Doctors on the Social Firing Line

A few years ago, I had an experience with a urologist (Dr. Robert Sher of Urological Associates) that made me cringe.

And, no, I don’t mean the exam (though that wasn’t fun).

What I mean is that he suggested that I invest a chunk of money in a supplement which he didn’t disclose he had a financial interest.

That ticked me off.

So, I blogged about it and sent a letter to the Maryland state Board.

They basically told me to go away.

I had essentially forgotten about this incident until last night when Gary commented (3 times) on my blog post and sent me an email.

It seems like he had had an equally unpleasant experience with the physician.

On the one hand, this irritates me (perhaps even more than the original exam itself). That Dr. Robert Sher of Urological Associates continues to seemingly abuse his power and the fact that people, for a long time have simply trusted their physicians.

On the other hand, when I think about how I/we can fight back on something like this—and it’s clear that the “authority” approach of writing to the State Medical Board gets us nowhere, Google serves as the great equalizer.

When Gary commented on my blog, he did so because he found it by searching for Dr. Robert Sher of Urological Associates and my blog turned up on page 1 of the results.

This gives me hope.

As more and more people blog/share their experiences with doctors (at whatever level) AND as people google their physicians before going to them (like people checking each other out on FB or via Google before a first date), the sunlight brought upon these practices will be an equalizer.

It’s true for medicine…and any business.

Caveat Venditor. Let the seller beware.

Sleep Study— Being Watched in Bed

Disclaimer: if “TMI” is something you normally say, then skip this post. I don’t need that comment

Last week’s SnoreGate kicked it off.

Then, over the weekend, I felt some sensitivity in my lower teeth.

Now, I am plagued with periodontal challenges, since this, unfortunately, is nothing new.

As luck would have it, however, I was scheduled for a cleaning at my periodontist who asked me if I had any concerns. I shared them.

“You know, it’s interesting you say that because I was looking at your chart and I am getting a bit worried about the recession on the inside of your front lower teeth. It could be caused by sleep apnea, your tongue pushing forward as a reaction.”

I shared the snoring incident and he said, “you should probably had a sleep study done. Call your insurance company.”

In a once-in-a-thousand years scenario, I got word from CareFirst that I had met the deductible for the year on our Health Savings Account so the study would be covered (who says we need Obamacare?)

Then, as luck would further have it, the hospital 2.7 miles from my house has a sleep center…and they had an opening the following night. The stars were aligned and I scheduled it.

Arrive at 8.30pm

I showed up on time, ready to go. At first, I thought, “for someone who goes to bed at 1.30am often, how am I going to go to sleep that early?” but I did feel tired and sleepy.

It took about an hour to hook up all the wires. Then, got in bed, watched a bit of TV (Kentucky vs. Michigan State), and then read a new book called “Grounded” (written by my cousin) until at 10.30pm, Lucy came in and said, “Ok, time to go to bed.”

I felt like my kids

It was NOT easy or comfortable to sleep (or try to sleep) with wires all over my head, two straps around my chest, and more wires connected to my chest and legs.

There was no clock so I can’t really say for sure, but I think it took about 45 minutes to fall asleep. Maybe the pressure to perform got to me.

I also kept wondering what they were seeing as they were monitoring brain waves as I was having all of these thoughts. Could they read my mind like “the Matrix?” Were different areas of my mind lighting up and they would see “man, that guy needs to think less about work/money/sex/whatever?”

It was like I was trying to read the minds of the people who were reading my mind.

At some point, maybe 2 hours later, my eyes popped open and moments later, Lucy came in (they can monitory my eye movements) and made some adjustments.

I told her I had to go to the bathroom.

Now, I drink a TON of water and eat a lot of fruit. I had also gone for a run at 4pm the previous afternoon and had rehydrated.

Even though she said, “don’t be embarrassed if you need to go to the washroom” and I knew she was a nurse, and I tend not to be embarrassed by these things, I couldn’t help feeling that way, probably because each time I had to, she would have to unhook me. Not looking forward to being in a nursing home.

I came back to the room and, well, nothing. I could NOT fall asleep. I was tired but my mind was racing about all things…being in a sleep study, work, home, life, upcoming travel plans. I kept having the urge to get up and either check my phone or start working, but I couldn’t.

My mouth was dry and I was a bit hot. I only had a bit of water left in my water bottle. I was also pretty hungry.

Then, maybe 90 minutes later (?), I had to go to the bathroom…again. Nerves? I don’t know. I hesitated, since I was tired and I didn’t want to have to ask again, but eventually, I decided it just had to be done.

They had a microphone in the room so I could just talk and they’d hear me (in addition to the night vision camera where they could watch me), so I just said “Lucy, I need to go to the bathroom.”

And like magic, there she was at the door, unhooking me. I asked her the time. She said, “I can’t tell you that.”

The CIA could learn from these guys Very disorienting.

Just kidding, they were nothing but professional.

Honestly, I may have gone to the bathroom a 3rd time…I’m really not sure at this point (I just got home and am blogging this while it’s still fresh and before the kids get up for school) because there were at least a few occasions when Lucy came in to adjust a wire that I had dislodged. It’s like sleeping in a stocking cap…made of metal.

I eventually did fall back asleep, but before I knew it, Lucy was back, telling me it was time to get up. At this point, she told me it as 5.20am and her one question: “Do you usually sleep this little?”

I’m kind of like a camel. I don’t sleep that much during the week, but Friday nights, I’ll go to bed at 8:30pm and sleep until 6:30am.

Anyway, results will come in about a week, I’m told.

The goop in your hair to keep the pads sticky is, well, sticky, and taking those pads off of a hairy chest…very uncomfortable.

Ok, time to go wake the kids and drink some coffee

Thanks for the support.

“They’re not telling anyone.”

I heard some bad news a few weeks ago. Actually, I discovered it by accident, when a friend of mine let it slip that a mutual friend from college had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

“But,” he said, “they’re not telling anyone. In fact, his mom thinks it should be a total secret.”

Now, it’s pretty well known that I don’t mind sharing my medical condition publicly (see here for thyroid cancer story), but I need some of my introvert friends to explain this approach to me.

Assuming that the medical condition is not because of something you did like shoot up heroin with drug addicts in Thailand or whatever and it’s not your fault at all, why keep it a secret?

If it’s not a secret, your friends (whose help you need), can help you.

What’s more, when it’s a secret, people actually talk about it MORE.

When everyone knows, it’s not news anymore.

So, the “we’re not talking about it,” seems like it defeats the purpose of secrecy since everyone kind of knows anyway.

What am I missing here?

Meet Shoulder Bursitis…

In my never-ending quest to provide high-quality personal medical entertainment, herewith is a recent sonogram of my injured rotator cuff muscle.

For the non-physicians, it’s pretty neat…you get to see bursitis up close and personal.

Unfortunately, I can’t mention when it got injured (hem, hem), but suffice it to say, it hasn’t knocked me out.

LIVE Lasik Surgery-Recap

Well, no longer live, as it’s done, but thanks to Dr. Sonny Goel (twitter/FB), I’m now at 20/15 vision and on the road to full recovery. Sonny has, I’m told, performed more Lasik operations than anyone in the entire US…but until now, none of them had been livestreamed!

At one point, we had (I’m told) 35 people watching the livestream of the actual surgery. We also made it a social event, but enabling comments and even fielding questions from the virtual audience.

To get right to the meat of the video, see here. For the full effect, you can watch below or here.

Highly recommend Lasik Plus in Columbia, MD.

 

Tough Mudder-Made It

I’ll say this about the Tough Mudder.

The training paid off…and, at the same time, I wasn’t fully prepared.

11.5 miles, 27 obstacles (I think) and a boatload of mud to complete my first Tough Mudder.

You may recall the debacle of early September in Maryland and what led me to decide to tackle it in NJ in late October.

Fortunately, the weather held up (high 50s and early 60s) and I completed the course in 2 hours and 50 minutes.

The map of the course doesn’t really do it justice, so herewith, a quick breakdown of the obstacles.

1. Artic Enema-
   You jump into a pool of ice and swim for 10 feet. It’s your “welcome to Tough Mudder” moment and I can’t even begin to describe how cold it is and how quickly you numb it. It takes a good 4-5 minutes to even being to thaw out.
2. Mud Mile-
   Up and down a series of mud hills into a pool of mud (chest high) and back again. I think they mixed the mud with cow manure for added effect.
3. Berlin Walls-
   Not too bad a climb up over an 9 foot wall
4. Kiss of Mud
   Honestly, I’m not even sure what this is. Probably more mud.
5. Balls to the Wall
   With a rope, you scale a 20 foot high wall, then back down the other side.
6. Pirate’s Booty
   A swim across 100 ft or so of open water. I used the rope to help pull me across.
7. Firewalker
   A run between some live fires. Fire Dept. and all, but not a huge deal.
8. Electric Eel
   You crawl on your belly (in mud again, see the theme), while live wires of electricity shock you. I didn’t even feel them until the end, but some girl next to me was screaming in pain.
9. Underwater Tunnels
   A jump into a pond (about neck deep-ish) and then you bob in and out in between barrels on top.
10. Hangin Tough-
    Using rings, you are supposed to swing like a monkey from one side to the other over a pool of muddy water. I made it halfway through, fell into the water, and felt a small “pop” in my shoulder. Injury #1
11. Ladder to Hell
    Not a big deal, climbing a wall and then back down.
12. Smoke Chute
    Unexpected. You climb up a wall and then see a tunnel on the other side with a straight down drop. It’s a leap of faith. Oh, and while you are there, you can’t see so much because it’s so smoky. Eventually you land in a pool of…yep, muddy water.
13. Peg Legs
    They place logs vertically (like lily pads) in the water and you are supposed to hop from one to the other to get to the other side. Your shoes are caked in mud. The wood is slippery. I took an absolutely nasty fall, slamming my chest and leg into the wood pylons, landing in the water. At this moment, I distinctly remember think, “this may have not been such a good idea. I could have gotten a concussion or died and I have kids. Then, I said ‘I am definitely going to feel that in the morning.”
14. Twinkle Toes
    This may seem like an easy one, but it was the one of which I was most proud. A balance beam over water. A few times, I almost lost my balance, but thinking back to my yoga practice, I regained balance and made the 15 foot trek.
15. Funky Monkey
    Monkey bars that go on an incline up and then back down. I had really practiced this one, but only made it half way before falling down into the water. The water up the nose was the worst part.
16. Boa Constrictor
    Crawling on your stomach through water and under barbed wire.
17. Walk the Plank
    A 25 foot drop into a pool of water. Straight down.
18. Trench Warfare
    Climbing on your belly for about 35 feet over mud and rocks in a darkened tunnel that bends and winds. Killed my knees and arms.
19. Berlin Walls 2
    12 foot high walls to scale. Impossible to do without the help of other people. More on that in a minute.
20. Wounded Warrior Carry
    TM is very connected to Wounded Warrior, so this part pays homage to disabled vets. You carry one of your teammates for about 50 yards
21. Everest
    You sprint at full speed (remember, this is after 11 miles) and run up the side of a half-pipe, trying to grab the top and pull yourself up. I managed to make it happen on go #1 and did have some assistance to pull me up (another theme).
22. Electroshock
    With the finish line in sight, you dash through (what they say are 10,000 volts of electricity.)
    Honestly, I didn’t feel anything, but took a nasty spill at the end and some photographer was right in my face. 

Now, keep in mind that when you are running, you are (for the most part) running through mud, so every step is real work.

What impressed me about Tough Mudder were a few things.

1. The Marketing-after all, it’s what pulled me in in the first place. They play to your ego, your ambition, your desire to be tough. By teaming up with Under Armour and Dos Equis (I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, it’s after the Tough Mudder and it’s Dos Equis), they really bring it home. The signs, the music, the attitude…everything is so well done. Even the “pump you up” MC at the beginning.
2. The Camraderie-as they say (constantly)… “Tough Mudder isn’t a race, it’s a challenge,” and “Leave No Mudder Behind.” Everyone is supportive and helpful, particularly on the obstacles that require assistance. Very impressive.

I met and ran with some great folks. My personal favorite was a Chabad guy from Crown Heights, Brooklyn who had 6 kids and single-handedly destroyed the stereotype. He was super fast and strong. Seeing his beard and tzitzit (religious undergarments) totally caked in mud was priceless.

Would I do it again? I don’t know. I’m hurting now and I’m sure I’ll be in ridiculous pain tomorrow. That one Peg Leg moment was really scary, but the feeling of accomplishment, of overcoming the fears was certainly worth it.

Illness as a Gift?

On this day of Thanksgiving, here’s an interesting take on gifts and being thankful.

If you don’t ask…

You never get.

That’s kind of the salesman’s motto, right?

I guess the question is: at what consequence?

The other Monday, my kids didn’t have school (professional day) and I took them to the pediatrician to get their flu shots.

I was promptly told that flu shots were only given on T-F.

“Do you ever make exceptions for your best customers?” I asked.

I mean, we were there already and it was a day off.

The receptionist, a bit grumpily said, “well, if the doctor says it’s ok, it’s ok.”

I went into the business manager’s office. He knows me (after all, I am the mayor.)

I ask him the same question.

He says, “well, it’s fine by me if it’s not too busy.”

It wasn’t.

He went in…next thing I know and there’s a small (but loud) disagreement in the back between the nurses (who apparently didn’t like the change in process) and the business manager.

I have no idea if I am right or not, but afterwards, I feel like we are getting some cold stares from the staff.

And, yes, we got the flu shots.

Was this the right call?

I don’t know.

But, I did use the opportunity to explain to the kids the ideas of “customer service,” “processes,” and “efficiency.”

Blind Trust In Your Doctor…

Image via Wikipedia

I suppose I am naive, but somehow, when it comes to most things medical, I tend to automatically defer to the judgment of a physician.

I should know better, but I tend to think “hey, s/he’s a doctor, I can trust him.”

Well…I don’t think that anymore.

Back on September the 18th, I went to see Dr. Robert Sher of Urological Associates and was diagnosed with prostatitis.

Dr. Sher prescribes me an antibiotic (it cost $130) and tells me to cut back on spicy foods and coffee.

So far, so good.

Then, I had a follow up appointment on October 14th, in which he suggested that I start taking a nutritional supplement called Prostate SR from a company called Theralogix.

He gave me a piece of paper (it kind of looked like a prescription form) with a code on it and said “just make sure to put in this number when you order.”

I didn’t think anything of it (I know, I’m a marketer and I should have) and went ahead and ordered it.

About a week or so later, I asked myself, “why the number?”

I started digging around the Theralogix site and, though I couldn’t get a clear answer from it (and when I called to ask, I felt they were a bit shady about it), got the distinct impression that the code I had received was a way to track commissions and referrals.

As a marketer, that’s what I would do.

Then, I called Urological Associates…four times over the course of a few weeks and asked to speak with the Office Manager, looking for clarity.

Each time, the message was “she’s not available, I will pass it along.”

No one ever called me back.

I kept getting bills from them, but in one of my messages I said, “look, I’m happy, more than happy to pay the bill, but I’d like to get an answer from you about the nature of the relationship between Dr. Sher and Theralogix. I just kind of feel like your incentive to tell me is much higher BEFORE I pay you.”

No one called and, as life goes on, I kind of forgot about it. I got used to ignoring the bill as well.

Then, last week, I get a call from a Collections agency.

That ticks me off big time.

I call the office again and DEMAND to speak to the Office Manager (passing through yet another gatekeeper). She finally calls me back and I explain my concerns.

Two or three days later, Dr. Sher calls me and says, “I’m sorry. I usually tell people that I have a relationship with Theralogix. I guess I was caught up that day.”

I ask about the nature of the relationship. Does he get a commission?

“I make pennies on each order,” he says, “but I’m actually an investor because I believe in the products.”

Now, let me say this… I have NO problem with people referring people and getting commissions or promoting companies in which they believe, but I kind of feel like when those referrals sit at the center of your day to day activities and are based upon the trust that a patient puts in you, you MUST disclose that relationship.

It’s great that he believes in the product and invests in the company, but the fact is, he didn’t tell me.

And, so I wonder: “did I really need it? How do I know if I really needed it?”

He said, “well, you haven’t been back here, so I guessed it is working for you.”

Of course, that’s not the point at all.

The point is…the trust which I had placed in him is now called into question.

Did he prescribe the $130 medication because I needed it or because there was something in it for him?

Interestingly enough, I blogged about an experience in his office where I observed his interaction with a Cialis sales rep.

My first analysis was that she was attempting to manipulate him (see post here: http://jer979.com/igniting-the-revolution/cialis/). Now, I am curious if he knows how to play the game and somehow benefits from all of this.

For all I know, he’s the greatest Urologist of all time. Maybe it was an honest mistake. I really have no way of knowing and the point is NOT to say “he’s evil, this is malpractice.”

But I do know how I feel.

I’m upset that I feel like my trust was taken for granted.

And I’m upset that the Dr. and his staff didn’t seem to take my concerns too seriously.

Bet you don’t know too many….

People who have been diagnosed with Iliac Arteriopathy.

I was talking to my friend and client, Michele Potter, who recently underwent surgery for this problem.

She’s an extreme triathlete and her abdomen muscles had become so tight that it constricted the blood flow through an artery to her legs.

Yeah, that’s a problem we all have.

Miracle of Medicine and Will…

A few weeks back, we got the terrible news that the NFO’s cousin had been shot in the face while serving his country in Afghanistan.

Shortly after that, we visited him at Bethesda Naval Center where, to put it mildly, the outlook wasn’t great.

He had a trach tube, his face was swollen and the prognosis was unclear.

Well, 6 weeks later, I saw him at his cousin’s Bat Mitzvah and almost fell over, while trying to hold back the tears.

His jaw, which had been wired shut, wasn’t 100% functional, but he was able to talk, communicate, and even dance out on the floor.

Just inspiring. Very inspiring.

Register as a Bone Marrow Donor…

A few years back, my friend, Tamir was diagnosed with Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Say that five times fast.

I don’t understand the disease and, frankly, it’s not a priority for me to do that.

What is a priority is that Tamir would get better and that this was a cause that is important, so when he asked for a donation, I figured, why not? Just $18, you know. No biggie, but enough to say that I cared.

He wrote me a nice note and then made a plea that the NFO and I register to be bone marrow donors.

And that is what I am asking you to do as well.

In order to register, all you have to do is go to www.marrow.org register as a donor.

They will then send you a kit with a cheek swab, which is like a long ear bud. You swab your cheek, put the swab into a small container, and send it back to marrow.org and you're done. You've registered. If you're ever identified as a potential donor for someone, you will be contacted and asked whether you are willing to donate. If you do, the patients' insurance will cover your costs, and you can typically have the blood work done at your local hospital or the closest one that has an aperesis machine that does the centrifuge.

It’s NOT a BIG DEAL. Here’s why:

The problem is that not many people are registering because they believe that it's complicated to register, and because they're scared of the pain involved in donating bone marrow - ie. being drilled a few times in the hips, back, etc. to get to the stem cells in our bone marrow. While this system is still used in about 10% of cases (still under anasthesia), the other 90% now use a much easier system for the donor.

This takes approximately 4 hours, and the donor is done, and has just potentially saved someone's life. Imagine what that must feel like - to be able to save someone's life like that - what a Mitzvah!

So, just do it: go to www.marrow.org and click donate.

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Swine Flu, Scarcity, and the Decline of Civilization

I took Paco and Nadia to get an H1N1 vaccine today at a local high school. The whole thing was a phenomenal (and scary) study in group, mass psychology.

The clinic was to open at 4pm but knowing that Obama had raised the stakes by declaring swine flu to be a “national emergency,” I suspected that the experience would be vastly different than when I went a few weeks ago.

I knew there would be a line and, fortunately, brought the double stroller and a boatload of snacks. I thought I’d be #100 or so.

Well, by the time I got there at 3.15, the line was out the door and around and down the block. At least 500 people were there.

Rumor had it there were only 1000 vaccines available (unconfirmed), but seeing the line, those who were arriving then had a hurried way about them.

You could just tell the thought process was “I need to get to this line because that guy in front of me could get the last one.”

There was a tension for that.

Once we got in line, another problem arose…one that attacked people’s sense of fairness.

Periodically, you would see individuals or families walking their way toward the front of the line. Some were talking on their cell phones, looking for people up in front.

The question then arose: is line jumping appropriate?

I was genuinely concerned that a fight might break out. The police were out in force (helicopter included), but soon, there were some verbal confrontations between those waiting in line and those who were walking on by.

One guy responded, “my friend is up there.”

I have to admit, I was bothered by this. Really bothered by this…as were many others around me.

Not only did it attack my sense of fairness (why should you get to go in front of me when I was here first?), but I think there is a larger ethical issue.

If there are only 1000 vaccines available, why does the fact that you know someone at the front of the line mean that you may get a vaccine and I (or in this case, my kids) won’t?

So, in a situation of scarcity, what is the most equitable way to distribute a potentially life-saving resource?

• First come, first serve?
• If I go out at 10am, can I hold a spot for my kids? What about my friends?
• Does it matter that I can work from home/remotely/using wi-fi/cell phones?
• What if I hire someone to go out at 10am and hold my place in line?

I honestly believe that had the police not been there, the order of the line would have broken down and things could have gotten REALLY ugly.

The medical screeners were up at the front of the line, so you would have waited more than hour to potentially discover that you were not eligible (it was only people 2-24, for example…among other things) and you could see the look of frustration on people who found out they weren’t eligible.

Well, after 2 hours of waiting (and Paco and Nadia were GREAT), we finally made it.

Still, I think the behavior that I saw today made me nervous…You can see how, when things get rough, people have the potential to turn away from civilized behavior and on to each other.

 

Here’s the video on the way in…

 

Here’s the line…

 

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Sneeze…Nice to meet you, too!

Image via Wikipedia

Next time you are at a gathering, turn yourself into a public health anthropologist. It’s fascinating.

Case in point…

The other day, I was at an event where the hostess had a number of volunteers helping her prepare the food and drink spread.

As the rest of the crowd networked and mingled, I watched the preparation taking place.

I lost count of the number of times after which one of the women (and they were all women helping her) touched a mouth, nose, or eyes and then touched the food.

I know it wasn’t intentional, it was unconscious, but they were doing it. Then, they were touching doorknobs and trashcans and all kinds of other places where viruses might lurk.

Soon after, I turned my attention to the crowd and would follow the same interactions.

One person would sneeze and then, without wiping his hands, would shake the hand of another person, who would promptly go off and shake the hand of yet another person, who then touched his nose.

Over and over again this happened.

I’m not trying to turn us into a nation of Howard Hugheses or anything like that, I’m just keenly aware now (having had my H1N1 vaccine and my plane chat with Susanne) of how these behaviors could have traumatic consequences.

And now (shout out to my aunt for this one), here is a video of Sec’y of Health, Kathleen Sebelius lecturing NBC correspondent, Chuck Todd on how to sneeze.

 

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Getting H1N1’d

Following my chat with Susanne on the plane, you can bet I was one of the first people at the health center to get vaccinated for H1N1.

And, I have to say, for one who is somewhat skeptical of government's ability to execute effectively, this was a fine example of solid organization and planning.

Some good comments from our screener about the virus and the planning.

 

Thankful for antibiotics…

This will probably kick off some healthcare debate, but it’s not meant to.

The other day, Gianni had a 103.5 degree (Fahrenheit) temperature and was diagnosed with an ear infection.

Within an hour, the doctor had called it in, we picked it up and she was medicated.

By the afternoon, she was already better.

I came home and chatted with our nanny who is originally from Ethiopia.

I compared our life here to people living in, say, rural Ethiopia.

Their kids get ear infections as well, but they could be miles OR days from a pharmacy (and no guarantee that the medication would even be there.)

Just made me really appreciate where we are and what we have.

 

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Plane Chats and Swine Flu…

Proving that not all airplane conversations are going to be bad, I had the chance to chat with Susanne Carlson who has a fascinating job (and a ridiculously long title).

She is the Administrative Officer of the Oregon Disaster Medical Team and of the Western Region of the National Disaster Medical Service. (www.ndms.gov)

What that means…as you will see in the video…is that she is part of the medical swat team responsible for being a “first responder” in any type of disaster scenario.

She’s got some interesting comments about Katrina and after that, she shared her thoughts (not on the video) about the upcoming flu season.

Her take?

The Swine Flu predictions are accurate and it will be a big problem.  She says there is a huge misunderstanding regarding Swine Flu and that calling it a “pandemic” is, in fact, accurate.

The definition of a “Pandemic” is:

1. how many places/continents/countries it is affecting at the same time, not how many people get sick
2. the speed with which it moves from one place to another
3. the speed with which the virus mutates

Based on what we’ve seen in the southern Hemisphere thus far, this virus is mutating very rapidly and there is a huge portion that has mutated to be immune to normal anti-virals.

It doesn’t follow the normal demographic patterns…Usually it is the ill and the elderly, but now, those who are getting the most sick are those who are young and don’t suffer from other diseases.

It suggests that older people have seen this virus before and are thus immune.

The very first set of immunizations are going to young children and pregnant women.

The third reason is that this virus is very highly mobile and moves rapidly through a population.

This differs from a normal influenza situation where we see 1 in 100 get sick. We’ll see approximately 1 in 10.

The last thing is that it doesn’t go through the normal influenza pattern as it goes directly to the lungs.

This is NOT fear-mongering, in her opinion, this is reality.

Purell is good, but she says the best is 30 seconds (sing ‘row, row, row your boat) of soap and warm water, avoid contacts (won’t put your fingers in your eyes) and get your flu shots (ALL of them).

1 in 5 will get sick and hundreds of thousands (in the US) could end up dying.

The good news: people are talking about it and getting prepared

The bad news: we may not be prepared enough and it’s a public health challenge to guarantee compliance

Some facial mask to clear the skin…

As a consultant, it’s important to get into the minds of your clients and their customers.

Here I am wearing the Yes To Tomatoes Facial Mask from my client, Yes To Carrots!

Man, does my skin feel soft now :-)

My first experience with a Health Savings Account...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

People often me ask about the post-Microsoft experience.

Aside from the comfort of the regular paycheck, it is the benefits I miss the most.

We're on a new plan now that has an HSA associated with it.

And, so far, I have to say that I am impressed.

You put money in (tax-deductible) ...remember, it's all about the taxes, and then, it grows tax-free, and then, (yep, tax-free again), you take it out to pay for medical expenses.

Plus, they give you a debit card that draws only on that account.

Considering I have a high-deductible account now. This is starting to make a lot of sense for me.

Any of you have HSA experience?

Advice or suggestions?

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• HSA, HRA and FSA Differences
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A Swab to Save a Life...

Call this a Public Service Announcement.

I got a long, heartfelt email from someone in a dire predicament who needs a bone marrow transplant.

I won't re-print all of the details, just ask you to consider taking a moment to get registered.

Either of these sites can help.

You never know.

• www.dkmsamericas.org/category/home
• www.marrow.org