To be clear, ‘Codex Alimentarius’ does not, in and of itself, attack the natural health industry, but it opens the door for the “European Food Safety Authority” to ban anything they have not approved. That is where the danger lies - not just for Europe, but for the USA and other countries, who are even now being pressed to follow suit by their own medical associations. Once the “Codex” has been implemented, the EU will begin to strong-arm it’s 170 member nations to follow the codex regulations, forcing those who want to avoid or supplement allopathic medicine to go underground. In effect, it will criminalize anyone who has the audacity to insist on their right to manage their own health care.

Students of European and US history will remember another time when this happened, with horrific results: the later middle ages (aka ‘The Burning Times’) when ‘witches’ - usually women - were persecuted for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the purveying of herbal medicines and natural healing practices. This came at a time when the profession of medicine (an all-male occupation) was beginning to push outward from the cities into the surrounding countryside. They didn’t like the competition from those uppity ‘wise women’, and needed to find a way to eliminate them. Accusations of ‘Witchcraft’ were a convenient, effective  and terrible solution to the problem. The remaining few survivors got the message, and knowledge of herbal medicine went deep underground. It’s interesting to note that the majority of deaths during the “Black Plague” happened in those same cities that enjoyed the ‘marvels’ of the medical doctors’ attentions!

It seems we’re poised to experience a modern version of health-information repression, if the “Codex Alimentarius” and ‘Big Pharma’ have their way. Don’t look for the politicians to save you - they’re all deeply indentured to the pharmaceutical and medical insurance industries. There are currently bills before our own Senate and House that could set the stage to try and stamp out your right to manage your own health care.

Is there an answer? I think - or perhaps I should say ‘hope’ -  there is a way to fight back. First, unless and until the health industry’s gestapo begins house-to-house searches, you can grow many healing herbs yourself. Next, if you live in the USA, write to your local and national politicians and remind them that you have a voter’s card, and you know how to use it. Then, do just that. If you’re not in the USA, you can still Google your representatives and let them know how you feel and what you intend to do about it. You can also join and support groups such as the American Association for Health Freedom , or the International Advocates for Health Freedom , or any of the other groups world-wide who seek to protect their health care rights.

As it has always been, whatever rights you do not demand and protect will be taken from you by those who have an interest in controlling the lives of others. The choice is yours - but maybe not for much longer.

So why all the shame and stigma? Because those who are supposed to be getting the truth out to the public are not exercising due diligence. The media, in it’s usual state of self-perpetuated Puritanical ignorance, bleats out whatever comes across it’s desks, never checking facts, never looking beyond the ‘new study results’ to see who paid for the study, or what the conditions of the study actually were. Most medical journals try to carry reputable articles, but it is still necessary to check to see who paid for the study results quoted, and what the circumstances were, before making blanket pronouncements about a disease or it’s treatment.

HCV can be transmitted by anything that can cause blood-to-blood contamination - such as dental tools that are not properly sterilized, or tattoo needles and ink that are not changed between clients. Firemen and paramedics can pick it up while aiding accident victims, if the rescuer has an open wound and the victim is HCV+ and bleeding. People having their ears (or other body parts) pierced must be absolutely certain the practitioner is using a new stud and has thoroughly cleaned the gun used to insert it.

No study to date has demonstrated an unequivocal link between sex (the kind that does NOT draw blood, thank you) and HCV infection, unless we’re talking about studies using prostitutes, who also turned out to be IV drug abusers. There have been recent reports of a worrisome increase in infection rate among gay men, but again, anal sex has been known to create bleeding in some instances, as have sex toys. There may also be general lifestyle issues that need revising too, for instance sharing a razor can be a source of infection, and so can sharing a toothbrush (though I don’t know very many folks who would do that - Ick!).  And of course, unprotected sex is always stupid, unless you are very sure of your partner’s past behavior.

HCV can’t be passed through breast milk from mother to baby, nor can the baby get it during birth. Even the fetal infection rate is extremely small, unless the mother is both HCV and HIV positive, and even then, there is only a 6% chance of the baby being infected.

Those unlucky enough to have been exposed blood-to-blood to HCV may not be aware, since many infected people do not know they have the virus. It’s not readily obvious in most cases, and often those who have been recently exposed mistake the signs for influenza instead. Once infected, the chronic phase takes over, and it can be decades before there are any symptoms or signs that something is wrong. In a significant percentage of people, the symptoms never occur, nor does cirrhosis or liver cancer - two of the most serious complications of HCV infection - ever take hold.

But what if you have been infected, and want to get treatment? You can go the Interferon/Pegasys route, which has a ‘cure’ rate of between 25 and 50%, depending on whose studies you read, and the genotype of the virus involved (there are 6). Not all HCV virii are created equal. Some are more easily eliminated with Interferon than others. The most common genotype in the USA - genotype 1 - is also the most resistant to the drug. In addition, Interferon, in any of it’s permutations, can cause such intolerable side effects that many people elect to stop the treatment. Some have even committed suicide as a result of the severe depression that is frequently associated with Interferon treatment. What to do?

I have a very close friend who had this problem. She is also a nurse and was exposed to HCV through her work with drug addicts, via a needle stick. She was not ill; in fact the virus was only picked up during a routine physical, when her liver enzymes were found to be elevated, and then was confirmed by further testing. Her liver biopsy showed virtually no damage or fatty infiltration, she felt fine, and there were no outward symptoms  of infection. She contemplated Interferon therapy, but decided it would be ridiculous to risk her mental and physical health to try a regimen that had only a 25% chance of curing her. Besides, if the side effects of treatment forced her to stop work, she would have no income and no means of support. Since she was already past 40 when she was infected, she decided to go for alternative treatment, and see if that would have any effect. She took the usual supplements recommended - Silymarin (Milk Thistle) being the most common - as well as lots of Vit. C and colloidal silver, and kept her viral load to a low roar, but there was no sign of any remission. Then she read about doctors in China who claimed to treat - and cure - the disease through a combination of herbs and mushrooms.

She embarked on a course of treatment using the Chinese compounds as a guide. Here’s her regimen:

AHCC  (a combination of specific Chinese mushrooms known for their anti-viral properties) - 2 capsules twice a day

Silymarin (milk thistle) - 300mg twice a day

Alpha Lipoic Acid  - 300mg twice a day

Selenium  - 200mcg twice a day

CoQ10  - 1 capsule per day

B complex  - 1 tablet per day

Vitamin C  - 5000mg twice a day

Colloidal Silver - 1 oz once a day

The last time we talked, she said her viral load was actually dropping, and a repeat liver biopsy showed no progression in the last 7 years. Even her doctors were impressed with the results. While this is only anecdotal evidence, it points up the need for conventional (allopathic) western medicine to take a closer look at the part herbs, mushrooms and supplements can play in treating and curing chronic diseases. Why are the FDA, CDC, and AMA so resistant to to alternative/complementary medicine? That’s easy. ‘Big Pharma’ would never allow such heresy to go unpunished. The FDA is controlled by those huge pharmaceutical corporations, as are most MDs. Doctors can be especially vulnerable, since most do not have time to read up on every new therapy for every disease that comes down the pike. The pharmacy reps who troop in and out of their offices are trained to disseminate only the information that supports their products, which of course includes Interferon, etal.

My personal opinion - and that’s all this is - is that using a combination of herbs, mushrooms and supplements may be every bit as effective a treatment for those with HCV genotype 1. It may even be better, since there are no ugly side effects with the alternative treatment. I’ve heard that there are some new trials going on using the AHCC mushroom combination, but it’s still too soon to tell what they will find. For someone who does not want to take Interferon, alternative medicine may be the treatment that allows them to have a long, happy and symptom-free life. It may even prove to be the cure for HCV. I’ll keep watching the research, and let you know what they find.

Monsanto has been in the news and courts since the 1970’s (maybe even earlier) for foisting deadly poisons upon an unsuspecting public. There are ongoing boycotts and letter-writing campaigns regarding their use of genetic modifications to seeds and plants, production of synthetic growth hormones and other injectables for farm animals, attacks on small farmers, and secret poisoning of entire communities - usually in poor, African-American or Hispanic areas of the country.  They’re now spreading their toxic products to developing countries such as Africa, where Bill Gates has thrown some of his wealth to Monsanto’s efforts to destroy sustainable agriculture and keep those farmers impoverished and dependent. Yet the criminals go free, with a fine and a wink, and sometimes even a great big “Thank you!” from their victims.

I thought that buying organic whenever possible would be a good defense against a slow (or fast) death by poisoning from my local chain groceries (Monsanto’s street dealers). I’m here to report that I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has a very scary web-page, that lists all of the ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ food companies who are actually using GMO foods and other swell Monsanto products. It’s shocking and depressing. What in the world are we supposed to eat and drink? No wonder recent studies (2007) show that our children have dangerously high levels of toxic substances in their bodies. These chemicals have even permeated breast milk!

What to do? Whenever possible, it’s a good idea to avoid foods made by the guilty corporations. But that is a neat trick, as so many suppliers and growers have drunk the kool-aid (and are selling it to us). Buying locally, from farmers markets and other similar sources, is an option, but you’ll want to quiz the sellers about their farming practices. There are coops for organic and natural foods, but you’ll need to investigate them as well. From where does the produce come, and how do they know it is ‘clean’? There are good, honest companies, such as ‘Her Native Roots‘ and ‘Local Harvest‘, who take their mission seriously. Check them out, and give them your business. They deserve it.  As to pressure on polluters and poisoners - money talks. In fact, it’s the only language agribiz and Tom Vilsack speak fluently. Don’t buy their products and tell your friends and family to boycott them as well.

Oh, one more thing…please, if you feel so moved, contact Whitehouse.gov and speak out. The Obama administration makes much of it’s commitment to listen to the people, and has provided a place where you can tell them what you think. Don’t waste the opportunity. Your life, and the lives of millions of others, depend on it. Seriously.

Vilsack’s appointment was dismaying because he has always championed genetic modification of foods, water-pollution by toxic runoff from agri-biz cultivation techniques, and animal-cruelty through factory farming, to name just three of his many offenses. How does Tom Vilsack’s appointment to Secretary of Agriculture represent ‘change’?  Does President Obama think he’ll be able to keep a leash on him? Or is this a way for the new prez to ‘make nice’ with Agri-biz?  Don’t think for a moment that he would not do it - he’s good at making inspiring speeches, but he was a quick study when it came to the cut-throat politics of Chicago. That’s why he made it to the Senate in the first place. He’s certainly better than the alternative, but his cozying up with Mr. Vilsack smells funny to me.

And then there’s Sanjay Gupta MD. When I first heard that he’d been tapped for Surgeon General, I thought it was some “Saturday Night Live” comedy skit. Alas, how wrong I was. Sanjay Gupta?? Seriously?? The guy has made a fool of himself multiple times on CNN, mis-informing millions from his bully pulpit on “Housecall”, and trashing Michael Moore over “Sicko”. I saw “Sicko”, and have friends who live in England, France and Spain.  Moore may have gone a little too far for some folks’ taste, but the essential message he gave was right on the money. Gupta on the other hand, seems to be very happy with allopathic medicine and their insurance company masters. Furthermore, he does not support medical marijuana, which (as a hospice homecare nurse for 15+ years) I know can be a life-saver to those who need it. But then, he’s a TV ‘personality’ and wants to stay on the right side of the cash cow. Bah, humbug.

We really need to stop taking those sound bytes thrown out at us by TV ‘journalists’ as gospel. Recently, MSNBC reported that a research study showed that supplements and anti-oxidants did not really have any effect on Cancer, etc. (I tried to get you a link to that article, but it has mysteriously been removed from their archives - go figure). A quick read of the ‘research’ showed that the dosages they used were no more than the ‘Minimum Daily Requirement’ and were given every OTHER day. Well gee…I wonder why the findings supported Big Pharma’s insistence that anti-oxidants and supplements don’t work? Want to take bets as to who paid for the study? Don’t believe everything your read - check it out in more than one place, and go to websites that don’t agree with you too. You might learn something from them.

And so it goes. Now the FDA wants to ban Colloidal Silver/Nano-Silver, calling it a toxin. Yes, I saw the ‘blue man’ dust-up, and if you paid attention to his story, he admitted that he made his own concoction, and used it topically as well as internally. Would you make your own Penicillin? Of course not. Millions use nano-silver (I’m one of them) and have not turned blue (it wouldn’t look that great with green eyes and auburn hair anyway). I’ve used it for several years for it’s antiviral and antibiotic effects, with very good results.

How odd that they (FDA) are perfectly content to bless the use of a REAL toxin - Fluoride - and even advocate putting it in your drinking water! I haven’t used fluoride in years, and have not had any serious problems with cavities since I stopped. When my son was in second grade, his school wanted to provide children who lived in homes using well water - as we did - with fluoride treatments at school. We went toe-to-toe about it when I refused. It took my threat to take them to court for involuntarily subjecting my son to exposure a toxic substance to get them to back off. Yes, he did have a few cavities, but those were related to his lack-luster tooth-brushing habits when I was not standing over him, not from the lack of fluoride. He now lives in a house that has all the ‘protection’ of fluoridated water and guess what? He still gets cavities. Imagine my shock and awe. BTW - check out the ingredients in rat poison and see if you still think fluoride is safe.

The point I’m making is that it is absolutely necessary to take the monitoring of your health care into your own hands. Become an informed citizen. Learn how to ask “Why?” if your MD prescribes something you don’t like. Ask him/her explain why you need to put that substance in your body, or have that invasive exam. Ask them if there are alternatives. Many times an MD is simply parroting pharmaceutical disinformation fed to him/her by pharmacy reps, whose job it is to do just that. If you have good information and reputable research in hand - not all info from the ‘net is reliable - you may be able to change their mind, or at least get them to give your preference a try. Work *with* your healthcare practitioner, not against them. You need them on your side, but you also need to be your own advocate. If you’re really not happy with the doctor you’re seeing, get another one. It’s your right to have the MD you want - as long as they take your insurance, of course. Even with insurance constraints, you can usually find someone who you trust and who treats you and your beliefs and opinions with respect, if you take the time to look and ask.

So, Mr. Obama, what are you thinking when you appoint an enemy of chemical-free and environmentally sound food and livestock to be Sect’y of Agriculture, and a TV personality who also happens to have an MD license to be Surgeon General? I mean, I’m just askin’….

Cardiovascular diseases claim millions of lives every year, with coronary artery disease being the single leading cause of death in the United States (more than 450,000 in 2004). In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that, by 2010, cardiac disease will surpass AIDS as the number one killer worldwide. Enormous sums of money are spent annually to fund research into it’s cause and cure, yet the numbers of people who succumb to heart disease climb higher every year. Heaven knows we have a host of drugs created to manage heart disease, and there’s more than enough evidence proving that diet, bad habits (like smoking cigarettes) and exercise play a critical role in cardiac health, yet we seem unable to change our dangerous behaviors. Could it be we simply don’t care? Or could it be something more?

Check out the investment webpages for the major pharmaceutical companies, and you’ll quickly see that heart disease is a big money-maker. New drugs are hustled onto the market as quickly as the FDA can be pressured into approving them, more for the improvement of a drug manufacturers bottom-line than a human being’s health and longevity. The side effects of those medicines are often not thoroughly known, but out to the public they go - as sort of a second-level group of lab rats - and then ‘they’ wait to see what problems crop up.

Think that’s just paranoia talking? I wish it were so. There are too many stories out there to review here, but one in particular illustrates the underlying problem very well. In 2006, the New York Times ran an article warning of severe, life-threatening side effects from a drug used to control bleeding in cardiac surgery patients. It seems this drug (Aprotinin) also caused renal failure, congestive heart failure, stroke and - death. But it was a big-seller for the manufacturer, who did everything it could to hush up the news, even to the point of hiring a research organization to run a study of the drug, and then (both the maker and the contractor) hiding the results from the FDA, when it turned out that the anecdotal evidence was true. It was not the first, and sadly will not be the last, time a pharmaceutical company tap-danced around the truth, letting thousands die for the sake of giving juicy returns to their investors. It’s not just one ‘bad egg’ either. Every drug manufacturer has crossed that line at some time. Remember Vioxx, or HRT (hormone replacement therapy)? Or, if you’re as ancient as I am,  remember Thalidomide? I know you can think of others. I’m absolutely not suggesting you throw out your prescriptions, but you could have a heart-to-heart (pun intended) chat with your doctor, and see if there isn’t something more you can do for your heart besides simply popping pills.

OK, I’ll get off that soapbox - what about those other options? There’s the oft-repeated mantra of diet and exercise - cutting back on ‘bad’ fats and sugars, getting off our duffs and moving around, losing a few pounds, etc. - yet we’ve all heard of super-fit athletes who died suddenly from cardiac arrest. Does that mean that exercise and diet don’t really work? Not at all. In some cases, sudden death was eventually tied to other problems: dehydration and/or performance-enhancing drugs (another big money-maker) for example. And even though they appeared to be strong and fit, athletes too were often victims of a high-calorie, high-fat diet.

For most of us, atherosclerosis - or ‘hardening of the arteries’ - is the hidden enemy, even in those who think they’re safe because they have no ‘family history’. Atherosclerosis refers to a build up of plaque inside the walls of your arteries, which causes narrowing of the lumen, and reducing the amount of blood that can move through, in the same way that corrosion can block a plumbing pipe. And just like the pipe, if the blockage becomes complete, there’s big trouble coming. It’s a fact of life that a fatty diet and inactivity are two of atherosclerosis’ best friends. Their effect on the body is to make the insides of your arterial walls ’sticky’, so plaque can adhere. Without intervention, atherosclerosis will take hold, and you may wind up needing the services of a cardiologist and some little tubes called ’stents’ to clear the debris so your heart can begin to function properly.

What about ‘family history’? Let’s look at what really goes into that. A family is not just a group of people with shared DNA. It’s a whole mini-culture, with it’s own history, habits, behaviors, eating preferences, and so on. If you come from a family that tends toward couch-potatoism, loves fried foods and feasts on sugary/fatty desserts, you may just have ‘inherited’ a tendency toward cardiac disease. I know it’s not that simple, but it’s a big part of the problem. It’s hard to break those habits too, when your nearest and dearest aren’t interested in joining you on a long walk or trip to the gym, and insist on making Aunt Sally’s artery-clogging cinnamon buns and pork sausage for breakfast. What’s required is a willingness to begin to break out of that routine, start learning and practicing good nutrition (it can be very tasty - honest!), and forcing your laid-back body to get up, out and moving.

We all know someone who has been able to do this (yes, we do!) and who we probably secretly hate for it. They look great, they’re feeling better, and in many cases, if they were on a lot of medications, those prescriptions have been decreased or eliminated. I’ve seen it happen over and over - it really does work. And the operative word here is ‘WORK’, because that is what is required, on a steady, determined basis. Notice that the word is not ‘perfection’. That’s because perfection is neither needed nor demanded. You say you don’t want to go outside when there’s a foot of snow and the thermometer is covered with ice? I’m with you on that one. But, there might be some inside work that could be done…how long have you been meaning to clean out that closet, or move those boxes up to the attic? I often use housework to keep myself moving around and to distract me from the refrigerator, especially in winter. Luckily for me, my laundry room is in the basement, so I get to do a stair-climb at least twice, every time I wash clothes. Still, there are those evenings when all I want to do is cuddle up under a blanket, watch the ‘toob’ and impersonate an avocado (or any other vegetable). And sometimes that’s just what I do, too. It’s not so much that there’s a need to be a perpetual-motion machine, as it is that old, sedentary habits have to be broken, and new, active ones acquired. Even one 20 minute walk a week, if you have been a strict sloth, will start to break the pattern. Once you get into the habit, it’s easy to add another day, and then maybe another - but do it a little at a time, with no demands and no recriminations if you forget, or only go for 15 minutes instead of 20. It’s like playing with Legos - first it’s just a few little blocks, then a few more, and before you know it, you’ve got yourself a castle with a moat and drawbridge!

Then there’s diet. Salt, saturated fats and cholesterol (found in fried foods, processed foods, salad dressing, and most desserts) are not your friends. You don’t have to eliminate them entirely (unless your MD says so), but surely you could try tasting your food *before* reaching for the salt shaker. You might be surprised to find out what that food actually tastes like, underneath all the added sodium, and you might like it. There are other ways of enjoying a chicken or fish besides coating it with spices (including salt) and then using it as a sponge to see how much oil it can sop up from the frying pan before you put it in your body. Yum? Not. I’m a huge fan of broiled or baked fish, chicken, turkey, etc. It tastes great, can be made with all sorts of non-sodium-based spices, and doesn’t make you feel like you just swallowed a greased bowling ball. Plus, broiling and baking (if you leave out all the extra goo) are easy - and I am all about easy when it comes to cooking.

Veggies really do taste better when they haven’t been cooked to mush in a saline solution, and don’t seem to require as much butter either. Some (peas, broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, and more) are really tasty raw. I never knew that the humble pea was really a little green lump o’sugar until I grew some in my garden and tried a few right out of the pod. Wow! The taste isn’t the same when they’re frozen, but they still add flavor and nutritional value when cooked. If your family-of-origin’s fruit and veggie consumption consists mainly of ketchup, mustard and grape jelly, you might be amazed to find that there are a lot of really good things out there that grew right up out of the ground, just so you could eat them!

Fruit can be a great dessert. I’m an fan of baking apples, but cutting waaay back on the butter and sugar to let the fruit’s natural, tart and juicy flavors come out. Bananas are great for anytime, not just breakfast. Oranges and tangerines make my mouth water just thinking about them. Grapes, cherries, raspberries - name your favorite fruit and chances are, no matter what it is, it’s a whole lot healthier for you and your heart than a gooey doughnut or heaping slice of triple-layer cake. And again, because it really is ‘progress, not perfection’ (an old AA truism), you can still have that cake if it’s your absolute favorite, but take a very small slice, and see if that doesn’t curb your craving. The worst thing you can do, in my opinion, is to deprive yourself of something really wonderful, or beat yourself up when you cave in to a craving. Lighten up, take a smaller portion and enjoy.

There are vitamins and supplements that may help keep your arteries clean and healthy too. Talk to your doctor about adding vitamins C, B-complex and E, and Selenium, Calcium, Magnesium and CoQ10 to your regimen. A deficiency in Copper and Zinc has been shown to negatively effect the heart, making it difficult for the body to repair a damaged arterial wall. Be careful about salt, potassium and salt-substitutes (they usually contain potassium). Both are absolutely necessary for proper cardiac function, but too much or too little can cause trouble. If your doctor gives vitamins, etc. short shrift, talk to a dietitian or other nutritionist, and get their input. Then try running it by your doc again, with more information in hand.  Many doctors are resistant to change, and have had the need for pills and other potions drummed into them by the folks who manufacture those nostrums. While there is certainly an important place for medication in the management of heart disease, the ongoing task of  disease prevention, cardiac healing and general health improvement is better done by adding dietary changes, vitamins and supplements to the mix - but only with your MD’s knowledge! Not all vitamins and supplements play nicely with all medications. You need to know what you’re taking, what the side effects of that might be, and how they could interact with food as well complimentary regimens.

There’s so much more - just google ‘heart disease’ and you’ll see what I mean - but perhaps this bit of scribbling will help to get my readers up out of their chair (after reading my deathless prose, of course), and keep them moving around for a long time. I hope so. After getting through 2008, I don’t want to spend any more time visiting friends and family in the hospital, unless it’s for some glorious event, like a birth!

The problem comes when our leaders begin to implement that system, and whether they opt for a ‘Universal Healthcare’ model, or an ‘Affordable Healthcare Insurance’ model. I went to the new website “Change.gov” to see for myself what the Obama administration is proposing. I have mixed emotions about the plan, in part due to the fiscal realities we are now facing. But there is another issue that troubles me, and it is this statement, in the third paragraph on that page: “If you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of new, affordable health insurance options.” This means (to me) that President-elect Obama is still determined to have us rely on the tender mercies of the insurance industry for our health care, rather than creating some sort of Universal Healthcare that will guarantee a high level of appropriate, necessary and life-saving treatment for ALL of our citizenry, regardless of ability to pay. Further, if the past is precedent, having insurance companies running the show means wellness maintenance will be given short shrift, ‘Big Pharma’ will continue to make obscene profits, the FDA will continue it’s war on complimentary medicine, doctors will continue to have insurance companies dictating what they can and cannot do for their patients, and the poorest among us, who most need access to real healthcare (not emergency room visits for a sore throat), will be forced to spend money they don’t have for insurance that (I promise you) will be bottom-of-the-barrel in quality.

Oh but wait - those who need it will be given a tax credit to help defray the cost of their crappy, low-end insurance! How nice, except that not all of those people have an income, and those that do will have to wait a whole year to get back those desperately needed funds. I see nothing in the plan as presented on this website to reassure me that the poor and/or elderly will be protected from their insurers’ refusing to pay for needed care. Nor do I see a plan to protect them from having to decide between buying their medications (using that ’swell’ Medicare part D that is shoveling even more bucks to the pharmaceutical giants) or buying food, or paying their utility bills. I am, to say the least, underwhelmed.

While I like much of what the transition team has outlined - no penalties for pre-existing conditions, a tax credit for small businesses so they can more easily provide health insurance for their employees, some protection for doctors from being fleeced by the insurance industry for their malpractice insurance, and so on - the overall concept seems to me to be nothing more than the same old stuff in a prettier package.

Did no one in the upcoming administration take even a side-long glance at what the rest of the industrialized, civilized world is doing? Surely, with European and Canadian health care systems to serve as models (albeit imperfect ones), they could have come up with something more enlightened, and more inclined toward keeping us healthy from the get-go, rather than smearing that proverbial lipstick on the same old disease-focused, pill-popping, medical/surgical ‘pig’ that is modern US health care.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do have questions - lots of them - regarding this Brave New Healthcare Plan. It doesn’t look all that brave, or all that new either, to me. I hope the Obama team will revisit this issue once they are in power, and perhaps make some revisions that will address the concerns I’ve mentioned, and others. I see that the transition team is planning a series of community discussions over the holidays, in which we, the people can voice our concerns. If you are able to get to one of these, I encourage you to go. I know I will be looking for one near me, and I’ll make it a point to be there.

My experiences in the medical world still haunted me though, and those are what finally drove me to start this blog. Over the years, I have been at varying times shocked, outraged, ashamed and/or frustrated with our broken system of health-care, and the dearth of options or real assistance provided to those suffering from the most severe, debilitating conditions. It was the last ten years I spent as an active RN, working in hospice, that finally did me in. Watching the agony we put patients and their families through, so the corporations can get that last ounce of flesh before they die, was more than I could take.

What I hope to do here is make this a place where people can turn for real help in navigating our labyrinthine medical system. A place where they can find suggestions to help force hospitals and/or practitioners to respect their rights and beliefs, and information on alternative (or ‘complimentary’ if you like that term better) treatment for illnesses. Finally, I’d like to help hospice patients and their families get through the dying process with as little additional trauma as possible.

I don’t want it to be doom and gloom, with a lot of ranting (not that that’s entirely out of the question). Rather, I’d like it to be a hopeful and enlightening place where folks can come and maybe get a bit of information that will help to make a difference for them.

If I can do that, I’ll be a happy nurse!