Kathleen Sebelius: some
live and some die
Harsh reality confronted a
nation not ready to hear that a 10 year old, dying from Cystic Fibrosis, is
having difficulty obtaining a lung transplantation. Sarah Murnaghan is in the
end stages of of this horrific disease with compromised lungs and other organs
affected. Sarah’s physicians note without an immediate pulmonary transplantation,
she has only weeks to live. Cystic Fibrosis is a very complicated disease, of
genetic origin, which could affect the entire body. Thick secretions obstruct airway
channels resulting in poor respiratory function, which is the problem in this
case. Sarah’s parents desperately want their daughter placed on the adult
transplantation list. Unfortunately, the cut-off age is 12. More lungs are
available to adults than children, therefore Sarah’s parents went public with
their quest. Fox News, in its inimical style, damned the government for its
insensitivity to this child and its position concerning Sarah’s parents
attempts to have her placed on the adult list. More to the point, Fox blamed
the Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, as did others, for
not signing an order to have Sarah placed on the adult list. Sean Hannity went
so far as stating this is reminiscent of death panels. Sebelius was willing to
study the issue, yet she noted some will live and some will die. She was
referring to the scarcity of transplantable organs available and the
overabundance of potential recipients waiting for them. As insensitive as her
message came across, she was correct. Three children in Sarah’s region of
Pennsylvania are waiting transplantation as well as several dozen adults.
Blaming Sebelius is absurd and adds to the political circus around this case.
Does the name Terri Schiavo come to mind and the government’s overreach in that
case. Fox conveniently forgot to mention that Sarah’s disease involves many
other systems in her body. Any of which could potentially terminate her life. Media
and political hack’s amnesia to other people awaiting transplants was also very
obvious. The government is neither the cause of the patient’s condition nor controls
its outcome. Bad genes and a lack of transplantable organs are the culprits. Many of us have children and feel the pain
these parents are suffering. This is not the case to take a stand against Obamacare.
Organ allocation is difficult and emotionally trying. Decisions made daily determine
who lives and who dies. Unfortunately, it can be any one of us at the end to
the stick. Sarah was given temporary reprieve this week by a court, which
allowed her to be listed as an adult. As a physician and a father, I hope Sarah
receives her lung transplant and lives a long life, epidemiological statistics of
Cystic Fibrosis unfortunately state otherwise. Mark Davis MD, author of the
forthcoming book, Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription of Disaster and
the book hated by attorneys, Demons of Democracy. President of Healthnets Review
Services: www.healthnetsreviewservices.com,
platomd@gmail.com, Manager of the group
on LinkedIn, Government in Transition.
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