My stepmother has been told that physical therapy for her reattached rotor cuff is at an end. She is unable to regain full use of the arm and more therapy will not change that. I have to ask myself if NYS Workmans Compensation feels it's cheaper to pay a settlement for a permanent disability than it is to approve necessary testing in a timely manner. I understand there is no telling whether or not it would have changed things in this case but you don't really know.

When she fell, the original diagnosis was fractured wrist. She kept complaining of serious pain in upper arm and shoulder, but nothing showed up in the x-ray. A request for an MRI by the doctor was denied, as it was determined by the insurance company that the pain may be caused by the weight of the cast on her wrist. She was unable to lift her arm without serious pain but that didn't seem to matter. Compensation decided that if the cuff was torn the physical therapy would heal the tear. No further testing would be necessary. Her fall happened in April and she received the MRI in September. The results were serious enough to warrant surgery which occured in October. When the doctor opened her up it was discovered that the cuff wasn't just torn, it was detached and damaged. The reattachment failed. After months of therapy 3 times a week as well as taking care of Dad, she is still in pain and still unable to lift her arm.

I don't know how much additional damage was done to the cuff during the wrangling over the MRI. Nothing showed in the inital x-rays because the cuff isn't bone, it's not going to show up, so there is no documentation as to it's condition initially. The most the doctor will allow is that possibly an earlier diagnosis and surgery would have eliminated the problem but he can't know for sure. In an effort to educate her as to her options there has been mention of a new surgery. Apparently the shoulder can be reversed in some manner that allows the use of deltoid muscles to operate the arm rather than the rotor cuff. This is such a new procedure that I am not able to find anything on-line about it. I found something called an ETS reversal which seems to involve the shoulder, but the testimonials aren't positive. This may not be the surgery that's being discussed but the ETS can lead to rapid heartrate and excessive sweating. There isn't sufficient information for me to determine if this is the surgery being proposed.

My problem with this new a procedure is how many surgeries of this type have been performed? What are the side effects? Without a lengthy history of completed surgeries of this nature, how do you know that you're choosing the right doctor? There are 2 of them in this area that are performing this surgery. One is in Syracuse and one in Utica, but neither seem to have more than 6 months experience. What makes that special? They both advertise themselves as "Specialists" in this field.

I don't know what she's going to do, I can only speak for myself. Personally, if the choice were mine, I'd live with the diminished capacity before I'd allow myself to become a human guinea pig. There has to be a point where the consumer in the health industry has to accept some responsibility for their care. I'm using the word consumer rather than patient because in many repects that is what we've become.

Cosmetic surgery is at an all time high. Drug companies advertise their product on radio, television, and in print media. We want to look younger, thinner, and have perfect facial features. If we don't like our noses or our breasts we spend thousands of dollars to change them. We used to have surgery only when it was necessary to save a life. Now in every hospital throughout our nation cosmetic surgeons reserve operating rooms for entire days to perform elective self improvement surgeries. This push towards self improvement through surgery has created another industry just as lucrative as the surgical field has become. There are so many botched "nip/tuck" surgeries that lawyers are getting rich representing the consumer in malpractice litigations.

There was a time when Healthcare was just that. It was caring for the health of a patient. Now it's an industry spawning new procedures that do nothing more than feed the needs of it's consumers. Healthcare is becoming just like any other market, it operates on a supply and demands basis. If enough people want a particular procedure the number of "specialists" in that procedure increases exponentially. In the meantime, until each "specialist" actually does enough procedures to become adept at their job, we become guinea pigs.

I have a brother that only sees a doctor when it's absolutely necessary. His reason? Well, he says when physicians stop practicing medicine and start doing medicine he'll start going to them. Until then, he's breathing and that doesn't need a "practicing physician" to help or hinder as the case may be. I hope my stepmother decides not to elect to have that surgery. I rather like listening to her breathe.

Hear American Woman in the comment section.

An overweight guy was reading the paper one day lamenting the fact that his doctor has ordered him to lose 75 pounds. Next thing he sees is an advertisement for a "guaranteed" weight loss program. "yeah right", he thinks to himself. "But let's see what they can do."

He calls them on the phone and subscribes to the 3-day, 10 lbs. weight loss program. The next day there comes a knock at his door, and when he answers, there stands before him a voluptuous, athletic 19 year old babe dressed in nothing but a pair of Nike's and a sign hanging around her neck. She introduces herself as a representative of the weight loss company. The sign reads, "If you can catch me, you can have me."

Well, without a second thought he takes off after her. A few miles later, huffing and puffing, he finally catches her and has his way with her. After they are through he kisses the girl one last time and thinks to himself with a nod, "I like the way this company does business."

For the next two days, the same girl shows up and the same thing happens each time. On the fourth day, he weighs himself and, sure enough, he has lost 10 pounds. Deciding that he likes his somewhat more slender physique, not to mention the method of "treatment", he calls the company back and subscribes to their 5-day, 20 lbs. weight loss program. He thinks that losing 20 pounds in only 5 days seems like a lot, but he is intrigued by what their "workout" schedule might be like this time.

As expected, the next day there comes a knock at his door. When he answers it there stands a 22 year old knockout dressed in nothing but a pair of Reebok's and a sign hanging around her neck. She is simply stunning, the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. She introduces herself as a representative of the weight loss company. The sign reads, "If you can catch me, you can have me."

He's out the door like a shot!

This gal is in excellent shape and it takes a while to catch her. But when he does, it is worth every cramp and wheeze. She is wonderful, the best he has ever had. He is really looking forward to the next four days.

For the next four days, the same girl shows up and the same thing happens each time, much to his delight. On the sixth day, he weighs himself and, unbelievably, he has lost another 20 pounds. "I love this company," he thinks to himself, "I never knew losing weight could be so easy and so much fun."

Feeling much better about himself, he decides to go for broke and subscribe to the company's 7-day, 50 pound weight loss program. "Are you sure, sir?" asks the representative on the phone. "This is our most rigorous program."

"Absolutely," says he, "I love your program. Haven't felt this good in years!"

The next day there comes a knock at his door and he enthusiastically answers it. There stands before him a 200 pound perfect specimen of a man dressed in nothing but racing spikes and a sign around his neck. He introduces himself as a representative of the weight loss company.

The sign reads, "If I can catch you, I can have you."

I guess he wanted "six pack abs"

The stress response of the body is meant to protect and support us. When faced with a threat to our physical safety or emotional well being, the body's defenses kick into "fight or flight” response. We pump out adrenaline, preparing us for emergency action. Our heart rate and blood flow to the large muscles increase, the blood vessels under the skin constrict to prevent blood loss in case of injury, the pupils dilate so we can see better, and our blood sugar ramps up, giving us an energy boost.

The stress response is what helped our stone age ancestors survive, enhancing their ability to fight or flee from danger. But in the modern world, most stress is psychological, rather than physical. Caring for a chronically-ill child, preparing for the death of a loved one or getting audited by the IRS qualify as stressful situations, but none of this call for a fight or flight respnse. Unfortunately, our bodies don't make this distinction. Like a caveman confronting a sabertooth tiger, we go into automatic overdrive, releasing the same hormones that enabled prehistoric humans to move and think faster, hit harder, see better, hear more acutely, and jump higher than they could only seconds earlier.

The problem with the stress response is that the more it is activated, the harder it is to shut off. Instead of leveling off once the crisis has passed, your stress hormones, heart rate, and blood pressure remain elevated. Extended or repeated activation of the stress response takes a heavy toll on the body. The physical wear and tear it causes includes damage to the cardiovascular system and immune system suppression. Stress compromises your ability to fight off disease and infection. It interferes with your ability to judge situations soundly, it can even interfere with your memory process. It is this stress response that contributes to anxiety or panic attacks, the increased level of stress hormones still in your body causes the many frightening symptoms that a sufferer experiences.

Unlike our ancestors, we suffer from these situations because we are sedentery. Our daily stressors are psychological rather than physical so it's harder to determine if we are having an automatic response. We aren't called to move faster, hit harder or jump higher by psychological stress so we aren't utilizing efficiently the ramped up hormone levels the body is producing. We drive practically everywhere we go, seldom parking far enough away from our destination to require much walking. Our household chores are easier because of the automatic washers and dryers, vacuum cleaners, riding lawn mowers and weed whackers that we use. We have televisions that we spend hours sitting in front of at the end of the day when we should be doing something that burns off these ramped up hormones. Surprisingly, television watching isn't as relaxing as we think.

While watching a good action packed thriller, or the nightly news, our bodies are responding to what we see on the boob tube in the same way as it would any other stressful situation. The couch potato is doing nothing more than ramping their stress hormone levels and creating further damage to their cardiovascular system. With the added lack of movement to burn off any of these hormones, they're becoming a heart attack waiting to happen. Had a bad day at the office? Spent the drive home fighting traffic? The last thing you should be doing is plunking yourself down in front of the TV. Yet that is what we do.

We can't always remove the cause of stress from our lives. It just isn't going to happen, something will always be there to stress us out. We can take steps to minimize the damage it causes by taking some time every day for ourselves. Learn to meditate, try yoga, take a walk, toss a ball around with your children. Breathe deeply, listen to soothing music, pet the cat. Paint, read a book, sip a cup of tea and watch the birds out your window. Plant flowers, take up a hobby. Take dance lessons, try putting a little romance back in your life. Do something that will put a smile upon your face and a sense of peace and tranquillity in your mind. Your heart will love you for it.