The short memory of the American population

Talk about short memories; I think most Americans have totally forgotten how despite ample warning signs, we were constantly being told “all is well” with the economy all the way until the bottom fell out last October. Here are a few examples. One year ago today, this was the leading headline:

FEDS SAY NO RECESSION; ECONOMY GROWS 0.6%

The Fed had just finished their meeting and announced that despite two straight quarters of growth well under 1%, there was no recession, and probably would not be one. Here is an example:

“Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, earlier this month, acknowledged for the first time that a recession this year was possible.”

Is the all wise chairman of the Fed Mr. Bernanke really so dense and uneducated that at this time a year ago he was still not sure a recession was coming? Is this really the kind of “leader” we want overseeing the entire financial realm in this country? Anyone who would believe that the recession caught the Fed off guard needs to go back to sleep and wake up again in twenty years.

Just one year ago everyone was appalled that the unemployment rate was so high. How high was it? Here is a line from a story written one year ago today:

“During the first three months of this year, job losses neared the staggering quarter-million mark. The unemployment rate has climbed to 5.1 percent and is expected to move higher in the coming months.”

Hmmm, I wonder if it did go higher. The US unemployment rate rose to a new 25-year high of 8.5 percent in March 2009. From 5.1% to 8.5% in one year; yes, I would say that it did go a little higher.

One year ago we were just starting to see the effects of the run up of oil and gasoline prices. All eyes were on inflation as the price of gasoline, milk, wheat and corn were skyrocketing. One year ago the price for crude oil was around $118. This was considered at the time to be so high it could never be sustained. Guess what, by July 4^th, the price was up to $145 and it could not be sustained at that level.

Right now, on April 30^th, 2009 oil is trading at $51 per barrel after dropping as low as $36.51 in January. If the economy is bad now, which it is, imagine what it would be like if oil was still at close $150 per barrel and gas prices were near $5 per gallon instead of under $2?

The point of all this is that somebody knew something long ago but they were not taking about it. I refuse to believe all the wild and crazy things which have taken place the past year in the economy just “happened” and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men never saw it coming.

For what it is worth, I bet very few people knew this fact. Last year the Dow closed at 8,258.13 on April 30^th. As of this moment on April 30^th, 2009, the Dow is at 8,288.79. Incredibly, despite massive lay offs and the demolition of thousands of businesses and constant bail outs of the big banks—the Dow is at the same point it was a year ago. What this means I do not know other than the clear truth that somebody somewhere knows a heck of a lot more about what has gone on, is going on and is to go on than they are letting us know about.

My four month ordeal of trying to get my heart fixed right

Back in 1997 I went from being in pretty good health to having major medical problems in a matter of a few months. Starting in early June of that year and going through December 22^nd, I was subjected to eight heart catheterizations and the placement of six stents in the right coronary artery. Additionally I developed sudden onset asthma which was not controlled by anything. Later it was determined that the asthma was an allergic reaction to the aspirin I was prescribed to take.

In March of 2008 while in Wichita, KS helping out after my dad’s stroke, I was rushed to the hospital where two days later double heart by-pass surgery was performed. Instead of solving all my problems, complications from the surgery compounded them over the course of the next few years. Two trips to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota failed to correct anything and in fact a misdiagnosis of the problems made things worse in 2000.

As suddenly as the problems appeared they pretty much disappeared by around 2002. In 2004 I had my 15^th heart catheterization and was pronounced to be in excellent shape heart wise. By 2006 my cardiologist said I was free to live without worry concerning my heart issues for they had all stabilized and presented no problems. In 2007 he gave me the green light to do whatever I felt like doing exercise wise with no fear of hurting myself.

In November of 2008 I started having chest pains for the first time in perhaps 5 years. After a stress test, the cardiologist determined that to be safe I needed a heart catheterization which took place on January 22^nd of this year. Much to the cardiologist’s dismay and surprise, instead of finding nothing wrong, he found one of the grafts from my 1998 by-pass was almost totally clogged and another major artery had two places well over 75% blocked.

Due to fears of needing surgical backup, I went to another hospital on February 11^th (with another doctor) to have a huge stent placed to fix the blockage in the graft. This was a very serious procedure and demanded the utmost of skill to be done right. Thankfully it went exactly as planned and to this day there have been no complications. Praise God.

Instead of sending me home the next day per normal protocol, the doctor was persuaded by others to keep me in the hospital and transition me to Warfarin (blood thinner). Five days later, the blood was still not sufficiently thinned so when the doctor returned from a vacation he decided to go ahead and place the other stents in the second artery instead of waiting a few months as originally planned.

The placement of the second and third stents on February 17 was a disaster. Nothing went as planned including the placement of the stents. Unlike after the first stent, the next day I felt horrible instead of better. I was abruptly discharged on February 19^th in the evening with no instructions to speak of. By February 28^th I could not breathe and felt like I had pneumonia. I went to the emergency room expecting a dose of antibiotics.

After a CT scan of the lungs, it was determined that I had a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung) from lying around the hospital for 8 days. I was immediately admitted and put on a very high dose of Heparin and Coumadin. I was finally discharged on March 4^th. The next week, March 9-13^th, I had doctor’s appointments, trips to the clinic to monitor the blood and a trip to the Emergency Room. The next week I had doctor’s appointments or procedures done 4 of the 5 days.

I saw finally saw my regular cardiologist again on March 18^th who was very concerned about my condition. He ordered various tests and upon seeing him again on April 1^st he determined yet another heart catheterization was needed, and it was scheduled for April 22^nd. He did this although he again didn’t think anything would show up. Just as it happened back in 1997, everyone assumed my chest pains and other symptoms were either in my mind or something not related to my heart. Just as in 1997-98, the doctors were wrong.

Starting April 8^th, I started having crushing pain in my chest upon walking. My entire physical condition suddenly deteriorated and by Friday, April 10^th, I was told to check into the local hospital through the ER for a heart catheterization on Monday, April 13^th. I spent Easter weekend in the miserable state of being in a hospital arguing with doctors and nurses about whether anything was wrong with me even as I had constant chest pain.

The heart catheterization on April 13^th once again shocked the cardiologist. It showed that the second and third stents placed in February had failed. One was only about 70% blocked, but the other was initially thought to be 99% blocked. The substitute cardiologist doing the procedure said he could place new stents, but with no surgical backup there was about a 20% chance of a major heart attack resulting in probable death.

Not liking the 20% odds, the only other option was to go by ambulance to another hospital in the county which was much bigger and did have surgical backup. Thankfully, my regular cardiologist was there and agreed to do heart catheterization number 20. He placed three more stents on April 13^th during the second heart catheterization on that day.

I now have one artery with 6 stents from 1997, another one with one and now a third one with 5 stents. As the cardiologists told me the next day, no more stents can be placed in that artery. If these medicated stents fail (and if they do it is usually after 8 or 9 months), I must have emergency by-pass surgery which I have been told I am not a good risk for.

Here in a nutshell is my life for the past few months: Three hospital stays of 9 days in February, 5 days in March and 5 days in April, five heart catheterizations since January, an increase in prescription medication from 8 to 16 drugs, 4 CT scans and numerous know it all doctors and nurses who either told me nothing was wrong with me or that I would die in two days if I didn’t take the medication they prescribed.

Needless to say, the constant procedures and stays in the hospital have produced unbelievable stress for both my wife and me along with our financial situation going from bad to disastrous. Just the drugs I take amount to hundreds of dollars per month. Adding in the never ending co-pays for doctor’s visits along with the $750 per visit co-pay for each stay in the hospital— the situation is not pleasant.

My wife is just now getting better from numerous stress related ailments (heart rhythm problems along with other woes) brought on by last four months. This week I finally start a prolonged round of cardiac rehabilitation. The hope is that through the various drugs, exercise and prayer we can see these last three stents work as they are supposed to and come next Thanksgiving I am enjoying the holiday and not being rushed to the hospital for emergency by-pass surgery because the medication was finished.

I thank you for your prayers and support through these most difficult of times. I am finally starting to feel better and for that I am thankful. But, the impact the past three months has had on our financial situation is another story. Any prayers for some miracles in that realm would be greatly appreciated and needed. We have a BIG God who has watched over us before and we are persuaded He will continue to provide for our needs. Thank you for listening and praying and I hope this summarizes what has happened in such a way that there remains no stone unturned.

Mercyman 53

When will the compromising ever stop?

What does it mean for the office of the President of the United States to demand that a prominent Catholic University cover and otherwise remove all references to Jesus for the President to present a policy speech there? The first question that logically arises is why chose to use a religious facility for a public policy speech? Secondly, why be so horribly ashamed of the letters IHS which are used by Catholics to signify Jesus Christ?

I understand the whole separation of church and state argument, and I also understand the ongoing debate over what are the true religious feelings of our President. But, the question still remains first and foremost; why is a Catholic University forced to for all practical purposes turn itself into a secular institution to accommodate the fears of an office that their President be looked at as a Christian?

If the President is ashamed to be associated with Jesus Christ, he should simply make his feelings known and handle the backlash, whatever it may be. When politicians start playing both ends against the middle, especially with religion, the outcome is going to be bad. The President has the right to believe whatever he chooses, the same way we all do. But, he has no right to demand a facility cover up its beliefs in Jesus so as to not “offend” non Christians who might be watching.

If the current outpouring of junk continues from this administration towards Christians, and especially conservative oriented Christians, there is going to be a backlash. For anyone displaying an anti abortion bumper sticker to be labeled a potential terrorist is scary to the say the least. To mark and label returning veterans as potential terrorists is insanity. To simply lump anyone who doesn’t believe as you do as a potential terrorist will surely split this country in half as the events yesterday displayed.

It is very doubtful that Texas will really secede from the Union but to even be talking publically about it displays a level of displeasure with government that hasn’t been around since 1860. God forbid this country disintegrates into another civil war, but at the rate things are going, that is a distinct possibility. There are still millions upon millions of God fearing unashamed Christians in this country who are not going to simply cease speaking and teaching Jesus just because the Gospel might offend a non Christian.

Situations like the one yesterday at Georgetown University make me sick to my stomach. This kind of hypocrisy on the part of both the government and the university speaks loudly that this once great Republic could be on its last legs. When is someone going to display some intestinal fortitude and just say NO when forced to compromise principle to accommodate politics? Notre Dame couldn’t muster such fortitude and now Georgetown can’t either. What is next, for the Pope to visit and be told he can’t wear his Holy attire or cross himself lest it offend someone?