Medical Malpractice

Hi, and welcome to a journey that will bring you a richer, fuller life. I'm Larry Jameson, a fulltime freelancer and author of several books and thousands of articles. This writing is not about developing happiness in your present state (unless you're already independently wealthy). It is not about being rich because you are part of a wonderful family and have a cadre of great friends. It's about being rich because you have money: lots of money.

How many times have you heard the phrase, "At least you've got your health?" While having good health is certainly something for which you can be thankful, it does not allow you to live without financial worries. In fact, you'll probably be in a constant state of worry about losing your good health. Or, more to the point, how will I pay the bills if I lose my good health?

Have I been there? Do I know what I'm talking about? Try this on for size. Several years ago, my wife was scheduled for a routine hysterectomy. Hundreds, if not thousands, of those procedures are performed every day, right? Our society has come to think of hysterectomies about like we do tonsillectomies. It is a minor operation. But something went wrong with my wife's surgery: an inadvertent cut. Don't you love medical terminology? An inadvertent cut is one made by a surgeon that is not considered malpractice because it happens all the time. That's comforting to know, huh?

Because of that inadvertent cut, a second surgery was scheduled about 36 hours later to fix the problem of the first surgery. During those 36 hours my wife was pumped with transfusion after transfusion, the suspected cause of another problem. Another problem, like the first, that went undetected until it reared its ugly head a couple of days later when I received a phone call, "Larry, you better come to the hospital; there's been a Code Blue."

Two years later, our medical bills had soared past a quarter of a million dollars. Three years after that, we made the final payment to the bankruptcy court. Between the Code Blue and the soaring medical bills the company I worked for was purchased by a competitor and I was laid off.

Yes, I have been there. Trust me when I say it is not a destination I recommend to anyone. Think about this, though. I had no choice in those matters. I certainly did not choose for my wife to sustain a life-changing medical problem no more than I chose to be laid off at one of the most inappropriate times of my life, not that there's ever a good time to be laid off.

Life is about choices. You make most of the choices about what goes on in your life. Sometimes, however, someone else makes choices that affect your life. Many of the choices you make today are limited by choices you made in the past. For instance, today you cannot choose to be a brain surgeon if your prior choice was to not attend medical school. Nor can you choose to take month-long vacations if a previous choice was to work at a minimum wage job that barely pays your bills.

Living in a democratic society (or fairly democratic society) allows citizens to make certain choices about how they live. How would your life change with an additional $100 of income per year? What about $100 additional income per month? Can you even think about having an extra $1000 per month and how it would change your life?

Think back to the Bible story of Joshua after Moses had died. Joshua was not too happy with the people who had just crossed the Jordan River and were making their way through the Promised Land. He said, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua actually spoke volumes with those words. Choose to live your life according to how your family has lived theirs. Or, choose to live your life the way people around you are living. Or, make your own choice. I am here to give you a similar challenge. Choose to live the way you have always lived, or choose to live the way the people around you live, or choose to be rich.

Make a choice. It is one of the most personal choices you will ever make. How do you want to live your life? As for me and my house, we choose to be rich.