Treating Post Polio Paralytic Sequelae: Medical Bills Cause Most Bankruptcies - Well Blog

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Medical Bills Cause Most Bankruptcies - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

Medical Bills Cause Most Bankruptcies - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

"Nearly two out of three bankruptcies stem from medical bills, and even people with health insurance face financial disaster if they experience a serious illness, a new study shows."

Can a country that allows such events to happen be considered a "rich" country?

What does it say about it?

2 comments:

HuaJune 17, 2009 at 6:04 PM
Hi Kongtcheu,

It's unfortunate that this outcome is not uncommon in a country where the health care system is so privatized and for-profit. Thanks for the link to the news article.

I'm Hua, the director of Wellsphere's HealthBlogger Network, a network of over 2,000 of the best health writers on the web (including doctors, nurses, healthy living professionals, and expert patients). I think your blog would be a great addition to the Network, and I'd like to invite you to learn more about it and apply to join at http://www.wellsphere.com/health-blogger. Once approved by our Chief Medical Officer, your posts will be republished on Wellsphere where they will be available to over 5 million monthly visitors who come to the site looking for health information and support. There’s no cost and no extra work for you! The HealthBlogger page (http://www.wellsphere.com/health-blogger) provides details about participation, but if you have any questions please feel free to email me at hua@wellsphere.com.

Best,
Hua
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UnknownJune 23, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Thanks Hua for your invitation. I will check your site network.

I just saw your post. I am currently in China where blog access is dificult.
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4 U!

"I myself have been through this ordeal, and I am a symbol of what can happen when people with disabilities are strongly supported."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

While there are a number of very laudable and powerful foundations and international organizations focused on the eradication of the disease, and we reference them here, our focus on this site is more on making life better for those who end up with permanently paralyzed limbs, contractures, spasticity and other musculoskeletal deformations and weakening.

Here you will find links to resources and sources of inspiration.

We are looking at medical approaches to make life better, we are initiating or pioneering research, we are linking up with all those who have similar interests.

So, while we speak primarily of polio here, therapeutic resources highlighted here may be of interest to people with Cerebral Palsy, ALS, spinal Cord injures, strokes,and other rare diseases that weaken muscular functioning

Statement of Beliefs

Anyone who has dealt with paralytic polio knows the daily struggle it represents. After a while many accept their life with their disability and stop the struggle toward a better day. This site is for those who have not given up. This site is for those still seeking a path to a better day. Your plight attracts little public attention. Most physicians have no clue how to effectively help you.

I am convinced that all functional or visible impairments associated with paralytic polio can be successfully remedied using a holistic approach combining:
- Surgical procedures to transfer muscles and nerves to paralyzed areas,
- orthopedic surgeries to correct bones deformities or asymmetries,
-Nutrients rich diets emphasizing nourishing/repairing the nervous system,
-temporary and targeted orthopedic braces
-Physical therapy to consolidate muscle strength in affected areas where they are still functional

-Various forms of ointments and massage, including acupuncture and moxibustion

To that end I will share what I believe are helpful stories, testimonies and references for further explorations.

Welcome!

I was unfortunate or fortunate to have my right foot paralyzed after a bout of polio when I was about 6 months old in the early seventies. It was a time when polio had all but disappeared from the face of the developed world after Jonas Salk's development of the polio vaccine in 1952. I hope here to:

- Enhance awareness to the various ways in which the aftermath of this disease affect patients' lives and the lives of those who surround them,

- Get more testimony from fellow patients or support groups.

- Get expert advice and support from various practitioners and interested parties.

- Share my own experiences struggling through this condition and the coping strategies I have developed.

-Use the site to cheer other people in similar conditions while cheering myself up.

- Leave a record of my trial and error process.

I look forward to hearing from all of you!

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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Medical Bills Cause Most Bankruptcies - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

2 comments: