Thankful

At year's end I want to give my thanks to Big Medicine and Big Pharma.  Joking here, as I dislike these phrases which are commonly used in a negative context so, while I have my criticisms of specific elements of the health care system, I'm going to use the labels in a positive way. 

Here's why.  In March, I had a saddle embolism, a large blood clot in my lungs, which temporarily stopped my heart from beating.  Thanks to two Picacho Peak State Park rangers, the Avra Valley EMTs, and the team at Northwest Tucson Medical Center, I made it through okay.

Due to the innovation of Big Medicine, the embolism was extracted from me the next day via a procedure that did not exist in 2005 and only came into common use less than 15 years ago.  If this happened back then I would have been hospitalized for several days, eventually sent home and required to stay in bed for a lengthy period while, hopefully, the blood thinners did their job and reduced the clot, all the time at continued risk of another heart stoppage.  Even if the clot dissolved there was a substantial risk of permanent heart damage because of the continued pressure of the embolism upon the heart.  Instead, the clot was removed in a 45-minute procedure, I was discharged less than 24 hours later, had a speedy and full recovery with no permanent damage, and was back to my regular routine, including exercise, within a month.

And here's where Big Pharma comes in.  The blood thinner I will be taking for the rest of my life is both more effective and has fewer side effects than prior blood thinners.  In fact, in my case, there have been no side effects.  Made by Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer, it only came on the market in 2012.    

So a big thank you to both.  Happy to still be here.