We got Pat to the dermatologist yesterday, but even with P. and N. helping, it was an ordeal. We were told--I knew this couldn't be otherwise--that the lesions on his ears would have to be excised either by the M.O.H.S. procedure, necessitating staying in the office for 4 to 8 hours, or by radiation and daily hospital visits for fifteen consecutive days. I don't see how Pat can possibly do either.
Besides that, what looks like a bubble or blister on his left ear is either because the earlier excision didn't completely take and it's growing again or there's a new squamous cell cancer there. Either way, we'd have to make at least one visit to a plastic surgeon, then another for the procedure, then follow-up--. I don't see how he can possibly do it.
Pat was so exhausted when we got home that he immediately fell asleep in his chair. I shed a few tears--what a bitch this is for him and for me. It was such a help to have P. and N. here, but they're leaving tomorrow. I know we can count on A. to do anything she can, but it still rests on Pat. Soon, I'm going to consult with my children about hospice care.
Wider: From a piece by Robert Anderson in "Lew Rockwell.Com":
"We are reminded of Ludwig von Mises’ observation that the history of government intervention is the repetitive saga of how governments step into a crisis that they have themselves created earlier by misguided policies. The unfortunate cycle of interventions always results in producing opposite or worse results from those the interventionists intended."
And yesterday, Obama announced the passage of the "stimulus" package. But read this from "The Daily Burkeman1" blog:
"It should be painfully obvious to all of us by now. No one in power has a clue of what is going on or what to do. Obama’s “stimulus” bill is seen by nearly every non government employed or DC dependent economist as a total disaster that will do more harm than good."
I'm afraid them's my sentiments exactly...