Monday, December 05, 2005

Boob Smasher Where Art Though?

Boob Smasher Where Art Thou?

If you are a person with a disability in this town or any I an afraid, your chance of getting any type of serious medical treatment is “if” at best. As you all know run an information line for people with disabilities. So I get all the interesting if not difficult questions. Today, I got a call which brings home again the lack of qualified medical services to people with disabilities.  This guy calls from the rural center of our State wanting to find somewhere, anywhere in the State a women can get a mammogram sitting down.  Since all the mammogram machines are built for someone who is mobile this raises a great question. Where are all the women in this State who cannot stand or get on the table for the “boob smash” going?  I  sure did not know so I called one of my best resources in this area Julie.  Julie is a great friend of mine who also uses a wheelchair for mobility and is a prime candidate for a question of this nature. Younger then I am by at least ten years I figured she had been through procedure. Not only because her age dictates that she submit for the squashing evaluation but her personal property demands that she keep her assets in the best, tit top physical condition. I WAS SHOCKED WHEN SHE INFORMED ME SHAD HAD NOT SUBMITTED. Julie had intended to but when she started calling round to find somewhere she could have the procedure done everyone she spoke with just sort of scratched their heads. This, of course, was just enough of a deterrent- since this was something Julie really did not want to do anyway, for her to put off and shove out of her mind until I call to remind her. She thought she may have heard of a place though a hospital in one of the local suburbs.  I of course called there but the person who would know was not available. I left messages and a note to myself to try calling again tomorrow if the person did not call me back.   I even called the American Cancer Society and they gave me some information but very sketchy at best. They just kind of shrugged their shoulders. Too  weird. I am sure I am going to find some practioner who will accommodate my caller from the center of our state.  If and when I do he is going to have one hour maybe two (one way) to get the job done.  The next issues he will have to deal with is: will the institution accept Medicare or Medicaid? This is a whole problem.

I first ran into this problem of dental and medical guys refusing to accept second party payers  a couple of years ago when one of the older dentists, one of the few who would accept Medicaid/medicare clients retired and turned lost a bunch of developmentally disabled consumers loose in the community with no dental support.  This took months and a law suit before these guys got services and even then the service they got was crude and regressive. You know yank the tooth rather then just filling it and saving the consumer all kinds of grief.  

I am afraid little has changed—if you are a person with a disability in this state. So enjoy you teeth and you boobs while you have them because things don’t look good for folks with disabilities.

No comments: