Or am I the only one that misses Kevin?.... It just kinda dies around here without him!

I hope he and Loren are having a Great time.

When is he coming home?

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Dan & Sweet Georgene

This last week has been eerily quiet around here. I don't know if Kevin deserves the credit or not but I'll give it to him anyway.

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yes, two moderators have been very quiet. kevin...the lost prince and sherry the wife of the gall bladder guy. murray has been rather under the weather so there has been a profound lack of sleep around here. that isn't conducive to happy chatter. the good news is kevin should be back in a day or so and murray will have his gall bladder out probably tomorrow.

we are almost all ready to smile again.

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Sherry, tell Murray I said that that's a unique weight loss plan he's using there. *wink, wink* All kidding aside, I hope his surgery is a breeze. Keep us posted!

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Amie
Stylish Crochet Patterns
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I heard that gall bladder surgery has gotten much similiar over the years. I think they now do laser. Is that what he's having? My sister had hers out back in the late 80's and the recovery time was like 6+ weeks. Now I hear its a breeze...hope that's the case with Murray!!! good luck!

P.S. Even though I've only been lerking this week...Kevin is greatly missed!

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"These are a few of my favorite things"
...Elisa
defecting to St. Thomas/St. John Oct. 10-17, '09, St. Thomas/St. John 2/23-3/3, 2010

yeah, that is exactly right. they do 3 little holes. one for a camera and 2 for removal. they just about suck it out of those 2 holes. no discomfort from major invasive surgery. recovery is less than a week. our doctor's wife was back to normal after about 3 days. they are the people who introduced us to aruba so i was around for that surgery. i was totally amazed how well she felt because i remember the old style surgery. you are right. 6+ weeks for recovery.

i agree, kevin's charm is missing. btw, he is just as charming in person. so is loren.

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Good Luck to Murray on his surgery.

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March 25-April 22, 2010
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just for the record...i meant to use the word simpler instead of similar, is it Friday yet?

Glad to hear his recovery will be quick! Best of Luck!

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"These are a few of my favorite things"
...Elisa
defecting to St. Thomas/St. John Oct. 10-17, '09, St. Thomas/St. John 2/23-3/3, 2010

don't we just love hospitals...because the doctor did such a good job getting his pain under control, the surgery is no longer considered emergency and will now be scheduled as an elective. that means that the hospital has delayed it by a few days and it probably won't be done until tuesday. the doctor did inform us that if he starts having pain it then is considered emergency again and it will be done before then. does any of this make sense to you?

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Sherry, It is NOT you, it is the crazy doctors we have around, makes NO sense to me at all, other than maybe Murray's doctor had some plans, like golfing or skiing!!!! I wish Murray well.

Hey, Murray.

Sorry to hear you're ailing and I hope the surgery and recovery are quick and painless.

In the alternative, I hope they give you some real strong drugs!!

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Gosh, gotta love those doctors! Remember tell him NO DAIRY PRODUCTS!!!

Then the insurance company is gonna say "Oh he had his gall bladder taken out electively, we don't have to pay...it wasn't an emergency". Like we all walk around and feel we don't need one...why not get rid of it .

Sorry, in that kinda mood today!

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"These are a few of my favorite things"
...Elisa
defecting to St. Thomas/St. John Oct. 10-17, '09, St. Thomas/St. John 2/23-3/3, 2010

actually, it is totally not the doctor. we have been friends for over 30 years. he was ready to cut today. he had him scheduled in his own plans but the hospital changed everyone's minds. you really can't blame these things on the doctors most of the time. the hospitals make the schedules. i learned a lot thru the years of being friends with this guy. i no longer blame doctors for the things i have learned that the hospitals control. btw, he doesn't ski, golf, or any other sport except infrequent fishing. he hasn't got the time. he works more hours than any of us would ever work and then gets to be on call too much. most doctors today don't have the luxury lives that they had in the past. this guy is a well respected and very busy surgeon and even then his income is no where near what doctors made even 10 years ago. the insurance companies and the hospitals screw everyone. doctors and patients suffer evenly. it really is frustrating.

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you are probably right about the insurance companies. they didn't pay for most of our shots for africa. like duh, hey fools, if we didn't get those shots you would be paying a lot more for our hospital stays. but, of course, those shots were elective shots. we didn't HAVE to get them.

dairy is ok as long as it is low or no fat. he can have milk in his coffee just small amounts.

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OK I take back my remark about doctors. I know down here in Ga. that the insurance they have to carry costs $250,000 a year. All of the good doctors are giving up their practices because of this expense and the law here requires them to carry this insurance. My OB/GYN gave up her practice this year. She might be 54-55 years old. She told me it just didn't make sense for her to pay such a price to make a living so she quit. I saw her recently and she is still very sad about the entire situation. She misses her patients and those babies she delivered. She told me 2 other doctors that where in same group as she was have also given their notices for the first of the year.
And the hospitals, they have us all right by the you know what's!!!
Anyway, I hope Murray's situation improves every second.

you are so accurate with what you say. every single word is the truth. my ob/gyn gave it up several years ago. he cried over it. it broke his heart. our surgeon friend had a big jump a few years ago in his insurance because he hadn't been sued. imagine...because he hadn't been sued the law of averages say he will be so they raised the insurance accordingly. accordingly meant doubling it.

thanks for all the wishes for murray. he should be back to his normal self within a few days of surgery. until then, expect to hear me complain, hahahaha.

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Not too long ago Malpractice insurance for doctors was in the news for quite some time. It had gone up so much that most private practices just couldn't afford it and closed up! Your right about Drs. salary's these days they certainly are not what they used to be. The old jokes about taking wednesdays off to golf, etc....just don't hear them anymore.

I've had really really bad experiences with Dr.'s and Hospitals. Both my grandfather and father died due to Hospital error and I just can't get past it. Grant you that was 20+ years ago but the memories are still there.

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...Elisa
defecting to St. Thomas/St. John Oct. 10-17, '09, St. Thomas/St. John 2/23-3/3, 2010

elisabeth...we are in the same boat. murray lost his father to a hospital error. the memory never even fades does it?

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Hey Sherry, ever hear that song by, (I think), Reba McIntyre, "I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR" , you just go ahead and roar all you want. We all understand your concerns and predicament, you are allowed!!!!

I was about to wade in to defend trial lawyers and how it's not our fault that health care costs are what they are. But you guys have already correctly pointed out that the cost of healthcare has more to do with insurance than lawsuits.

I know, I know, malpractice insurance premiums are based on the risk of being sued (and losing the suit). Well, a medical malpractice suit is not a frivilous lawuit. I maintain that any lawsuit that arises following the death of a human being is, on its face, not a frivilous suit. Sherry and Elisabeth, can I get a second on that?

Were it not for litigation, we would still be driving Ford Pintos.

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My OB/GYN left for Vegas, because the HMOs were forcing him to spend only 15 minutes per patient and he was used to spending more time with you to ask questions about your life and make sure you are OK! How awful of him, lol.

And Sherry, it is not you. I was left in the ER for HOURS with appendix pain, which they did not address until the pain hit "10" (you know, on that scale they give you) and I was nauseous. By then, it was leaking, and I was stuck in the hospital for a week with an infection.

PS Charlie and BP - what am I, chopped liver?

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i agree mostly charlie. the reason i say mostly is that people get gigantic settlements. the amounts are foolishness. only thing we wanted when murray's father died was the anesthesiogist (sp) to lose his license. took us several years to find out but he did and will never kill another. in those days you didn't sue like now. we didn't, but he got what he deserved. that's all that mattered.

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I respond with respectful discretion. This goal (making sure it never happens again) is a common goal of the families of deceased victims of medical malpractice.

Of course, that anesthesiologist (sp?) isn't going to just say, "I screwed up" and hand over his/her license. The case against that medical practitioner is first going to have to be proven and your local state's medical licensing agency aint apt to do that dirty work for you. You are going to have to hire a lawyer and that lawyer can't do it for free (and, believe me, the accused doctor will be defended by a lawyer hired by his or her malpractice carrier and they will defend their client vigorously). The point I'm trying to make is that the lawyer that prosecutes the case will incur between $20,000 and $100,000 in out-of-pocket expenses just preparing the case for trial. If the lawyer can't recover those expenses, the lawyer can't afford to take the case.

Dollars and cents should not control medical decisions but, unfortunately, all-too-often they do.

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it was several years later and heather needed knee surgery. we had not sued because no records could be found. paper copy was much easier to get rid of...paper trails were shorter in those days. the anesthesiologist (will someone look up that word for us, lol) came to talk to heather and me. she looked at our last name and said, hey, are you related to.... it seems she was the head of the state board and they did file charges. they also took away his license. no lawsuit...no lawyers...very unusual. but you are right, rarely does that happen. i don't think lawyers should work for free. but i think that a that a $10mil settlement on a 70 year old is a bit much. i do believe there need to be caps on the maximums. i also believe that if it is a serious infraction the dr should lose more than money.

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That is a surprising (and rare) result that the state revoked the anesthesiologist's (that's how I spell it and I'm sticking to it) license on their own investigation.

I, too, think $10,000,000 settlements are extreme. I personally think those kinds of settlements are far less common than the general population is led to believe. But, bottom line, if it's a settlement, that means both sides agreed to it. If the doctor (who is being defended by a lawyer hired by his malpractice insurance carrier) doesn't agree to pay that sum, that sum isn't paid in settlement and the case goes to trial. A defense attorney would never recommend that kind of settlement figure unless he or she genuinely believed that their client could potentially get hit for a lot more in trial.

Judgments are another story. Again, I think 8 figure judgments are far less frequent than the general public probably believes, but, if it goes to a jury and the jury is convinced that the conduct merits those kind of damages....well, that's why we have courts of appeal.

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an interesting aside to this. our doctor's wife was picked for a jury on a malpractice suit. she was truly surprised that they would pick her after she told them her opinion. however, ironically, she found for the plaintiff. she said the doctor truly screwed up. that, my friends, is an honest woman. btw, our doctor has also testified against other doctors. he honestly believes that no one is above the law. maybe that's why we trust him so much?

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That is both interesting and ironic (and admirable on the part of your doctor's wife). I, myself, got to serve on a jury once. Talk about a rare opportunity for a trial lawyer! It was a fascinating experience. To participate in the process as twelve strangers discussed and ultimately came to a unanimous conclusion about a case based on the evidence we received was remarkable.

One of the things I always say to jurys during closing arguments in my own trials goes something like this: Ladies and gentlemen, unless you plan to run for elected office, you, as a private citizen, have but two opportunities to actually participate in this thing we call the government of the people, by the people, for the people. One is when you vote. The other is when you serve on a jury. When you are on a jury, you are the government. It may be on a smaller scale and it may only apply to the case at bar but you, the jury, are the government and you will decide policy as it pertains to this matter.

It's debatable how much my juries are moved by my little civics lesson but I move myself every time.

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Corrine.... You know better than that!.... Your at least a " NewYork Strip Steak " ( no pun intended ) ..... I like liver and onions.... and Georgene thinks I am sick.
...................................................................... ............................

Sherry.... I hope Murry gets to feeling better soon..... us guys can be tough as nails.... but when we are sick or something..... we can be worse than 2 yearolds.

It's funny... but when I get sick ( which is almost never )... Georgene says....I act like I want my " Mommy ".... and I DO!

I have been lurking around... with out much to say ( and that's not me )


I know what it is .... I miss ARUBA!!.... It's been like 5 months and I am starting to break out in a rash. ......Time always flyes when you don't want it too.....and then when you want it too....It crawls on it's back.

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Dan & Sweet Georgene

My mother chose not to sue. Would not bring her loved ones back. She lost her dad in 1981 and her husband (my father) in 1983. Eighteen months apart...Alot to take in such a short period of time. I constintely think of that because I am now the age that this all happened to her.

One thing I have to say is that between the 2 insurances (her's and his) there still was a 75,000.00 balance and the Dr. wrote her a letter (which I still have) saying she did not have to pay this balance. GUILTY or what?

In 1983 (10 days after my dad died) I woke up in St. Lukes/Roosevelt Hosptial, NYC (midnight surgery following a miscarriage) and my IV bag was completly empty....I started ringing the buzzer and yelling. Finally someone came in and now they are all running around like crazy trying to hook up a new bag before air travelled into my vains and killed me. Not sure if that is the actual screnario that would have happened but boy was that scary. And all they said was Oops, between the change of shifts (night & day) I was forgotten about. HELLO!!! I just always felt one does not know what the other is doing...one nurse comes in with my discharge papers and then the dietician comes in to get my lunch and dinner order...

So you see where my faith in Hosptials and Drs. is.

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...Elisa
defecting to St. Thomas/St. John Oct. 10-17, '09, St. Thomas/St. John 2/23-3/3, 2010

OMG, Elisabeth, that is very scary! I didn't know that an empty IV bag is so dangerous! When I had my appendix out, they never changed the IV needle and I was turning black & blue! I had to BEG an overworked nurse to change it.
I'm sorry we all have so many sad stories regarding medical care..................

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Speaking of chopped liver , isn't Kevin due home today?????

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The countdown's begun!
January 30th to February 27th!

My dad was in the hospital in October for prostate surgery. The hospital usually gives out toiletry kits (toothpaste,mouthwash, etc.) My dad gets a letter from the hospital in Myrtle Beach (a very well renowned one as well) stating that the mouthwash they gave out was contiminated and was recalled in August and they still gave it out! He got the letter last week!!!!!!! Hubby is an attorney and is looking into the matter. Dad didn't have any of the side effects they said in the letter. There was an article in the paper as well as on the local news. Hubby wrote an editorial to the newspaper. We'll see what happens

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I also wanted to give my best wishes to murray.

Keep us posted sherry.

Ah! You are too much! Thanks, BP, I'll take the NY Sirloin over being chopped liver.

Jackie - Gosh! I have never heard of that one!

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Thanks again to all who missed me - and STOP BADMOUTHING LIVER! We went shopping when we got back (the fridge was EMPTY), and I tried to get some liver, but Loren wouldn't let me - she won't even be home this wknd, but still won't allow me to cook it because she can't stand how it makes the house smell. Woe is me

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kevin, next jewish holiday you and loren are invited. i promise to make chopped liver. good deal?

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Deal!

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