Archive for November, 2010

The Grinches who stole my kidney transplant

November 28, 2010

About a month ago, I lost my health insurance.  Within three weeks, I had gotten it back.  Just a few days after I notified Washington Hospital Center that my insurance was gone, they took me off the kidney waiting list.

They claimed I was kicked off the list not just because of a lack of insurance but also because of non-compliance – that I should already be on dialysis.  But it seems a little suspicious that I was on the waiting list for two and a half years (see www.mikeneedsakidney.com) and then a few days after I notified them that I’d lost my health insurance, they took me off the list and wouldn’t put me back on even after I told them my insurance was reinstated.

After spending three weeks getting my health insurance back, I’ve now spent another week trying to get back on the WHC waiting list.  It seems I’d have a better chance getting one from the Wizard of Oz (on TBS right now).  (That reminds me, one of the great signs was put up years ago on a beltway overpass before the Mormon Temple.  The sign said, “Surrender Dorothy!” since the temple looks like the Emerald City).  At least there’s a better chance of getting a kidney there that than going back to the Wicked Witch of the West (WHC).  Though I just saw the scene where they go to the Wizard and his assistant says, “Go away!”

Then there are the lyrics from the song “Tin Man” by America:  ”Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man, That he didn’t, didn’t already have.”  Luckily, I’m still on another list, and if I get a donor, the list will be irrelevant, though there is a scenario in which being kicked off the list would cost me my life.  

Torrey Smith’s four touchdowns pace Terps in 38-31 win over Wolfpack

November 28, 2010

Maryland's Torrey Smith, seen here vs. Boston College in 2009, scored four TDs Saturday in the Terps' 38-31 win over N.C. State. Photo: Keith Lovett via Flickr.

Torrey Smith caught four touchdown passes from Danny O’Brien as the Maryland Terrapins defeated the N.C. State Wolfpack, 38-31 Saturday in College Park, Maryland.  The Terps will likely play in the Military Bowl in RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Dec. 29. Maryland will play in its seventh bowl in coach Ralph Friedgen’s 10 seasons as coach.

To see the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

Michael Vick getting the credit he deserves, proving critics wrong

November 27, 2010

Former Virginia Tech star Michael Vick has received widespread praise for his play quarterbacking the Philadelphia Eagles, and rightfully so.  After Vick accounted for six touchdowns in a 59-28 road win against the Redskins two weeks ago, many NFL experts called Vick a possible MVP candidate, and some even called him the best player in the NFL.

But many members of the media who have nothing but good things to say about Vick, especially the talking heads on ESPN, are the same people who insisted that Vick would play a different position once he returned to the NFL.

Virtually every analyst at ESPN either said that Vick would not only come back playing a different position, but that he was never a good quarterback in the first place. Chris Mortensen of ESPN was one of many who said Vick might play receiver, defensive back, and return kicks, and do it in the UFL, whatever that is.  It’s funny how none of those “experts” admits he was wrong.  At least one blogger predicted before the 2009 season that Vick would be successful again as a quarterback, though, and gave Vick credit for winning 10 more games than he lost.

The trade last spring that brought former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Redskins made Washington better, but who would have thought that not only would the Eagles stay playoff bound, but the Vick would be their starter? Vick has become a better player since he has become the starter for Philadelphia, and he has also been helped by Eagles coach Andy Reid and good receivers. But there was a reason Vick was the highest played player in the game before he got busted for dogfighting.  Vick’s ability to throw, run, and throw on the run struck fear into the hearts of defenses.

Ask defenders who they fear more, a quarterback who can hurt them in multiple ways, or an interception machine like Jay Cutler or Brett Favre?  Quarterbacks like Cutler and Favre get overrated, while quarterbacks like Vick have traditionally been underrated (Jemele Hill of ESPN.com has an idea why).

Vick has paid his price and made a great comeback.  But back to the original point: when it comes to football, Vick deserves all the credit he gets.  It’s just staggering, though, how so many so-called experts said that a quarterback who was 10 games over .500 for his career not only couldn’t play anymore, but was never any good in the first place.  It was also strange that these carnival barkers, many of them former players and writers, also said Vick wouldn’t return as a quarterback.

But if you said that Vick couldn’t play quarterback, and even tried to tell everybody that he was never any good in the first place, at least admit you were wrong about his ability two years ago when you talk about how great he is now.

To see my entire article on Examiner.com, click here.

Cleaning and organizing in Washington, D.C. and Maryland

November 27, 2010

I thought I would post this about a company that uses mostly people with disabilities in cleaning and organizing.  I’ve used them before and they’re good.  This is cut and pasted from an email:

“My name is Janet Carter and I am the owner of ABC Cleaning Services.  This is a new company that employs individuals with disabilities. I am interested in obtaining residential and/or commercial contracts. If you have any questions or are in need of our services, please feel free to contact me. We will be happy to accommodate you in your home or office environment.”

ABC Cleaning Services, LLC
Janet Carter
abccleaningservices1@gmail.com
202-526-8028

Mason Alert Take Me Home program will help prevent autism wandering, save lives

November 25, 2010

Mason Allen Medlam

Last July, 5-year old Mason Medlam drowned in a pond after wandering from his home.  He had autism.  Wandering and drowning are leading causes of death for children with autism, who are often unaware of danger, fascinated by water, and unable to communicate.

Mason’s family has proposed the Mason Alert, a national registry of people with autism and other disabilities that would help authorities find them if they go missing.

Plans are underway for the Mason Alert questions to be integrated with an existing police program for autism wandering safety, the Take Me Home program, which contains photos and contact information for approximately 500 children and adults with autism and other disabilities in Pensacola, Florida.  Approximately 250 police departments across the U.S., Canada, and England are using the Take Me Home program, which is free to any police departments that want to use it.

The information in the Mason Alert includes not only photos of children and adults with autism along with contact information, but it also lists their fascinations and interests, whether they are verbal or nonverbal, if they have any serious health concerns such as seizures, how they react under stress, how to approach them, and other information specific to the person.

The Medlam family has been raising awareness of autism wandering in the months since Mason’s death.

“Losing Mason was like losing the other half of my soul,” said Sheila Medlam, the mother of Mason.  “From the very beginning we shared his story with everybody because we didn’t ever want it to happen to anybody else and we wanted to give some meaning to something so horrible.”

The Mason family also hopes to establish an alert similar to the national AMBER Alert system for missing children, or to include criteria for autism wandering into the AMBER Alert, which currently only covers abducted children.

But for now, Medlam hopes that lives will be saved because of the story of her son, the awareness that has been raised about autism wandering, and the expansion of the Take Me Home program to include the questions in the Mason Alert.

“I think every child that is saved because this is in place is a piece of my son alive,” Medlam said.  “When I look in their eyes I see the same thing I saw in my son’s eyes.  The same inner sense of beauty and joy and mischief, I see it in their eyes and they’re very, very, very special children and they should be protected by everybody, and with everything we have to protect them.”

For the complete article on Examiner.com, please click here.

Caps 4, Buffalo Sabres 2

November 18, 2010

Matt Bradley of the Caps scores past Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller to give Washington a 2-0 lead during Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Sabres at Verizon Center. Photo by Mike Frandsen.

The Washington Capitals rushed out to a 3-0 lead, gave up two goals in 48 seconds, and then held on for a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday in Washington.  The win avenged a 3-2 loss to the Sabres last Saturday, Washington’s only loss in its last nine games.

For the rest of the article on Examiner.com, click here.

Hospital drops transplant patient from kidney waiting list because of loss of insurance

November 18, 2010

So the health insurance saga continues.  It has been almost three weeks since I haven’t had insurance.  I’ve contacted the White House, the governor, my congressman, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Joint Commission on Health Care Organizations, plus many more organizations that I don’t have time to mention.

So the hospital dropped me from the waiting list for a kidney transplant because I don’t have insurance.  It’s like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm only not that funny.  Whatever can go wrong will.

I even faxed a bunch of documents today and the fax said it went through and the recipient says they didn’t get it.  Same with scanned and emailed PDF documents.

As for the “Medical non-compliance” part, they claim that I should be on dialysis by now, though I can’t get on it without insurance.  It’s just a way to drop me once my insurance terminated.

One thing is clear — the Obama health care plan didn’t go far enough.  The law made it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions…starting in 2014.

In Maryland, there is a new law that states that you can’t talk on the phone while driving.  What if they said, “Here’s the new law…but it doesn’t go into effect until 2014.”  At some point a law was also put in place that required people in cars to wear seat belts.  What if they said the law doesn’t go into effect for another four years?

I’ve spent the last two weeks working on this and there’s no end in sight.

It’s just typical how people will kick you when you’re down.  It’s not, “What can I do to help you get health insurance back?” it’s, “Oh, you lost your insurance?  We have to let you go.”  It’s amazing how fast they cut me loose.  It’s like an athlete having an injury, so he’s temporarily no longer any good to the team, so he gets cut.

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Maryland Health Insurance Plan employees: terrible people

November 17, 2010

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Maryland Health Insurance Plan employees are absolutely horrible people.  They cancelled me because I forgot one payment and then rejected my appeal, and I have no other prospects for health insurance, and I will need a kidney transplant.  These people are unbelievable.  I’m pretty sure what they are doing is fraudulent and illegal.

White House sends form letter back about urgent health insurance issue

November 17, 2010

I wrote and called the White House several times with an urgent specific issue about health insurance and got a form letter back. I lost my health insurance with the only company that covers people in Maryland with pre-existing conditions, and I will need dialysis or a kidney transplant soon.  The numbers and websites below are no good for me because I’m not eligible for any of those programs. Medicaid has a $12,000 deductible in the first six months which is totally ridiculous.

By the way, a lot of people, including those at Health and Human Services (both national and local) are under the mistaken impression that the new health care law prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against people on the basis of pre-existing conditions, but that’s not true.  The provision is only good if you are under 19 or if it is after 2014. In fact, the way the underwriting codes are written, it is literally impossible for someone born with a pre-existing condition to get health insurance except through a federal pool but you have to have not had insurance for six months.  Some states like Maryland have their own plans, making people ineligible for the federal plan, and the Maryland Health Insurance Plan was the one that terminated me because I missed a payment.  They rejected my appeal. The second appeal is in progress but they say they are too busy to get to it now.

Yesterday I spent the whole day at the local HHS and at the end of the day they finally told me there would be a $12,000 deductible for Medicaid.  I wish they had told me that last week when I was there.

Imagine if you forgot to pay your phone bill once, they didn’t give you a warning or even notify you of the termination, and then your phone service was cut off with no chance of getting any other phone service (unless you paid $12,000 first).  Well, health insurance is a much more important issue.  Without it, my donor can’t get tested, I can’t get my kidney function tested, I can’t get a procedure done to get back on the waiting list, I can’t get surgery to prepare for dialysis, I can’t get medications, not to mention that there’s always the possibility of getting in an accident or getting sick.

Here’s the White House’s form letter back:

From: no-reply@correspondence.whitehouse.gov
Subject: Thank you for your message.
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:45:04 -0500

Dear Friend:

Thank you for writing.  I have been moved and inspired by the stories of Americans struggling with health care, and I appreciate your perspective.  It is because of the many men and women facing frustration, hardship, and financial burden in addition to significant health problems that we worked so hard to get health reform done.

After a century of striving, after a year of debate, and after a historic vote, health care reform is no longer an unmet promise to the American people.  It is the law of the land.  While some reforms will be put in place later, a host of desperately needed reforms have already gone into effect.  To learn more about what health reform means for you, visit www.HealthCare.gov orwww.WhiteHouse.gov/HealthReform.

As we work together to improve the lives of all our citizens, please know the trials and triumphs of Americans like you motivate my Administration to work even harder to overcome the challenges before us.  I am confident we will emerge from these tough times stronger than before with a renewed promise of a better future for all.

For more information on resources that may be available to you, please visit http://go.usa.gov/aIv or http://go.usa.gov/aI7 or call 1-(800)-FED-INFO.  Those seeking assistance with health care can also call the Department of Health and Human Services at 1-(877)-696-6775.

Again, thank you for contacting me.  I wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

 

John Wall, Yi Jianlian lead Wizards to 98-91 win over Rockets, Yao Ming leaves with injury

November 11, 2010

Yi Jianlian of the Washington Wizards. Photo by Mike Frandsen

Chinese basketball stars Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian faced off Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., but it was rookie John Wall who stole the show with a triple-double as the Wizards (2-4) defeated the Houston Rockets 98-91.

The 7-6 Yao, who helped make basketball the most popular sport in China, had to leave the game after six minutes because of a strained tendon in his left foot.  Meanwhile, his protégé, the 7-foot Yi, had his best game in a Wizards uniform, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and blocking four shots in front of 16,665 on Asian American night at Verizon Center in a game that more than 400,000 people in China were expected to watch early in the morning.

Wall and Yi hooked up for one of the plays of the game in the third quarter, when Wall passed to Yi for one of his 13 assists. Yi drove past Luis Scola of the Rockets (1-6) on the baseline and threw down a dunk to give Washington a 68-63 lead late in the third quarter.

Yi grabs one of his seven rebounds against Houston Wednesday. Photo by Mike Frandsen.

Wall, the number one pick in the 2010 NBA draft, also had 19 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and only one turnover.

Wall became the sixth player in the history of the NBA to have a triple-double in the first six games of his career. One of those players was Magic Johnson, who was in attendance, sitting to the left of the Wizards’ bench next to owner Ted Leonsis.

For the rest of the article on Examiner.com, click here.

 


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