I had an epidural steroid injection on Tuesday and now one facility in my city — Durham — is on the CDC radar. UPDATE (7:08 PM ET): It looks like my facility isn’t on the affected list. I lucked out. The facility where I had the ESI is not one that used the tainted vials [...]

Made it through the (very painful) epidural steroid injection (ESI) for a badly herniated disc that on an MRI showed lots o’ fun going on. This pic was taken in the recovery room. My post about curse-generating pain in the OR is here. The jury is out on whether the initial shot will work. I [...]

And a bonus: Mittens brought in his own black folks to cheer him on and rub elbows with instead of the NAACP rank-and-file. Mitt Romney’s speech at the NAACP conference today keeps on giving. There was a brouhaha over this as a “Sister Souljah” moment as he was booed for 15 seconds by the crowd when [...]

Mitt Romney was probably prepared for a skeptical crowd at the NAACP conference today. Since he has little support in the black community as a candidate, this appearance was for show — to get the media to cover this as brave, “entering the lion’s den,” whatever. He focused on the economy since things like social [...]

For me, this is the number one reason why the GOP should not be in power. Mitch McConnell has signaled that the best solution to the health care crisis is for those of us with pre-existing medical conditions is to be bankrupted by medical bills…or just die. The senior senator from Kentucky, who himself enjoys [...]

This is my issue with those opposed to Obamacare — fine, you want to repeal it. What is your plan to handle the myriad issues related to health care reform: people without insurance (we’re already paying for them in the most expensive way possible, through the ER), those with pre-existing conditions, the under-insured (an illness [...]

Reporter David Shuster is live from the U.S. Supreme Court, where a ruling on the Affordable Care Act will be released shortly. WPWC 1480AM DC’s Main Street Talk Radio: Streaming Live by Ustream

The fact is that our health care system is in crisis and neither party can stand up to the money-loaded health industrial complex to do what needs to be done — single-payer. So, realistically, with that out of the political picture in the U.S., we see changes around the margins — the better-than-nothing Obamacare, and [...]

When I read Jennifer Kahn’s well-written, draining piece in the NYT about the plight of a family whose child is exhibiting all the signs of a sociopath at the tender age of 9, all sorts of questions ran through my mind. Science often just uncovers the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mental illness/conditions [...]

Life is supposed to be simple for Republicans, who don’t like questions about nasty details and complications like 1) people who are born with an illness or condition that is labeled “pre-existing” from a health insurance perspective; 2) can’t get insurance because of those conditions. You are just a problem they’d like to gloss over. [...]