Totally worth putting up...you kidding me?? LOL! Jesus!
Posted on 08/18/2002 12:13:33 AM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Pensioner forced to chop off rotting finger due to surgery delay
August 16 2002
A New Zealand pensioner chopped off one of his rotting, gangrenous fingers with a pair of scissors because he could no longer stand the pain after waiting 20 months for surgery, it was reported yesterday.
The plight of Ted Matthews, from Timaru in the South Island, made headline television news, with gruesome footage shown of his hand with one blackened finger and thumb still dangling and two middle fingers gone.
The story drew the attention of Health Minister Annette King, who has asked health officials to brief her on the case.
Matthews is suffering from dry gangrene following cardiac surgery 20 months ago in Christchurch Hospital and his fingers are rotting and dying as a result.
Two of his fingers have already rotted off and he is desperate for surgery to amputate two remaining fingers.
He told Television One News he had been taking the strongest painkillers available since January last year to combat the often unbearable pain.
He used a pair of kitchen scissors earlier this year in desperation to chop off one of his rotting fingers.
Christchurch Hospital general manager Jim Magee said Matthews had been scheduled for surgery in the first week of September.
However, Matthews said he received a letter yesterday from the hospital telling him he would have to wait a further six months at least.
Magee said Matthews had a history of severe coronary artery disease, heart disease, renal failure, diverticulitis and diabetes, and had suffered three strokes.
Staffing shortages are endemic throughout most New Zealand public hospitals which complain of underfunding. Many patients increasingly opt for private health care if they can afford it.
Matthews said he would not let even his small pet dog to suffer the way he had.
"I'd shoot him rather than let him be treated the way I have," he said.
Canada must be full of them, not to mention the UK, France Italy etc.
If you have one, it will be always more debilitating than the problem you were trying to solve in the first place.
Needless to say I was like huh? They just let her sit there and told her to wait her turn. She made it out of it ok...and then he had the nerve to tell me that it was great that they had no huge medical bill to worry about now. I was like Mike...you almost lost your wife and all you care about is how much you have saved?
Socialists will never get it. They are so lost already.
One think they do always though is evaluate the patient to determine if he/she requires immediate attention. BP and a look over are always done in short order.
This has been my experiences with this in the US. And it was free as well.
Totally worth putting up...you kidding me?? LOL! Jesus!
He could have gone back to Ontario and waited in line for surgery. BUT he wanted to LIVE, not wait on the "dying list", so he spent the megabucks (out of pocket) for open-heart surgery IN THE USA.
As for the man in this story, well, I'll bet HE though socialized medicine was a great idea when it was first proposed. ("We'll protect you from those greedy doctors!") I wonder if he or indeed very many Kiwis realize that their lives mean nothing under the State's rule unless the State says they do.
Socialism is hell on earth.
Someone should tell the stupid #@$!%&* socialists around the world that life ceases to be a game when life itself is at stake!
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