CAT Tracks for February 15, 2012

CAT Tracks for February 15, 2012

I can identify with this story...

...from personal experience with one of the Cape Girardeau hospitals. (The story doesn't identify which, so whether it was the same, I do not know. And, since years have passed and personnel change...possibly, HOPEFULLY the offending parties have moved on to another profession or another part of the world.)

Remember that night well:

Arriving by ambulance...being made to wait and wait and wait, over-hearing the attending physician say "Why did they bring that b*tch here, she's from Cairo. She should go to Carbondale."

The "doctor" pronouncing that there was nothing wrong...me begging for admission, knowing we had steps at home, that she wouldn't be able to climb them...them saying "There's nothing we can do"..."kindly" rolling in a wheelchair for our use. (No assistance, but at least a wheelchair.)

Calling my brother-in-law (sometime after midnight)...to meet me at the house, to help me carry her up the steps.

Then there was the next day:

My wife, Julie, writhing in pain, getting worse...me feeling helpless and scared.

Then, again after midnight (why is it always after midnight or on a weekend) calling my brother-in-law once again...to carry her down the steps and load her into my car (knowing the ambulance personnel, following their "nearest hospital" protocol, would again take "the b*tch" back to Cape Girardeau...and not wanting to gamble on the attitude of the other Cape hospital)

Driving I-57 at 80+ miles an hour hoping to be stopped by the state troopers...to get an escort.

Finding out that if you put your flashers on and drive 85 miles per hour after the midnight hour that evidently the state police will ass-u-me that it's an emergency and leave you alone. How do I know this? Because the only car we saw on our brief time on the Interstate was a state trooper who passed us up like we were standing still.

DISCLAIMER: If you ass-u-me that the aforementioned will work for you and do it...don't be callin' me after midnight to come bail your butt outta jail. My speeding experience was personal and true, but it may have been simple happenstance. For all I know, the state trooper was called to a robbery in progress...or was out of coffee and donuts.

To make a growing story shorter...

The next day, the tests in Carbondale Memorial...
...the day after, the surgery to remove an intestinal blockage due to adhesions caused by previous abdominal surgeries.

So...
...yes, I can empathize with the family in the story below.
Cape Girardeau, Missouri is NOT among my favorite destinations.
Oh, time has passed and there have always been good people in Cape...
...but Cape has more than its share of bigots.
If you are black or interracial...enter at your own risk!

DISCLAIMER:
Have I ever mentioned that this is my website and that I am apt to say whatever I damn well please?

From the KFVS TV Channel 12...
Link to Original Story

A lifesaving trip free-of-charge for Cairo man
By Arnold Wyrick
CAIRO, IL (KFVS) - A Cairo man says he's finally getting the help he needs to get to medical care. And it's not costing him, or his family a dime.
It's been four years since 50-year-old Gerald West underwent surgery for removal of some cysts from his abdomen. Over the years he's been in and out of several hospitals with complications from the surgery and recovery.
This past week he was discharged from a Cape Girardeau hospital and told he needed to return to his doctor in Chicago. But the hospital told West they could not provide him that ride.
"I just felt like they were throwing him away, especially when they said they didn't have a ride for him," said Idamae West. "And I asked them how are we supposed to get him up there? And the woman didn't give me an answer."
West has been bed-ridden since his discharge from the hospital. And he can no longer ride in his wheelchair.
That's why riding in a car or van sitting up for the trip to Chicago is out of the question.
So his mother had to find some other way to get him there. That's when she called Smart Transportation in Vienna, Illinois.
"And they offered to take us up there. And told us we didn't have to borrow money or anything to get up there. We will take you so get ready. I just praise God for them," said West.
The company has been able to tap into a grant from through the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant is being administered by the Federal Transit Administration as part of the New Freedom grant.
"So through this grant we were able to offer them this service," said Smart's Chief Financial Officer Dori Bigler. "And we're able to give them a good deal on the trip because the grant can help us pay for the operating costs of the van."
"We were able to also purchase our stretcher-van with the funds. And it can be used for anyone who is in need of medical services, but who is not in an emergency situation."
The cost of the trip would've been more than $1,200 for the West family.
"When I heard that they were going to be able to take me, I said to myself I know it's God in Heaven," said Gerald West. "I know God was with me, he has stuck with me through all of this from the very first."

Now Gerald and his mother will be leaving for their trip to Chicago at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning.