Doctor Who Middle-Age Madness

At last the BBC announced the next actor to portray the Doctor on science fiction television's longest running series, Doctor Who. It's Peter Capaldi. Yeah!

 I'm thrilled because I think Peter will be excellent in the role. He starred in the David Tennant/Catherine Tate 2008 episode "The Fires of Pompeii". He also played quite a spine-chilling baddie in the spin-off series Torchwood in its "Children of Earth" episodes. I've loved him from the first time I saw him on screen in the wonderfully warm and witty movie comedy Local Hero. What's not to love about an actor who can play heroic, comical and pure evil characters with equal ease?

 

I think the persona of the Doctor needs a good balance of heroic and not-so-heroic traits. After all, he is an alien--he's not human (according to canon). What we puny humans may see as "evil" may not seem that way to him and vice versa. It makes for a very dynamic character, one that is at times unpredictable and at others dependable. It makes for a character that has been extremely popular for a half century now and shows no signs of diminishing in popularity.  

This brings me to the reason behind my blog post title. I really enjoy the idea of watching another "middle-age" Doctor (who, of course, is much older than he looks).  While the current producers may have thought that young people would only watch the show in record numbers with "one of their own" in twenty-something Matt Smith playing the title role, I do believe they've come to realize that it's not the age of the actor that matters but his energy level. I think Peter will have the right energy level in addition to the handsome, distinguished looks that women in  my particular age group will relate to well.

As the old saying goes, "Snow on the roof doesn't mean there isn't a fire in the hearth." ;-)

What does this mean for my ongoing Doctor Who-inspired series Loving Who (and its sequel Leaving Who)? The next title in the series that I'm working on is Losing Who. In a way Peter Capaldi becoming the new Doctor works into the plot outline quite well. Things change. My character Cici Connors experienced an abrupt change in the last installment, so a new face to confront and get to know is just par for the course at this point in her life journey. 

And who knows... Cici might find a good-looking man of a certain age worth getting to know better. ;-)

I'm looking forward to the fiftieth anniversary special coming in November and the Christmas special when Peter's Doctor will make his debut. How about you? Are you excited? Has Doctor Who "middle-age madness" taken hold of you? Or are you still crying about Matt Smith (or David Tennant or Christopher Eccleston or...) leaving the show? What sort of storylines or characters do you envision in the new season episodes? Are there any mortal enemies of the Doctor you'd rather not see?

Let me know your feelings in the comments below. You never know-I might just use one of your ideas in the plot of Losing Who!

Fighting Cancer: Occupy Healthcare

Mom’s started back on her chemo treatments this past week. She’s with a new doctor now. The only explanation she’s received about why Medicare denied her treatments over a month ago was a typo… A simple typo, made by the doctor’s office on the paperwork that was sent in to Medicare. For over a month she waited patiently, losing strength and weight. Finally, she took the advice of a cancer advocate and found a new doctor who said he’d treat her. Suddenly, her former doctor’s office called and admitted to the mistake and told her she could come back tomorrow and resume her chemo, but by then Mom had already made up her mind to switch doctors.

And still no one has apologized or explained why she couldn’t have continued her chemotherapy as planned while the various parties discussed the discrepancy in the paperwork. A human being’s health and well-being were completely forgotten in all this mess—a mess that she didn’t cause, doesn’t understand, and was never in any, way, shape or form responsible for.

So… who is responsible? She had made such strides in her first  two months of chemotherapy and was actually starting to feel somewhat better and her appetite had improved. She hadn’t felt the need for any painkillers until this past week, when the pains that had first alerted her to the cancer returned. Who is responsible for Mom’s declining health? Who is responsible for this debacle?

I guess the answer to who is responsible depends on what side of the “99% versus 1%” argument you favor.

If you’re in the 1%: “Of course it’s the 77 year old lady’s fault. She would have never allowed herself to become sick in the first place if she had her own vegan chef  and bimonthly trips to the health spa. Barring that, she should have more than enough money in the bank to purchase the best of health insurances and the best of health care… No depending on government programs necessary, unless you already have the politicians in your pocket. And if anyone causes you any guff—well, that’s what expensive lawyers are for. That’ll get you results. Good manners? Patience? Pfft! Those are for those who can’t afford to have their own way!”

If you’re in the 99%: “I followed all the rules, paid Social Security taxes all my life. I asked my doctor why I was experiencing these horrible pains in my abdomen, and he said he could only do certain tests because that’s all Medicare/my insurance would pay for and those tests didn’t give him any results he could interpret, and I can’t afford to pay out of pocket for more testing…”  OR  “I followed all the rules, paid Social Security taxes, but I’m not old enough to receive Medicare, and I’m unemployed and have no health insurance, and I can’t get any doctor to see me and diagnose these horrible pains…”

I think that pretty much sums up healthcare in the good ol’ US of A, don’t you?

The single-payer system where everyone can walk into a doctor’s office and receive the treatment they need—not what they can afford to pay without filing bankruptcy—makes more sense than ever. “But who will pay for it?” the 1% asks, pulling out their checkbooks and writing checks to political action committees. “We’re all paying for it,” reply the 99% who pay more and more in insurance premiums and taxes and receive less and less actual healthcare.

Face it—we ALL have been paying for it. And who has profited from this set-up? Our ever-advertising pharmaceutical industry and private health insurance companies. They continue to make record profits while everyday Americans continue going broke and making decisions like, “Heat or eat this winter?”

If there hasn’t been an “Occupy Healthcare” group sitting in front of a hospital or clinic somewhere, there should be.

What's your take on this issue? Are you making "heat or eat this winter?" decisions? Are you tired of not being able to afford to see a doctor, dentist and/or eye doctor? Are you happy you have a good insurance policy for you and your loved ones and don't care how your fellow citizens suffer? Don't be afraid to speak up in the comment section below.

Fighting Cancer: Battling Bureaucratic Bull-Hockey

I'd meant to give an update earlier on Mom's battle with Medicare in regard to her remaining chemo treatments, but there's been no change in her status. It's been over three weeks, and there's been no word from Medicare. Mom calls her doctor's office and the Cancer Patient Services everyday to see what all she do to help expedite the process, but other than filling out more paperwork to appeal the decision Medicare made to stop her chemo, there seems to be nothing else for her to do but wait. Wait and grow weaker.

We've since learned that Medicare is suppose to make a decision within two weeks (14 days) of being notified that the doctor and patient are appealing their decision. The doctor's office manager assures us that the appeal was made the day they learned of Medicare's halting Mom's treatment. It's been 24 days since her last treatment as of today, so it appears Medicare bureaucrats can't read a calendar.

Mom received some papers from the government which stated that if her health or life were in jeopardy then Medicare would make a decision within 72 hours (3 days). Okay, her health is in jeopardy--she even admitted to me over Thanksgiving that she felt "weak like I did before I started the chemo." It breaks my heart. Her appetite had been improving and everyone had remarked that she looked a lot better. Now this... Obviously Medicare bureaucrats interpret having cancer as a "minor illness" and not something that needs to be treated agressively and without delay.

Today my chiropractor (who I turn to for help since she doesn't discriminate against people like me without health insurance) tells me that she had to stop taking Medicare payments. She said she'll treat patients for free rather than risk a $10,000 possible fine from Medicare for filing "fraudulent claims" if she forgets to cross a T or dot an I on their forms. I guess Medicare doesn't like to pay for chiropractic adjustments anymore, either, and will use any excuse to put a chiropractor out of business.

Wonderful. I'm sure the pharmaceutical industry has had some hand in this decision. You wouldn't want folks to feel better without the benefit of pain pills and other unnecessary chemicals in their bodies, would you? Well, only if you're making billions of dollars each month off of hooking patients onto prescription drugs, that is...

Every day it seems more and more obvious to me that the current health care situation is a joke. Private insurance companies routinely refuse to pay for treatments and medicines, Medicare seems ready to pull the plug after a short period of treatment, and doctors and chiropractors are forced to deal with crippling paperwork that prevent them from healing their patients.

When is this going to end, people? Is health care a right that all should enjoy or just a perk for the priviledged few? Don't be too fast in answering--how do you know that tomorrow you're still going to be in the "priviledged class"? An upside down mortgage or a company downsizing might knock you to the bottom of the heap like it's done to many of your fellow citizens. No one should think they're safe in this day and age when it comes to affordable and decent health care.

I caught a title of a book in passing online the other day, How Medicare Killed My Father. I don't want it to have a sequel, but short of a miracle and some human compassion from the Medicare bureaucrats who make these life and death decisions to stop/start medical treatments, what else can we do?

Bureaucrats: The first against the wall when the revolution comes... if it ever comes.