Because the "Reform" is gonna make this better? I don't shthink so.

My sister, Turtle, has Prader-Willi Syndrome. One of the main afflictions with this particular type of retardation is the inability to know when she has eaten enough......she never feels full or satisfied. Consequently, most Prader-Willi "kids" die from diseases associated with obesity. So my mother is in a constant battle to limit Turtle's calorie in-take while letting her actually eat. There is a very strict food schedule. Sometimes, Turtle will even get up in the middle of the night to sneak food....not often, but when she does, she doesn't hold back. Have you ever eaten a pound of cheese in one sitting at 2 am? Turtle has.

Two weeks ago, Turtle needed some blood work done which required fasting for 8 hours before the test. You know how hard it is to fast yourself, but can you imagine having a Prader-Willi child fast? And Turtle is in "the system". Her father, who has passed away, was a veteran, so she gets SSI and other benefits (I believe this system should exist for veterans and people like Turtle, not for people who live in rent controlled housing yet manage to buy themselves a flatscreen tv.)



My mother scheduled the blood draw for 7am, so the fasting would be at night, when it would be easiest for Turtle. When my mother showed up for the draw, she was told that they would have to wait because the clerk was running late....not the technician who was actually drawing the blood...the clerk! Thirty minutes after they arrived, the clerk was still not there. My mother explained her circumstances to the technician and the technician, agreeing with my mother that the sane thing to do was to draw the blood and do the paperwork later, agreed to proceed. It took her 10 minutes, start to finish. The clerk still had not arrived.

My mother left the clerk a note to send her any paperwork she needed to sign, and walked out the door at 8 am to get Turtle some breakfast.

Thank the good Lord that our salvation from this health care mess, if it should pass, are the compassionate doctors, nurses, lab techs, and health care providers that take their hippocratic oath seriously......regardless of what the pencil-pushers say.