Update on Duane, by Duane

From Duane Tron, March 15, 2008
Subject: Duane's Update!

I have been evaluated by the cardiologist. I am waiting to have the heart cath and they will decide what treatment will be needed at that time. I am doing well physically but experiencing a little ongoing discomfort. I only have a few restrictions. The main one is avoiding very strenuous and lengthy physical activity. I continue to follow a diet of healthy nutrition and smaller portions. I have been going to school each day apart from when I was in the hospital and visiting the doctor.

I don't appreciate some pencil pushing bureaucrat at a health insurance company making decisions about my medical welfare. This is ludicrous and once again points to a very broken health care system in this country. The very idea that someone who doesn't know a person, or our medical condition, and medical history, deciding who stays in the hospital is outrageous!

The bottom line! These companies don't care one bit about human life. They are uncaring, insensitive, callous, and greedy. It's all about how much profit they can make and often at the expense of the lives of our citizens. A retired executive friend of mine has told me many times, "large corporations do not have a 'conscience." Everything is measured in terms of how much profit they can make and how much gravy the top people can put on their plates. He retired because he said he was fed up with this mindset and trying to change them is almost impossible. He said he worked with people who no longer have a soul. "They sold it to the devil!"

In closing let me ask everyone a hypothetical question. Do you suppose if my name were George Bush, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, Barbara Streisand, Barbara Boxer, LeBron James, Brett Favre, Nancy Pelosi or Rudy Giuliani a health insurance company would have ordered my dismissal from the hospital?? You can kind of get the idea now can't you?! I would have stayed for as long as the doctor deemed necessary wouldn't I? The answer to #1 is "No," the answer to #2 is "Yes," and the answer to #3 is "Yes!" Nothing like fair and equitable health care is there?

Please keep me in prayer for healing and I'll keep the health insurance companies and STRS in prayer for healing! After all they aren't well either, now, are they? You may pray for the healing of my heart and I will pray for the healing of their souls. When I look at it from this perspective I am all right and doing great regardless of my physical outcome. I don't know if they will be able to claim the same with their illness. After all I would rather lose my physical life and save my soul than to sell my soul to benefit my physical life.

Blessings,

Duane

Your prayers, please...............

From Duane Tron, March 12, 2008
Subject: Seeing cardiologist tomorrow!
All,
FYI
I thought my stress test went well as I didn't have any difficulty with any part of it. I saw my doctor for follow-up this morning and he told me that there are some concerns with the test they administered. He has consulted with the cardiologist and they saw some things that indicate that I have some problems that need further attention ASAP. My doctor called the cardiologist and I am scheduled for consultation tomorrow and they said I need a heart catheterization to determine where the damage is located. Tomorrow we meet and he will schedule the heart cath. I was told they want to examine an anterior arterial wall and check for any blood clots or blockages, and will decide if they need to put in stints at that time. They won't know if I will need stints, surgery, or what procedures until they go in and inspect the arteries and heart. I will keep you posted as to what they are going to do.
And to think our wonderful health insurance provider ordered me out of the hospital against the advice of my doctor who wanted to keep me for further tests. I guess chest pain and discomfort in the upper neck and back is just normal everyday pain experienced by everyone?
I spent my life trying to teach young people the virtues and importance of compassion, caring, respect for others, honesty, priorities, the value of human life, human dignity, and the worth of all people. It's apparent there are a lot of people out there who missed being in my classes during the past 36 years and most of them work for health insurance companies.
I'll let you know how things turn out and what they find. If I'm not around to do so my wife will keep you posted per my instructions. I'm very tired and have been for the past few months so I am going to bed and rest. Thank you for all of the prayers and support you provide. We appreciate it! Good night!
Sincerely,
Duane Tron

Now you know!

From Shirlee Zerkel, March 11, 2008

Have you ever wondered why some doctors are in a network and some are not? There are two reasons:

(1) Those doctors, who are not in the network, are not willing to practice medicine with an insurance company telling them what they can and can not do for a patient.

(2) Those doctors in a company's network get paid a subsidy for each patient of that company that they treat, but the procedure must be according to the insurance company's wishes or some of the subsidy is taken away.

Some doctors in networks are good doctors to their patients because they find a way around the rules or are willing to lose some money. Others do not want to play those games and I can understand why, so they choose not to join networks. Sometimes an insurance company drops a doctor because that doctor has refused to let a patient go without whatever care is needed.

This information comes to me from a nurse who at one time managed a GP's office and is now working for an insurance company as an investigator on providers.

Shirlee

Jim N. Reed: No takers YET on Dennis Leone's standing invitation (can't imagine why, can you?)

Jim N. Reed to John Curry, March 9, 2008
Subject: Re: So, why would the OEA want to "control" the STRS Board?

"Those who would ignorantly ignore the history of STRS are surely doomed to have it repeated."

John, every active and retired educator should be forever grateful to you for this roster of reasons for seriously considering and electing a non-OEA candidate to the STRS Board.

There is little doubt in my mind that this information is still wanting in the STRS knowledge bank of a majority of Ohio's educators.What a shame for them.

This is exactly the kind of information that needs disseminated in every election campaign for the STRS Board. What makes the roster especially incriminating and damning is that Dr. Leone has had a standing invitation to anyone from STRS or OEA to rebut it. To my knowledge, there have been no takers since 2003. After all, how can they refute allegations based on OEA and STRS-supplied facts!

Those who would ignorantly ignore the history of STRS are surely doomed to have it repeated.

Thank you for not making it easy for those STRS illiterates to claim ignorance.

Jim N. Reed