(No subject)

[Guest guest]

I've responded including your letter in

black, my bits in red.

This was a letter received from a friend who also read my letter to the

government - he lives here, is working as a bus driver in Vancouver - he

sees a great deal:

" I am so sorry things are slipping for you Alletta, I really

care for

you and feel for your state and am greatly saddened. the

adopt-a-pauper

idea is a very good one. Ottawa sends millions overseas to the

less

fortunate - why not the poor and troubled here under their noses.

Work

the idea and feed it back to me - I am serious - it is a great idea.

Tax write-offs for the contributors and all.... luv,

Tom "

Aletta,

I strongly suggest that you take your fight with neurologists OFF the

list and into the courts. This list is primarily for people with

movement disorders and their caregivers. These people NEED to

depend on their neurologists for medical care and your constant attack on

neurologists COULD cause someone to ignore valuable advice from their

neurologist. I am sorry that you had a problem with some (can't

tell how many you've seen) neuro, but we have seen about 6 neurologists

(two of them women) and got help and good advice from everyone of them.

Yes, neurologists are human and can make mistakes as pointed out,

but if we polled this group, and they all took a reasonable look at the

care they are getting (don't forget MSA is an incurable disorder), I feel

most here have had reasonably good care from their neurologist.

I am genuinely happy for those who

did and hope we will ultimately all have the care we need.

To make statements that run down all doctors

have a read further on, I complement

lost of doctors, but lets not be so naive that all doctors must necesaily

be better people; I do not believe any man (including the pope) is

infallable

is not only irrational but also as biased a

position as you accuse the doctors of doing. You do NOT live in the

USA

What the hell is that supposed to

mean, yanks are better than the rest, just a trreminder the Dutch

bankrolled a large portion of you fight fr freedom from Britian, as did

the French. Is it going to hurt anyone to know life is different

elsewhere? For that matter life changes along the socio-economic

scale in your own country.

where most of the people on the list live and you ARE

quite possibly HURTING people here by raising doubts in their minds as to

the care they are receiving.

We are all adults here, we can all

think for ourselves. I doubt anyone is so pathetically gullible as

to hang off every word as gospel, certainly not . Thinking is a

good think, whatever stimulates us to do so is not a bad thing. I

don't bruise easily, and I'm not looking for or needing of

approval. If you want to perceive me as a deranged, pathetic,

paranoiac that is your right and I will defend it.. Have me kicked

out of the group if my experiences so offend you.I write . You are

free to vote me off the island, so to speak. I would however leave

under protest as I like and respect the people on the list including

and yourself, I will not make 'nice' just because you say

so.

Attacking Fisher for perceived sex

discrimination (it is not an

attack to attempt to clarify or offer an alternate view - I respect and

apprevciate that can capably understand and appreciate the views of

others including myself - even though as you point out, I am a foreigner,

with unpleasant views, and experiences which do not match up to your own)

does no one any good as I read his email and saw

nothing about sex,

" This is a male vs. female difference.

Women on general attempt to socialize and not confront. Men

tend to see the world in pecking orders. And I REFUSE to have

some person paid minimal wage treat me or my wife as if I do

not exist. I confront.

" actually if I were to take offence to anything it is that a person

paid minimum wage is less worthy than someone well

paid. he was referring (from my reading of the emails) to the emails of

you and Bill Pilgrim (a male - this

matters? who I have met in person)

Does having met someone increase the

validity of their words?

attacking all neurologists (and you admit two of your

neurologists were women).

" I've

had a few interesting neuro's the last few years:

NOTE I SAID A FEW NOT ALL! and I

supplied anectodotes, these are my experiences, in no way do I express

the notion that this must be univesral.

there was the one who after a ghastly night at the hospital gave me

ten minutes of his very diluted time and pronounced how nice it must be

for me to have my husband support me so I could be ill. Never

bothered to find out that I was single and two years of illness had

bankrupted me - asshole this happened to be the same doctor who makes the pronouncement to

his new residents that they need not go into the symptomology of

Shy-Drager because they are unlinkely to encounter it during their entire

practice there was the one, who, after having another of my specialists

suggest I have Shy Drager, told me it was not possible since I was too

young (46) and female - duh! the one who told me the MRI (for which I had to wait a year) showed I

did not have MS, when asked if I needed another appointment he said no,

you don't have MS do you? the one who told me after doing a brief memory test (no more than 10

minutes for the entire appointment), told me I needed to keep seeing a

psychiatrist The one who suggested without any tests or consults with my GP or

psychiatrist I needed anti-depressants, told me I was most likely

menopausal and a little lonely

I did oncer upon a time have a good neuro, when I was 13 he diagnosed

Bell's Palsy, saw me often, treated me with respect 9and ran inteference

with my mother, he also diagnosed my epilepsy when I was 18 my daughter's neuro was spectacular when he diagnosed and treated her

trigeminal neuralgia, he returned all her calls saw her often and her

meds were well monitored - but he did tell her, he felt because of her

young age she was a priority - what does that say?

The rheumatologist, psychiatrict, eye-doctor (optha-something) and

current GP are fabulous, the odds are that I will not

get to see a movement specialist of neuro for some time referrals right

now are not happening at all and even when they were making them, unless

it was life or death it easily took up to a year. It has taken many

years just to do the ruling out and most of that was not done by

neuros. None of the docs who

claimed it was in my head ever bothered to call my

shrink. I had to beg him to send it in writing

to my GP that I was not experiencing anything of a

psychiatric nature. It was my

shrink who bothered to test for

orthostatic hypotension, researched MSA and properly gave me medication

to help with symptoms. "

You admit that some of the doctors you saw were women,

so I do not understand why sex came into the picture at all.

Even women treat women differently

than they do men. Studies exist to back that up

I CAN guarantee that your letter that you attached to

your email is so irrational that it will not be viewed as a genuine

complaint.

It's not meant to be, it is giving my

frustration a voice, as far as I know even this is supposed to be a free

country and the letter was adressed to the provincial government.

You don't live here, ask Margaret how irrational it is.

If you are going to complain to the government, you

need to sit down and sort out facts from incoherent accusations. I

do know some of the things you have said before and this letter does NOT

make sense to me. How will it make sense to someone who does not

know about all that went on?

Geography lesson, this is an

idependent state from the US, our laws and system of Government are

entirely different.

The police in the USA have NOTHING to do with doctors

- are you saying that everyone in the government - doctors,

Referrels take up to a year, if you can get one, the doctor shortage

is critical, many have moved to the States or retired early, currently

they are in the middle of a battle with the Provincial giovernment and

even urgent srgeries are being cancelled, tomorrow they might stop

delivering babies in . nurses,

Severely short here too, and we have no nurse practitioners, private

healthcare does not exist here as an alternative, it is all a government

HMO (rationed care) social workers,

Most services have been cut, and guidelines are provided by the

bureaucracy, social workers don't like this any better than I

do judges,

Court houses are being closed, already long lists of trials are

backlogged years, some dismissed because they are just too

old police,

Short staffed, overworked, frustrated healthcare aides and therapists

Short staffed and require government approval aside from doctor's

script before becoming avaiable. I stated quite clearly why I am

being denied these services and am not going to repeat it

again. are all ganging up to deny you healthcare? If there is

that big a conspiracy against you, you are in trouble.

The system is ganging up on the poor who cannot defend themselves or

go elsewhere for care, where I live people die needlessly, are neglected,

malnutritioned and in despair. They live under the government run

HMO as do I. Others, with extra health insurance benefits or money

can go out of Province for healthcare, see whatever specialist they want,

buy whatever medication is prescribed, the poor and marginalized have no

such abilities.

Read your letter to the government (below) and 's

email (below that). Then calmly explain to me how you can find

ANYTHING said as sexist. I agree strongly with 's

statement " Folks, get off it! " Attacking all neurologists

is BAD for the people on this list. If you do not believe your

neurologist, you must

not have MSA, because only a neurologist can diagnose you as having

MSA.

Not true, only a pathologist at

autopsy can know for sure - and nothing would please me more than to find

out I have been mis-diagnosed and the condition I do have can be

cured.

If you do believe your neurologist, you NEED to

work with them and follow their instructions in order to get the best

care you can receive.

I think it is great that you and

fought on behalf of your wives as most good husbands do. some of us

have to do out own fighting, that toughness is needed is too bad, but it

is. that makes me no less a woman, or less of a person, nor does it

make me better than someon who has a spouse actively involved, and yes,

guys that is sexist politics - we are not equal (that would be naiive),

we are however entitled to fairness regardless of our diffences, gender,

race, education or economicss.

I read your later email about the Buscopan,, but I do

not have Parkinson's (tremour etc.), and it is helping. There is no

point taking Parkinsons meds when that is not my presenting problem, it

may be someday, but not so far. The buscopan is giving me cause to

feel good about being alive, the same meds don't work for everyone.

My GP prescribed it, neuro's can only be see (unless you have one

already) on an emergency basis, MSA is not considered an emergency.

aletta mes

vancouver, bc Canada

web:

http://aletta.0catch.com