Healthcare in America

I once met a lady who had been a "frequent flier" of the healthcare system. At the time I met her, she was only slightly morbidly obese (pushing 300 lbs), but she had been up near 400 before a surgeon finally agreed to do a lipo-suction (despite her body being in horrible shape for anesthesia and the stress of surgery). Prior to that, she had bariatric surgery (or something like that) to shrink her stomach, she had had multiple surgeries on her knees since they were in a chronic state of pain (can you imagine how your legs would feel if they had to carry 4 times the weight they were meant for?), and she was also known as a 'doc shopper,' going from one doctor to the next since something they did erked her. This lady was pretty well informed about her healthcare, but she had near zero understanding of her health. She felt it was the doctors job to fix her up. And in a way it is, but there is a very tiny amount a doctor can do to help in comparison to what people can do to help themselves.
I don't know what I think about the new healthcare system in America that Pres Obama wants. On one hand, I am happy that more people will have access to better healthcare, but on the other hand, I am ashamed about any part of the legislation allowing easier abortions. Also on this hand, I think it will make our system more like other social medicine systems, s l o w. As if things aren't slow enough already...
I really hope that the new healthcare system gets people more interested in their health, rather than the attitude of the lady I met--focused solely on healthCARE and not on improving her own health. Maybe people will realize that they won't be able to get their health problems taken care of the day after a problem arises, so they will be more careful about their health. It is sad to see people in the hospital that made bad choices about their health and have basically given up a significant portion of their lives for it. And now they are hoping and praying that the healthcare system can undo what they did...
Moral of the blog is 1) don't smoke, 2) don't drink, and 3) if you think you maybe should do something about your health or well-being, just do it.

street vs book smarts

So I met a few folks from my Alma Mater earlier today, and was thinking back to the awesome time I had there. I also remember talking with a lecturer who was a self-made business owner and had made enough money to basically retire in his 40's but still taught business to keep busy. He heard I was going to a medical scientist training program, and he looked at me and said something to the effect of the following. "So, I've been thinking, and you know what could make you one of the richest men in the world? Find a cure for cancer. All the baby-boomers on the planet would spend their fortunes to save their lives."

Here was a guy with a lot of street smarts--he had used them successfully and made lots of money in the process. But his book smarts are a little rusty. There are literally thousands and thousands of scientists and doctors that have devoted their lives to curing cancer, some for altruistic reasons, some for monetary, many for both.

Anyways, it made me think which one I would rather have if I could only have one... Then it hit me "Duh! You DO only have one, and it's book smarts!" And that's that.