Comments on: Ask

By: Richard Dooling

Richard Dooling — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:44:54 +0000

Start any dictation software and say, “The n-word is coming after me.” And see what happens.

By: Richard Dooling

Richard Dooling — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:41:35 +0000

Metsys (medium weight)

So says the publisher. Hope that helps.

By: Aiden

Aiden — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:47:15 +0000

Hi, Richard.

I’d like to ask -btw love your books- what font did you use for the chapter titles in Rapture for the Geeks? it’s been a question ever since I got fascinated in the look of that font and I’d much like to use it

Thanks, Regards ~Aiden.

By: Richard Cundy

Richard Cundy — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:03:24 +0000

Brain Storm, p. 324: I may have missed it, but I’ve gone over related pages 2 times, and I can’t find the real words used by Mary for the transcription “vinegar common anthony.” What did she say?
Of course, I enjoyed the book.
Aloha, Richard

By: Richard Dooling

Richard Dooling — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:58:22 +0000

Omar,

What about Booktopia?

http://www.booktopia.com.au/rapture-for-the-geeks/prod9780307405258.html

I just searched Google using: Australia and “Rapture For The Geeks”

I know I’ve had several comments from Australian readers, so write back if you have any more trouble.

Thanks.

By: Omar Dabbagh

Omar Dabbagh — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:45:01 +0000

Hi Richard, I would like to obtain a copy of your book ‘Rapture for the Geeks’. I attempted to get a copy through Amazon.com, only to be told that Amazon merchants can’t ship the book to Sydney, Australia which is where I live. Would you be able to point me in the right direction to obain a copy of this book please?

By: linda dons

linda dons — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:50:00 +0000

RE your article appearing in the Dallas Morning News, Sun Aug 23 09. You pose the question ” I’m just wondering why the nation continues incurring enormous debt to pay for bypass surgery and titanium knee replacements for octogenarians and nonagenarians, when for just a small fraction of those costs we could provide children with preventitive health care and nutrition.” I have an answer for you. When my Mother was 87 yrs. old, she had to have a stint. Soon afterward she was back to having lunch with her children and grandchildren and participating in all kinds of events. At age 90, she was hospitalized for an unknown illness which was latter diagnosed as a urinary infection. She spent a week in the hospital and another 10 days recuperating at home. She is now back to her usual routine – enjoying her family. Medicare paid for everything, including care givers and physical therapy. Did I mention that she is bent over, almost in half from osteoporosis? Here’s another thing – My Mother calls regularly to check on 2 of her, as she puts it ,”elderly friends”. Ms. B who just celebrated her 101st B-Day and Ms. K who just turned 100. Physically, both of my Mother’s “elderly friends” are in better shape than my Mother. These are just 3 reasons why the nation continues to pay for octogenarins. What a blessing! Would you have preferred that My Mother not have received the stint, or was left to die from a urinary infection? I don’t know you but my guess is that you, especially if you knew my Mother, would be at my side to fight for her right to receive whatever medical care she needed to continue her good life.

By: Richard Dooling

Richard Dooling — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:49:25 +0000

@ Steve J

Re Medicare coverage of ED drugs. Steve, it’s true that as of 2007-08 Medicare plans are no longer REQUIRED to cover ED drugs, but they MAY cover ED drugs as an added benefit. See, for example, the publications available at medicare.gov, especially this one at page 20:

http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11109.pdf

By: Steve J

Steve J — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:48:12 +0000

Richard,
on your 8/17/09 NYT Op-Ed piece.
In general I agree that too much money is spent on end of life care.
Unfortunately in some cases there is no alternative to dying in a Hospital.
Both my parents died there. My father at age 57 in 1977 after surgery to remove a cancerous tumor bled internally and he went into a coma and died 3 weeks later.
My mother died of complications of Alzheimer’s which caused her colon to shut down .

As a senior on Medicare (Wikpedia says you are 54-55) I can tell you that we pay full bore prices for ED drugs like Viagra, Levitra and Cialis.
See: http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/MedicareDrugCards/6-10-18-ErectileDysfunctionDrugs.htm
or Google “ed drugs removed from medicare”

I am surprised that the NYT editors didn’t catch your error.
PS: reply directly to my e-mail, TIA

By: Emily Dye

Emily Dye — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:33:32 +0000

Mr. Dooling, Thank you for going public in discussing health care. You are addressing a complex and misunderstood topic: Excessive, misdirected, wasteful health care, particularly for the terminally ill, disabled and elderly. My mother was a victim of excessive orthopedic care. A painful external fixator was used to repair a broken ankle when we knew that neuropathy, arthritis, brain deterioration and spinal damage were going to prevent her from ever being ambulatory again anyway. She was also the victim of a “death panel” (a neurologist decided to tell us that her brain lesions were harmless and her condition was a combination of vascular dementia and alzheimer’s. My siblings and I could not see the correlation between the signs and symptoms of those conditions and Mom’s. Eventually, a concerned radiology oncologist alerted us to the aggressiveness of one of the “harmless lesions” but his information was too late. As a result of the 4-year delay in the truth, her palliative care was poorly targeted. If her caregivers and PCP’s had known she was suffering from a ventricle brain tumor, not dementia, they would have dealt with her pains and symptoms differently — and with better results. There are many other ways in which our Mom’s medical care was poor in the last four years of her life — even and maybe because she had very good insurance. Finally, 6 wks before she died, I managed to score a geriatric specialist, after trying to get one involved for four years, but by this time, all he could do was explain the dying process to us, provide her with a kind beside manner, and stand up for us against other physicians who wanted to continue painfully treating her when it was obviously pointless. My brother and sister and I have a great deal of rue and hurt as a result of the inconvenient, poorly directed, painful and harmful medical care Mom received. However, I must clarify that she experienced that alongside good quality, well-chosen, help and healing care. We saw both the best and the worst of the American Health Care System and are well-educated voters and advocates, as a result. Physician honesty and patient education are essential, as is hospice education and intervention, because we need to have the knowledge to know when the truth is being withheld, when mistakes might be being made, when to make inquiries, who to go to, what questions to ask and how to maneuver through an extremely complex and intimidating system. The best patient advocate is the educated patient, loved one or caregiver.