A study by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health found that avoidable mortality rose across all U.S. states from 2009 to 2021, while it declined in most other high-income countries.
I’ll stress that’s just to get in the door. Usually if you’re going to the doctor they’ll want to run xrays, CT scans, MRIs, blood tests, whatever diagnostics and it starts escalating fast.
But this is stuff people can plan for. Emergency visits are much worse in my experience, suffering from appendicitis would have put us $40k in the hole overnight without insurance.
"Rogozov had intended to use a mirror to help him operate but he found its inverted view too much of a hindrance so he ended up working by touch, without gloves.
As he reached the final and hardest part of the operation, he almost lost consciousness. He began to fear he would fail at the final hurdle.
‘The bleeding is quite heavy, but I take my time… Opening the peritoneum, I injured the blind gut and had to sew it up,’ Rogozov wrote. ‘I grow weaker and weaker, my head starts to spin. Every four to five minutes I rest for 20 - 25 seconds.’
‘Finally here it is, the cursed appendage! With horror I notice the dark stain at its base. That means just a day longer and it would have burst… My heart seized up and noticeably slowed, my hands felt like rubber. Well, I thought, it’s going to end badly and all that was left was removing the appendix.’
But he didn’t fail. After nearly two hours he had completed the operation, down to the final stitch."
That story about Dr. Rogozov always struck me as something superhuman. I’ve only ever managed to perform very minor surgeries on myself, I just can’t imagine a major operation on internal organs - with or without the mirror for extra complication.
I’ll stress that’s just to get in the door. Usually if you’re going to the doctor they’ll want to run xrays, CT scans, MRIs, blood tests, whatever diagnostics and it starts escalating fast.
But this is stuff people can plan for. Emergency visits are much worse in my experience, suffering from appendicitis would have put us $40k in the hole overnight without insurance.
Holy shit, that’s daunting. I think that I might try cutting it out myself rather than go bankrupt.
You can do it!!!
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32481442
"Rogozov had intended to use a mirror to help him operate but he found its inverted view too much of a hindrance so he ended up working by touch, without gloves.
As he reached the final and hardest part of the operation, he almost lost consciousness. He began to fear he would fail at the final hurdle.
‘The bleeding is quite heavy, but I take my time… Opening the peritoneum, I injured the blind gut and had to sew it up,’ Rogozov wrote. ‘I grow weaker and weaker, my head starts to spin. Every four to five minutes I rest for 20 - 25 seconds.’
‘Finally here it is, the cursed appendage! With horror I notice the dark stain at its base. That means just a day longer and it would have burst… My heart seized up and noticeably slowed, my hands felt like rubber. Well, I thought, it’s going to end badly and all that was left was removing the appendix.’
But he didn’t fail. After nearly two hours he had completed the operation, down to the final stitch."
That story about Dr. Rogozov always struck me as something superhuman. I’ve only ever managed to perform very minor surgeries on myself, I just can’t imagine a major operation on internal organs - with or without the mirror for extra complication.
Oh, I quite agree. Reading through it (again) I had many mental pauses saying to myself, “That’s where I’d die.” An incredible feat for sure.