Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Parable of the Hospital

To what shall I compare this generation?

It is like unto the hospital where a certain woman went to find out if she had cancer. Instead of giving her cancer tests, they tested her personality, her reflexes, and her ability to tell red from blue. No one would talk to her about cancer; no one would say whether she had it or not.

Eventually, the lady’s family doctor called in a favor. An out-of-town oncologist did the right tests and confirmed she had cancer. The woman was admitted to the hospital. But instead of chemotherapy, the nurses and orderlies gave her aroma therapy, acupuncture, biofeedback, vegan food, and lectures on positive thinking. Instead of operating to remove the cancer, they gave her massages, played cheerful music on the PA system, feng shuied her room, and made her sleep in a hyperbaric chamber.

When the lady asked the bloodletter why no one was giving her radiation therapy, he scoffed at such a primitive and unscientific treatment, and continued tending his leeches. When she asked the psychic surgeon for an update on her condition, he gave her a blank look, then said of course, the lady was kidding; progress reports were bad for business! Suppose she was getting better; why, the HMO might discharge her! When the lady asked the resident clown (Swatch Madison) why the staff oncologist had never seen her, the clown giggled that the hospital had fired the oncologist; he was always giving patients news that got them down, and nobody liked that; the hospital knew all about giving people what they liked.

One day the lady stopped breathing. After attempting to resuscitate her for 45 minutes, the hospital staff discharged her for noncompliance with treatment. Funnily enough, a clerical error delayed notice of the lady's discharge from reaching the HMO by several days (and thousands of dollars).

Such is the present generation. Let him who has ears hear.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Grrrrrr!!!! After working in the industry for 15 years, GRRRR! I can't wait to get out, out, out. And yet there are still people begging to be let in. Why?