Visits to the hospital are never fun, and they’re rarely straightforward. But for some residents of eastern and central Maine who have a medical emergency — a broken leg, an allergic reaction, chest pain — seeking help is about to get more complicated. It could cost more, too.
Shane Patrick Boyle, a Type 1 diabetic living in Texas, had to move to Arkansas to care for his sick mother. His health insurance did not provide coverage in that state, so he set up a GoFundMe page to help cover his medical expenses until he could obtain new insurance. He got within $50 of his goal, rationing his insulin until he could obtain more. Then he died from complications of his diabetes.
Health officials in Michigan are warning that a virus that causes vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping is making its rounds. Michigan's Health and Human Services department has identified increases in norovirus activity, which often peaks during the winter.
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin officials are temporarily not allowing kids under 12 to visit patients in the hospital. A news release from the hospital Monday, Jan. 7 includes the following statement from Mike Gutzeit, MD, chief medical officer:
According to a new study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the number of flu cases is on the rise as children have died from the illness this year. According to the report, 19 states, including Kentucky and Indiana, have seen high levels of flu activity this flu season. With the number of flu cases on the rise, so are the number of deaths from the flu in children, now at 13.
They are patients with diseases that mystify doctors, people whose symptoms are dismissed as psychosomatic, who have been given misdiagnosis upon misdiagnosis. They have confounded experts and have exhausted every hope save one.