Health care is a matter of choice

Several months ago I went to a dermatologist to get a once-over for skin cancer. Having spent my whole life on beaches and boats and with my 40th birthday just a few years away, I thought I was probably past due for a check.

I picked a doctor near my office that has a thriving practice. A lot of her expertise is in cosmetic procedures, but I didn't think too much about that. She was convenient and covered by my insurance plan.

The office staff was friendly and pretty. Not too surprising for an office where people go to look less than their age. However, when the doctor walked in, things started to become uncomfortable.

She began my exam by checking my scalp and made a comment about my thinning hair. Interesting that she would call it "thinning hair" and not "thin hair". She had never met me before and despite my tongue and cheek post from a month or so ago, I really hadn't left a pile of hair on the floor while I waited for her. She didn't know about my lifetime of thin ponytails and attempts in high school to change the texture of my hair with a body wave (hoo boy - that was an interesting hair time). She didn't know that on the days when I use conditioner, my hair is a little softer and limper than usual. She didn't ask either.

She continued to check me and didn't find anything of concern. When the exam was over, I asked her about some hair that I had on my chin/neck and if it was possible to get a couple of laser treatments to have it removed. She said yes and then threw me the curve ball I hadn't expected at all. She asked me about my fertility and if I had polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Now if you don't know me I should tell you that I'm a large woman. That's not something that I would deny or am ashamed of. As it turns out, some of the symptoms of the syndrome are weight gain, thinning hair and excess facial hair. I don't mind so much that she was concerned about my general health, but she went on and on about my weight. She doesn't know that I have a healthy blood pressure/blood levels or that I work out 5 times each week. I know a lot of physicians and people believe that simply being overweight is unhealthy. You are entitled to your opinion. However, you should know that it's possible to be overweight and have that be the only thing that is "wrong" with you.

This physician took one look at me and a few other surface issues and put me in a tailspin. You see, I want to have children. I know that I'm getting old for that dream but these aren't things she knew. She didn't know that telling me that would send me into a panic. She wasn't gentle about her cursory diagnosis. She just lobbed it into the air while I sat there in her office half naked. Her words landed squarely on my heart and left a huge dent there. What if it were true? What if I am infertile and all of the dreams I've had about babies are just not possible? I was so shocked that I didn't even say anything to her. I just listened. I left the office and cried.

Since then I've been scared to find out if she might be right. Finally, on my birthday I had several tests performed to check for the existence of POS and all of the results came back negative. My glucose level is fine and the same is true for my free testosterone levels. I might still have problems conceiving, but it may not be for the reasons that were laid out before me. It's not as though I've been trying to have a baby. I'm trying to do this in the right order. I'd like to get married and then get pregnant, but again, I'm fully aware of the passage of time.

So back to having the federal government choose my health care options. Aside from the ignorant and judgmental eyes of some doctors, there are a couple of things that bother me. Do I think that everyone should have access to health care? Absolutely. I think the system needs to be changed, fixed, improved. However, I also think that we need to think long and hard about it and not throw out a solution and expect an answer in a month. If I were forced to go to this doctor or one like her, I would be miserable. She's really not interested in getting to know me or probably even in treating people like me. She wants to make people beautiful (or more beautiful). That's fine, but not for me. I like the doctors I have who sit down with me and have a conversation with me. For example, my gynecologist has me sit in her office after each appointment so that we can have a conversation about what's going on with my health and my life. She knows me and therefore I trust her and her advice and suggestions.

What if I discover that I can't get pregnant the natural way? Will I have passed someone's cut-off time for the age in which women are assisted with pregnancy? Will anyone help me or am I just on my own? Who should make that decision?

I don't know the answer to fixing this mess. I do believe that there are too many questions out there right now to proceed forward with a solution.

Sorry if this is a ramble, but this is something that's been heavy on my mind for a while. It wasn't until my tests came back earlier this week that I felt the need to write it all down. The timing with the health care debate just helped to bring the point home.

As for the town hall meetings where people are protesting? Well, I think that some of these have gotten way out of hand. However, I also think that people have the right to voice their concerns in these open forums. I don't know if the people ranting and raving are planted there or not, but if you want an honest debate with the people, don't pretend to have a forum and expect it to be a pep rally. Not everyone is going to agree.

We have a responsibility to question our government leaders. This is what Lincoln meant when he talked about a "government of the people, by the people, for the people". Hopefully, this will be an issue that concludes with a solution that is best for all of our citizens regardless of income or age.

Our Mayor Just Stinks

There's been a rather ridiculous problem going on in New Orleans lately. The city council and the mayor have been fighting over the budget. That's not really the problem. If there wasn't a fight I would be worried. The problem is the subject that has caused more debate lately than our murder statistics - trash pickup in the French Quarter.

If you visited New Orleans pre-Katrina and spent any time at all in the French Quarter, you will probably remember it for the architecture, strip clubs, alcohol and stench (not necessarily in that order.) The New Orleans economy has been tourist-based for some time now. Not since the early 70s, when oil left here for Houston, have we had much of anything else to hang our hats on. We still have the port which brings the rest of the country seafood, coffee and other taken-for-granted goods, but for New Orleans, tourism is where the money's at.

When entrepreneur Sidney Torres couldn't find a decent debris hauler after Katrina, this businessman/developer started his own company. That company (SDT Waste and Debris) and Sidney himself have turned into heroes for the city. We have something to be proud of - something that was done right. The French Quarter didn't smell like a giant garbage can. It smelled fresh and it was clean. You could look at the beauty of the Quarter without holding your nose. Locals started going to the Quarter again. We're talking big changes.

So the city council started discussing the budget and made some poor choices on where money would come from for certain things. I'm not denying that some bad decisions were made while trying to even things out. The budget was rejected by the mayor, reworked by the council, then seemingly accepted by the mayor and then, he told SDT to stop doing the fantastic job that they've been doing.

Okay, so I have a little spin on it, but our mayor is smug. He made people think that things were worked out on one side and then flipped and cancelled a lot of services. He doesn't want to get rid of all the vehicles that city employees are allowed to take home, but clean streets? They have to go!

The mayor made statements suggesting that Orleanians found it unfair that the French Quarter should get a larger piece of the waste disposal budget than the rest of the city. Now, I wouldn't call myself a supporter of Nagin so I would appreciate if, when he says he's speaking for New Orleanians, he checks with us.

I don't live in an area of town that triples in population (or more) every weekend. People don't drink all day on my street and then throw their beer bottles down before they vomit. I'm not saying everyone who hangs out in the Quarter does this, but our visitors tend to not treat our historical district very well. So do I think the French Quarter should get a bigger piece of the pie? Absolutely. This is our bread and butter. This is our calling card to most visitors. It should look as good as we can possibly make it.

The mayor has accused Mr. Torres of political posturing. You know, maybe he is, but he has a contract with the city that the city wanted to violate. Maybe that posturing is what he needed to do so that we heard the other side of the story. Otherwise, we would only have heard the bickering between the mayor and council. I will tell you this, after leaving Jackson Square one Sunday afternoon, I stepped over a pile of poop left by one of the carriage donkeys. Sidney pulled up in one of the little SDT trucks and shoveled the poop up himself. Let me repeat this - On a non-special-event Sunday, the owner of a large waste disposal company (not to mention a hotel on Royal Street and other investment properties) was driving around making sure that everything was neat and shoveled crap off the street. He didn't call someone to do it. He didn't just drive past. He took care of the problem. I think that says something about the man and his commitment to the city.

Following the agreement to restore services, the mayor actually said (and I'm paraphrasing here) "I knew we could let the trash sit for three days or so before rodents and roaches became a problem." Excuse me? Is it even possible to say this with a straight face? Oh, I'm sorry. He was flashing his usual smarmy smirk. Yesterday he made a statement indicating he didn't expect to face this much heat for being fiscally responsible. That statement only proves that he still doesn't get.

Like many other Orleanians, I'm counting down the days until the mayoral election. I'm not saying that the man didn't try, but something snapped when Katrina blew in. He was never the same after that. Let's hope the next person doesn't find the need to be right all of the time. Let's hope that he puts the needs of the city and her citizens before his need to prove a point. We have to fight enough with insurance companies and thugs to make our lives here better. We don't need to fight with city leaders while they break things that were fixed. It's exhausting.

So I can say to those thinking of coming to visit - Please come. It's a beautiful place with wonderful people. The Quarter is clean and we're getting ready to throw a huge party. Stay on well-lit streets in well-populated areas. Don't walk through areas you don't know when you can easily catch a cab. Be smart and you'll be fine.

Come on down. The weather is great and the air is clean. As it turns out, so are our streets.