Views From Atop My Bedpan

Views From Atop My Bedpan is a memoir about my experiences with the American healthcare industrial complex conundrum spanning seven decades, going on eight. The story is told in reverse. What if I died old and got the pain of death out of the way and then aged backward through time and died at conception? The public and private healthcare providers I’ve visited over the years were dedicated to my well-being, from getting me off my deathbed to lowering my blood pressure to mending a broken ankle to correcting my eyesight. At the same time, they must financially profit to maintain themselves. Paradoxically, to keep its financial heart pumping, the industry must recruit new patients who consume the latest pharmaceuticals, visit doctors, and are diagnosed with the newest machines. It’s better that I stayed a little bit sick by design or by accident than be cured. At last check, according to the Social Security Administration actuary chart, I have 10.4 years to go, which means I will be dead when I’m 79. I’ve had a flirt with death every 20 years or so. Most recently, I lived through an exotic lung disease in 2013. Time is speeding up. I had a fourth near miss when I had emergency surgery in Panama City, Panama to remedy a bowel obstruction at the end of 2023. My next meet-up with the Grim Reaper will likely be the last. We all have unique experiences as we move through life. I’m grateful but, at the same time, skeptical about the healthcare system. I’ve had my physical and emotional ups and downs, but being at the top of my game has been hard work. I prefer to have positive influences on others I meet. - Alan O’Hashi