing blood in his urine. While there are multiple reasons as to why this occurs, it's generally a symptom of a serious medical condition – and not one to simply be ignored. Rod went to a nearby emergency room at the beginning of August, 2014. Diagnosis: infection. Treatment: send patient home with antibiotics.

The bleeding and pain continued. Rod's next step was to schedule an appointment with his “Preferred Care Provider” (PCP). Getting into see the doctor took over three weeks. The PCP scheduled an entire battery of tests, including blood, stools and urine. All results came back negative for cancer, the primary concern. Again, Rod was sent home with pills.

Since getting those test results, the bloody urine has become a near daily occurrence – and the pain has not eased. Over the next several months, Rod visited the emergency room numerous times. Each time resulted in the same diagnosis and treatment. In Rod's words: “Hey! You have blood in  your urine! Really? And a very, very minor infection. So, here's  some pills and go the f*** home!” In November, Rod returned to his PCP. The physician wondered if he might have kidney stones – a painful, potentially serious, but easily treated condition caused by excess minerals in the urine. Rod underwent two sonograms in order to discover if this was indeed the case – but the procedures revealed nothing.
It was time to consult a specialist.

The Final Diagnosis
Rod was finally able to see a specialist in January, 2015 – over five months since he had begun experiencing symptoms. The urologist discovered that Rod had a bladder tumor. It was not known if the tumor was malignant or not – but it was urgent to have it removed immediately, if not sooner.
Preferred IPA, with its corporate mentality, has its own idea as to what constitutes “urgent.” Rod would spend the next several weeks in attempts to get his surgery scheduled. This proved to be like the proverbial mating of elephants (done with a great deal of heaving and grunting at a high level, taking two years to obtain results).  By mid-February, Rod's PCP, also frustrated by the delays, advised him to “take the bull by the horns” and apply pressure by calling his urologist daily to find out if his needed surgery had been scheduled.

That was on February 24th. In the meantime, Rod was forced to cut back on auditions and turn down paying work for fear that it would aggravate his condition. Finally, however, Rod received notice on March 12th that his surgery had been approved.  Over the next two weeks, he was sent information on the procedure as well as prescriptions for various medications in preparation for the operation.
On March 24th – nearly eight months since the onset of his symptoms – Rod was scheduled for surgery.

Only in the USA
Only hours before undergoing surgery, Rod was informed that the surgery had been canceled – not by the doctor, not by the hospital, but by Preferred IPA, which had approved the surgery in the first place. The initial reason given was that the insurance company wanted the operation performed by a surgeon that was “in their network.” However, in a letter, Rod was also told that, according to the California Code of Regulations, Title 22 CCR, § 51303, the “service requested is not medically necessary.”

To re-iterate: the man has a painful bladder tumor that may indicate a serious, even life-threatening condition – but according to “regulations,” having it removed is “not medically necessary.”
Rod was referred to another “in-network” for “evaluation and treatment to be done at a LA Care MediCal contracted facility.” On a social media site, Rod posted his feelings about the latest delay, which could have been said by any number of Americans over the past generation and more:
“...a significant delay will be had before any actual surgery takes place. Meanwhile, of course, the tumor continues to grow and I continue to bleed and insurance  companies continue to profit.”

Still Waiting...
As of this writing, Preferred IPA has graciously deigned to allow Rod have (yet another!) consultation with an “approved” urologist on April 30th in order to confirm what the previous specialist has already diagnosed (there's some “free market efficiency” for you!) By then, it will be nine months since the onset of his symptoms – and he will still be waiting for surgery to be approved and scheduled. In the meantime, he has called upon his friends and acquaintances to contact Preferred IPA as well as the surgeon and demand that the date of surgery be moved up. Rod also contacted a lawyer from the Independent Medical Review Board. The conversation was brief – primarily, the lawyer wanted to know if he was “satisfied” with Preferred IPA's decision.

Rod gave the answer one would expect. It's a conversation that would not even be necessary if the U.S. was not controlled by amoral, profiteering corporate vampires determined to literally suck the lifeblood out of the American people – the same corporate tyrants that blocked every attempt to institute true, guaranteed, publicly-funded health care of all.

As Rod continues to suffer pain and bleeding every day, and as this potentially dangerous tumor in his bladder continues to grow while he waits for a procedure deemed “medically unnecessary” in the USA that would have been done for him almost immediately in any other democracy on the planet, his story serves as a reminder that under America's hyper-capitalist, bottom-line society, profits continue to trump concern for human life and well-being. The Affordable Care Act may, as talk show host and author Thom Hartmann says, be the proverbial “camel's nose under the tent” – but there are millions of Americans who may not be able to wait for the rest of the camel.

NOTE
Rod has had a biopsy from his new urologist (results pending) and his tumor, of course, has grown larger since the previous procedure. Surgery is scheduled for later in May.

2ND NOTE
Rod has had surgery (results pending) has been officially diagnosed with cancer.

 

Help Me Fix My Front Tooth

Hello to all my loyal followers and readers alike!

I've started a GoFundMe campaign to fix my tooth, because, all I want for Christmas a new front tooth. If you look to the right of my main blog page, you will see a button you can click on that will take you right to the site. The explanation for this campaign is also on the site, but, in brief, fixing my tooth would open up a new avenue to seek acting work here in Los Angeles.

(The author shows no shame as he brazenly poses with his adorable cat Abra in an attempt to elicit sympathy for his cause!)

Given my usual eclectic postings this might seem a bit off, but it is very important. Even though I have dental insurance, it doesn't cover the entire cost of the procedure (see campaign site). Your help is very appreciated and if you are unable to help, please like the page and/or share with someone who might help. Thank you Random Thoughts Of A Random Guy From A Random Place Up In The Sky readers!

 

YOUTH

Youth
If you were youth

Youth, is wasted on the young
Is wasted on the young
Is wasted on the young

There they sit
Beggin' for dollars as they protest
While on the street blandly playing chess
Apparently they'll never confess

I hate listenin'
To your wigger language
When you have no clue
What it means to be a black youth

If you were youth
Don't be frivolous and cor-rect heirs
If you were youth

Demographics say I'm too old
Too old to buy your products
They say I'm too old

Young may say
My mind is such a blather
What's the frequency Kenneth Rather
My words are such a mess

So, youth, you're wonderin'
What happened to this song
You thought you'd get better billing
If you were youth
If you were youth....

"Yep, I'm Heterosexual"

Now that Anderson Cooper has come out and "announced he's gay", the prevailing thought is that eventually someone's sexual orientation will no longer be a big deal. This may, partially, be true. In the fifteen years since Ellen DeGeneres announced she was gay with the famous "Yep, I'm Gay" Time magazine cover and subsequent episode of her then TV sitcom, celebrities and people in the public eye (as they say) announcing they are gay doesn't cause as much of ripple in the MSM as it use to.

(from the Hollywood Reporter)

On top of the prevailing thought about sexual orientation eventually becoming no big deal, the current thought that it is important for well known people to come out, can help shed light upon and hopefully see a reduction in the amount of bullying endured by gay school children.

Now I have something to write to you bigots out there. First of all, don't get all bent out of shape for being called a bigot. Look up the definition and you'll understand what I mean. Let's reverse this whole debate [which is nothing new] for second and I would like you to look into your heart and what you know is right by reading the following faux news report.

ROD HARREL SAYS, 'YEP, I'M HETEROSEXUAL'

Dateline - Portland, Oregon

(photo courtesy of some gay person)

In a stunning announcement sure to set no tongues wagging in the greater metro area, local punk, rabble-rouser, actor, writer and other hyphenates, Rod Harrel, announced via Twitter that he is "a happy heterosexual". "I'm quite happy being a heterosexual", said Mr. Harrel in a somewhat garbled telephone interview, "and I hope by coming forward I can help prevent the continued bullying suffered by heterosexual children in our schools."

When pressed about his bullying in school, Mr. Harrel replied, "I had a big nose and red hair as a kid. Might as well have been wearing a bulls eye on my nerdy jacket."

WHAT IF THERE WAS A BOOK ABOUT YOU AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT?

Yes, the interweb is still a bit of a Wild West kinda place all right. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Amazon books was selling a book about me (yes, me) starting at $39 [plus shipping & handling] all the way up to $50. It is a small 68 page paperback that seems to be available in several languages. How is this even possible I wondered?

It is because in this era of free content there are several publishing companies that exist for no other reason than to publish books complied from these free sources. The free sources in question are Wikipedia, as the cover proudly exclaims, "High quality content from Wikipedia articles". In the case of the book about me, the publisher is Betascript Publishing which is part of a company called VDM (which ironically has a Wikipedia entry), a company based in Germany (it's always the Germans!) with offices in Argentina and Latvia. There are three "editors" credited for the book about me whose names I'll pass on putting in the blog post. Nevertheless, they managed a 68 page book about me from this Wikipedia entry and another about Stark Raving Theatre and who knows where else (and now that you have read the links you know about me without having to spend $40!).