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Complex, Confusing Healthcare: One Story
Who’s Running the Show? Who’s Paying the Bills?
Everyone who has dealt up close and personal with the American healthcare system has stories. This is ours.
My mother-in-law is 94 years old, and for 93 of those years she has been in great health, thanks to the physical discipline she maintained from her ballet career and her curiosity about all things artistic, cultural, and/or British. Several months ago, she moved from independent living to assisted living so she could get help with daily tasks like dressing, bathing, and preparing light meals.
But a month ago things went south. On a routine visit , her primary care doctor noticed that her thyroid readings were out of whack. My mother-in-law has been taking medication since her 20s to control her thyroid. Either the thyroid had gone rogue or, more likely, she hadn’t been taking the thyroid medication as directed for months — perhaps since she moved to assisted living.
Shortly after, healthcare professionals in her assisted living facility diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection (UTI). Then she experienced severe abdominal pain, and family members took her to an emergency room, where she was treated for the pain as well as for dehydration. She was admitted to the hospital for several days for continued treatment…
