Monthly Archives: September 2013

Place Palm Here

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Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again.~Andre Gide

I have spent the day explaining over and over to people why something needs to happen. Literally, the entire day. And I am no further in this quest than I was this morning. It seems that common sense really is a flower that doesn’t grow in every garden. The gardens of bureaucrats could sure use some re-seeding.

What now? I like metaphors, so imagine a rather large monkey wrench being thrown onto my set of train tracks. This wrench has the potential to, at a minimum, cause me to become more disabled. The stakes go up from there. It seems that efforts to reduce costs and “improve” efficiency have reached a level where policy is more important than people.

Yes, policy made by people in positions ranging from clerk to essentially CEO/COO has thrown my train of life off the track. Lest you think this has no effect on you, I will acknowledge that this involves healthcare which is something we should all be passionate about. In the name of progress, American healthcare is evolving. While some of the first ripples of this change are being felt by certain sectors of the public, those who receive any kind of medical benefit funded by the government are already experiencing great, sloshing waves. It seems this sector was designated as the roll-out platform. For some people this is wonderful news, at least for now. I just can’t wait until everyone gets to experience what happened to me.

People who only know my name and policy number decided that I was not deserving of care. People who have never met me, never spoken to me and most certainly never examined me decided that I was too expensive. What’s that you say? In 2014 you can’t be denied care because of pre-existing conditions! It seems no one noticed the standard of care is not defined. Yes, we will all be able to receive medical care. There is no guarantee it is the best care. There is absolutely no guarantee it is appropriate care. It, however, is guaranteed to meet the barest minimum of standards. And, since companies who offer “extended plans” will be assessed financial fines, we are all now guaranteed to receive the absolute minimum that can be provided.

For some people this medical care is more than they ever received and I am glad that many of my friends in the disability community will now receive care. Having had mediocre care for the last 23 years, I am now finding that the new standard is much, much lower than even my mediocre care. I surely did not realize how low the standard could go. Here I thought all the medical mistakes and oversights were just blips. It turns, out, those blips are defining my new standard of care. What I consider to be the low points of my medical experience are now appearing to be the high points. And the best part is…I get to pay MORE for less care. Wow, feels like socialism to me.

But, I digress. Congratulations to those who will receive benefits. It is indeed sad that we as a nation provided less care for our population than we did for the populations of other countries. No one should be shut out of healthcare because they can’t afford it. To the rest of us, welcome to the new standard. Unless you have the means to travel to private medical facilities and pay completely out-of-pocket for all your expense, your wake up call is coming.

Trust in the Information Age

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Trust, but verify.~Ronald Reagan

In this age of instant “friendships” and split-second communication, it all to easy to find yourself questioning decisions. A handshake used to be enough to seal the deal, mainly because you had spent enough time with someone to know they weren’t selling you oceanfront property in Iowa. Now, I have an elderly women, supposedly dying from cancer, who wants to give me millions if I would just be so kind as to provide my banking information.

I found out today that a certain social media platform is sending out “friend” requests on my behalf to people I don’t know. Well, I do sort of know them as they are “friends” of “friends.” But, I didn’t make these requests and now I have messages asking me who I am and what do I want. I think it’s great these people are skeptical enough to send me a message before confirming the request and I hope everyone affected does, because it sure would be weird to have these people start showing up in my news feed. It would also be time-consuming to check my “friends” list every day to make sure nothing has changed without my permission.

So how do we develop trust when we don’t meet people in person? How do we know what information is “safe” to disclose and what we should hold back? At what point can we determine if a “friend” is trustworthy? I’ve seen so much in the last 4 years that probably ought not to have been posted in public. No, I’m not talking about the Miley Cyrus incident, although that certainly qualifies.

The Declaration of Independence uses the words “we hold these truths to be self-evident” to describe basic human rights. I believe many people think their personal lives fall under those very same words. We are supposed to believe that no one stretches the truth, that everyone is the person they claim to be and that every story told is true. Another old saying pops in to my head…”caveat emptor” or buyer beware.

Trust takes time, much more than a few exchanges via email. Even after you have decided to trust a “friend,” you may still find deceit and heartache down the road. Like relationships in real life, online relationships are fraught with pitfalls. In some ways, they are like dominoes. One person disagrees with you and suddenly you find yourself either a target of online attacks (much like schoolyard bullying) or massive “unfriending.” I have been left wondering what I did to someone to be “unfriended” only to discover that it’s because I’m “friends” with someone else. Seriously, it reminds me of the days of nanabooboo on the playground.

I suggest that we all take a step back and consider what trust means to us. I trust that my phone bill will show up every month. I trust that there really are only two certain things in life…death and taxes. I trust some people more than others, either because they have earned my trust through walking the talk or because they appear to be inherently “good” people. You won’t find me posting every little detail of my life on any social media platform. If I did, I’m sure the Nigerian official looking to move money out of his crumbling economy would want to speak with me.

Change

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I’m just preparing my impromptu remarks.~ Winston Churchill

I recently had to opportunity to pass the reins of leadership to another person. I had been heavily involved in a non-profit organization. Finding out that my near future would make it almost impossible for me to continue leading, I stepped out of that role. It may have come as a surprise to the next person in charge, but I’m a huge fan of on the job training. In my experience, nothing drags an organization down faster than staying after you have done your job.

Letting go can be hard. I know a great many people who cling to the past, not realizing that it is time to move forward. Time to change. Time to let go. As a parent, I’ve had to learn this over and over again, usually because one of my children has informed me, in no uncertain terms, that my presence is no longer necessary. In retrospect, that means I’ve done my job. My kids can fly solo, or at least with minimal guidance from ground control.

Back to the non-profit. I am very pleased to say that by stepping aside, the new leadership can and has started moving forward. There comes a time when you become an obstacle to growth and stepping aside allows change to occur. I still keep an eye on things, but it is wonderful to see the direction things are going now. And, on the selfish side, I love that it’s not all “on me” now.

Never fear change. Change forces you to grow and expand your thought processes. Change grants you the opportunity to see success in other parts of your life. Instead of dreading it, embrace change and see where it takes you. Change is like a small child, ready to show you the world from a new perspective. Take the hand being extended to you and go find out what lies ahead.