Prescription for Laughter
Handling Health-care Hassles with Humor
by
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My numerous medical conditions have kept me in doctors’ offices, on gurneys, and as a test dummy for sharp surgical instruments throughout my life. I have had five life-saving surgeries and hundreds of tests and procedures. I defy odds by being allergic to common drugs, adhesive tape, and my own sweat. I have severe migraines, can’t sleep, get boils from nose sprays, and experience chronic pain from degenerative spine disease. But worst of all, at least according to my wife, I bite my nails.
I have seen enough doctors to be a medical career counselor, have had enough x-rays to light up a neighborhood, and have gone through enough rehabilitation to produce my own workout video. I have been stuck more times with a needle than a drug addict and have had more blood drawn than the sum total of victims in a dozen vampire movies. Worst of all, at least when it comes to painful experiences, I’ve had to call my insurance company’s customer service line more times than I dare to count.
I say all this not to ask for pity but to give you a sense of my qualifications. I am not a doctor. I am Bruce Abrahams, PP (perennial patient).
I, if anyone, know all too well that medical hassles can be lessened with common sense, the right attitude, and a bit of humor.
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About the Book
You don’t feel well, so you call your doctor and get put on hold. The first available appointment is in three weeks. They ask about insurance. You tell them, “HMO.” It is now four weeks. You quickly say, “PPO.” It’s back to three weeks. You plead and then yell. They say next week, angrily. You are now afraid they will mark your file and give you expired drugs made for rabid cows. You mention lawsuit. They’ll squeeze you in tomorrow. You arrive fifteen minutes early, wait three hours, and see the doctor for two minutes. The prescription drug you get keeps you in the bathroom. Your insurance refuses to pay. Collectors call. You now have high blood pressure, so you call your doctor. You’re put on hold. The first available appointment is in three weeks.
Hassles like these are inherent in the idiocy, incompetence, and illogical nature of America’s health-care system. Author Bruce Abrahams is not a doctor; instead, he’s a person with so many medical conditions that his medical alert bracelet simply states, “Never mind.” As a perennial patient, Abrahams shares embarrassing anecdotes and provides valuable tips in dealing with health-care difficulties for both healthy and “health-challenged” individuals.
While carefully dissecting common difficulties using humor, Abrahams explores how to take charge of your health care. Prescription for Laughter offers practical advice from a patient’s perspective that will keep you laughing as you successfully navigate a complicated health-care system.
About the Author
Bruce Abrahams lives in Plantation, Florida, with his wife, Sheri, and his two artificial heart valves (Aortic, age twenty-five, and Mitral, age fifteen). They are anxiously expecting a Tricuspid in the near future. They are objectively proud of their phenomenal daughter, Rebecca, and all three of them answer to their miniature poodle, Chase.