Don't get sick here

I talked to a friend from the hospital last night and he painted a dark picture on the state of Commonwealth Health Center -- notably worse than recent times. There is one surgeon left (on call 24 hours a day), as two good ones, Drs. Sawer and George have left. There is minimal blood, so some patients can't get the care they need, including surgery, since doctors won't take that risk without extra blood. A few people told me that one. The place is wildly understaffed, doctors are hard to find in an emergency, and to make matters worse, patients make no effort to help themselves, eating things that exacerbate their diabetes situation, a disease that is very manageable with education and self control. The diabetes rate is catacylsmic, and the eating habits I see are wretched behind belief. I'm hardly a vegan or anything, but I don't go overboard on the salty snacks or donuts, and always try to maintain some moderation.

On this note, my wife is diabetic, and is one of these people not doing what she should. If they had a rehab center for sugar, I'd seriously consider having her admitted because she has a kid's/addict's affinity for sweets. If I see them in the house, I throw them out. I don't care if money was spent on it or what. Feel free to abuse her over this, but it probably won't matter since even the doctor's advice she minimizes, and it is majorly pissing me off. In fact, I half think she wouldn't be seeing forty if we didn't meet and I wasn't there to get her situation mildly under control. The number one thing we fight about is the sugar she lets the kids have. A situation that is improved, but not where it should be. End of rant on my wife. Tough luck baby. Cut the crap and I'll take this part down. Back to my regularly scheduled post.

The message this person gave me is "don't get sick here. If you do, get out, and if you're too unstable to be transported, you're in trouble." Dr. Khorram wrote a great post on this topic, and he obviously knows a lot more about this issue than I do. One great point he made was the private care physicians and the great work they are doing. I totally agree, and wrote about that issue myself when I had a mildly complicated medical problem last year.

It gets tiring beating the same dead horse, but the days of invented make work jobs have to end when the schools are opening, maybe, without the needed repairs and are "unsafe" according to the commisioner, since the money that was earmarked for these repairs via compact money will have to go to salaries to keep schools open. The hospital is a mess, and failing to anticipate a time when oil would go much higher, no one maintained or planned for the island's power needs. These are essential services, yet we have three mayors and councils, two houses of a legislature and a ridiculous stash of government vehicles. All of these unnecessary lawmakers have a $100,000 plus allowance for BS.

I heard one scam where people are siphoning gas from the government vehicles to place in their own car, or to sell. I knew of prominent families tapping in to the power lines to avoid that bill, plus there was this scam recently that got all those CUC people busted for not switching off the power of those who failed to pay in exchange for a kickback. A few years ago, I was sitting in the lunch room with about eight friends, all expats, and I was the only person paying for cable -- all of them hooked it up illegally. I'm not sure anyone even contemplates not running a scam here.

It's hard to imagine a place as mismanaged as this one, and it is so tiring to hear the horror stories. Even the admonition to vote wisely really matters little since there is no exchange of ideas, and it just seems to be the same old lame candidates who pollute the island with their hideous lawn signs, like Sen. Crisostimo has the early jump on. It's hard to live long term in a place with a lousy hospital, crumbling schools, wildly expensive and unreliable power and little hope that there are competent people to fix those problems. It just doesn't have to be like this, but it is such a tiring fight. What a buzzkill from Friday's dive.