Well, there has been a medical issue developing slowly with my mother over the last 3 months. First, they suspected she had Emphysema. That was eventually ruled out. Finally, they discovered her right diaphragm was paralyzed. They figured it happened all the way back in 2001. At least, the nerve was pinched back then, and the diaphragm finally stopped working about a year ago.
Well, now she's having other problems. Over Thanksgiving, her ankles swelled up to the size of her knees. Finally, Saturday morning, she was confused and bordering on hallucinating. Dad took her into the hospital at 9:00 PM that night. I went to see her yesterday at the Burnett County Medical Center in Grantsburg, WI. She was doing better.
However, I received word today she was transferred to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. It's part of the Allina System, a former employer of mine back in 2006. Anyway, tests are going to be run on her heart, to see what is going on. Like my problems earlier this year, it seems to be taking much longer than ought be necessary to discover the source of her discomfort and ill health.
I know that diagnosing illness is as much an art as it is a science, but right now I can not help but think the delay in finding my mother's problem is as much fear of running tests because of insurance interference then just not knowing. To be honest, I would rather see expensive tests run with a quick discovery of the cause, then to err to the side of monetary conservatism. Somehow, personal suffering for the sake of medical cost efficiency just does not seem right. But then, I never did understand conservative compassion.
Well, now she's having other problems. Over Thanksgiving, her ankles swelled up to the size of her knees. Finally, Saturday morning, she was confused and bordering on hallucinating. Dad took her into the hospital at 9:00 PM that night. I went to see her yesterday at the Burnett County Medical Center in Grantsburg, WI. She was doing better.
However, I received word today she was transferred to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. It's part of the Allina System, a former employer of mine back in 2006. Anyway, tests are going to be run on her heart, to see what is going on. Like my problems earlier this year, it seems to be taking much longer than ought be necessary to discover the source of her discomfort and ill health.
I know that diagnosing illness is as much an art as it is a science, but right now I can not help but think the delay in finding my mother's problem is as much fear of running tests because of insurance interference then just not knowing. To be honest, I would rather see expensive tests run with a quick discovery of the cause, then to err to the side of monetary conservatism. Somehow, personal suffering for the sake of medical cost efficiency just does not seem right. But then, I never did understand conservative compassion.
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