Yes, Johnny, "an endless supply of complicit accessories."
As one who for more than 50 years has been reading Wendell Berry (and many other great advocates of regionalism), I say big yes to your own commitment to rural, underserved areas.
As one, additionally, who long ago spent youthful years hitching all over America -- and I mean just about everywhere -- I celebrate the beauty and vitality of our non-urban regions.
I celebrate them all the more as alternative to the conformities foisted by the corporate world on so many in city life. These conformities get foisted, worse, by corporate academe on K-12, dehumanized by standardized testing as well as by the corporate textbook packagers chronicled in Diane Ravitch's ""The Language Police" (2003). Dehumanization comes, too, by corporate academe on "higher" ed, now neutered both by specialist silos and group identity conceits.
Overwhelming, that "endless supply of complicit accessories."
This is a really good article even though at times it was difficult to read. Not John Rochat’s fault, simply the fault of all the acronyms and the morass that is our healthcare system! I’m a great believer in Medicare for all, just to let you know. On a personal level I will never forget when I was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago John Rochat a friend of mine, said “ promise me one thing.” I said “ ok, what?”Promise me that this will not make you a better person“. I’ve told many people that and we all just fall apart laughing
Excellent post, John. I definitely will pass it along - possibly it will enlighten a few other humans! Reading Robin's comment re: Lyme: My son was diagnosed with Lyme Disease after having a cancerous tonsil and the "accompanying" chemo and radiation - all of course left him with the aftereffects. He also knows several other people with Lyme. NYS really does not take this disease all that seriously - my son went to a dr. in PA who specializes in treatment. My dog also had Lyme disease - her "aftereffects" were skin infections which continued till I had her put to sleep. My veterinarian takes this disease seriously - my primary care (who I really love) seems to blow it off when I ask for Lyme test. Actually, I'm doubtful that whatever test NY does is all that effective - when Brent (son) first had the test here it was negative! He was fortunate that a friend who was hit much harder with it recommended the PA dr.
Sorry - no way to make that shorter - the current "issue" with corporate owners of practices and the entire healthcare industry is yet another problem that our politicians and of course the media seem to ignore. Possibly people who dont care enough or arent interested enough to vote also are paying absolutely no attention to the problem - even though it would behoove them to.
In my own cancer survivorship story, 30 years now, I can recognize that the better person part is extremely hard won if it is won at all. It's making the best of a bad situation where your very life can be, or is, behind and under just about every decision you make and for quite a while.
What might be called better about that is you might get better at making decisions, but your scope for decision making can get very narrow. At that point I turned to writing Haiku a lot, along with using my two semesters of nutrition training to find the best foods with the most nutrient density. All I could really do is be the best at any set of decisions which I can say today has made me better at self-care, especially now having dealt with the chronicity of a Lyme bite for 22 years. (Bite was in PA, not CA).
Now having been on Boards and startups related to local health care I have a slim idea of what you have been through, most certainly in a new and fringe occupation as a trigger point myotherapist for 40 years in two different states, and that have involved presenting and incorporating to and with local people interested in health access and quality. Which makes me wonder if we could have local health committees as part of all kinds of communities, not necessarily elected and including a mix of med folks along with interested public people…and hopefully everywhere in the country. Or maybe one exists already?
Yes, Johnny, "an endless supply of complicit accessories."
As one who for more than 50 years has been reading Wendell Berry (and many other great advocates of regionalism), I say big yes to your own commitment to rural, underserved areas.
As one, additionally, who long ago spent youthful years hitching all over America -- and I mean just about everywhere -- I celebrate the beauty and vitality of our non-urban regions.
I celebrate them all the more as alternative to the conformities foisted by the corporate world on so many in city life. These conformities get foisted, worse, by corporate academe on K-12, dehumanized by standardized testing as well as by the corporate textbook packagers chronicled in Diane Ravitch's ""The Language Police" (2003). Dehumanization comes, too, by corporate academe on "higher" ed, now neutered both by specialist silos and group identity conceits.
Overwhelming, that "endless supply of complicit accessories."
Thank you Phil for your thoughtful reply.
This is a really good article even though at times it was difficult to read. Not John Rochat’s fault, simply the fault of all the acronyms and the morass that is our healthcare system! I’m a great believer in Medicare for all, just to let you know. On a personal level I will never forget when I was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago John Rochat a friend of mine, said “ promise me one thing.” I said “ ok, what?”Promise me that this will not make you a better person“. I’ve told many people that and we all just fall apart laughing
Excellent post, John. I definitely will pass it along - possibly it will enlighten a few other humans! Reading Robin's comment re: Lyme: My son was diagnosed with Lyme Disease after having a cancerous tonsil and the "accompanying" chemo and radiation - all of course left him with the aftereffects. He also knows several other people with Lyme. NYS really does not take this disease all that seriously - my son went to a dr. in PA who specializes in treatment. My dog also had Lyme disease - her "aftereffects" were skin infections which continued till I had her put to sleep. My veterinarian takes this disease seriously - my primary care (who I really love) seems to blow it off when I ask for Lyme test. Actually, I'm doubtful that whatever test NY does is all that effective - when Brent (son) first had the test here it was negative! He was fortunate that a friend who was hit much harder with it recommended the PA dr.
Sorry - no way to make that shorter - the current "issue" with corporate owners of practices and the entire healthcare industry is yet another problem that our politicians and of course the media seem to ignore. Possibly people who dont care enough or arent interested enough to vote also are paying absolutely no attention to the problem - even though it would behoove them to.
Again thanks for a really great post.
Exactly why good oncology centers have “patient navigators” - there’s no GPS for medicine either! Keep the faith Maggie!
In my own cancer survivorship story, 30 years now, I can recognize that the better person part is extremely hard won if it is won at all. It's making the best of a bad situation where your very life can be, or is, behind and under just about every decision you make and for quite a while.
What might be called better about that is you might get better at making decisions, but your scope for decision making can get very narrow. At that point I turned to writing Haiku a lot, along with using my two semesters of nutrition training to find the best foods with the most nutrient density. All I could really do is be the best at any set of decisions which I can say today has made me better at self-care, especially now having dealt with the chronicity of a Lyme bite for 22 years. (Bite was in PA, not CA).
Now having been on Boards and startups related to local health care I have a slim idea of what you have been through, most certainly in a new and fringe occupation as a trigger point myotherapist for 40 years in two different states, and that have involved presenting and incorporating to and with local people interested in health access and quality. Which makes me wonder if we could have local health committees as part of all kinds of communities, not necessarily elected and including a mix of med folks along with interested public people…and hopefully everywhere in the country. Or maybe one exists already?
Robin, I once heard that wisdom is a comb that nature gives you when you’re bald. I’ve been bald for a while, and still looking!