Joan Rivers Passes Away

[+ WilliamM]

The clinic failed an examination by Medicare, but has been given additional time to respond in a follow-up Times article.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/nyregion/clinic-that-treated-joan-rivers-losing-medicare-and-medicaid.html?_r=0

[Tonyko]

The reality is poor Joan (who was NOT meant to go quietly into the night as she did) was also a victim of her fame. You or I or any non-celeb would NEVER have been given the latitude of having their own personal Doctors even PRESENT during a procedure in a facility they are not connected to or do not have privileges in, little yet be allowed to borrow instruments and conduct their OWN procedure. You would think they get the best care, but the medical community is not immune to that sycophant mentality when it comes to celebs, and they often pay the price for it. *And my 2 cents re the suit: If it were MY Mom I'd be pissed beyond words and want my voice to be heard and heard loud. Everywhere. And MONEY talks loud. And I take excpetion at suggestion of her culpability, YES she was aware of the risks of any procedure with sedation, even IV sedation, but she was NOT aware her own ENT would decide to perform a biopsy on the spot that would close her throat and cause her to stop breathing and that she was at a shitty clinic where this would go unnoticed long enough for there to be brain damage that would end with her plug being pulled. (I may be biased I liked this lady, a lot. I worked with her, hung with her, ate with her, she made me laugh and she had a good heart. She could have lived another ten years.

[+ WilliamM]

The reality is poor Joan (who was NOT meant to go quietly into the night as she did) was also a victim of her fame. You or I or any non-celeb would NEVER have been given the latitude of having their own personal Doctors even PRESENT during a procedure in a facility they are not connected to or do not have privileges in' date=' little yet be allowed to borrow instruments and conduct their OWN procedure. You would think they get the best care, but the medical community is not immune to that sycophant mentality when it comes to celebs, and they often pay the price for it. *And my 2 cents re the suit: If it were MY Mom I'd be pissed beyond words and want my voice to be heard and heard loud. Everywhere. And MONEY talks loud. And I take excpetion at suggestion of her culpability, YES she was aware of the risks of any procedure with sedation, even IV sedation, but she was NOT aware her own ENT would decide to perform a biopsy on the spot that would close her throat and cause her to stop breathing and that she was at a shitty clinic where this would go unnoticed long enough for there to be brain damage that would end with her plug being pulled. (I may be biased I liked this lady, a lot. I worked with her, hung with her, ate with her, she made me laugh and she had a good heart. She could have lived another ten years.[/quote']

 

I agree with everything you wrote. And I never met Joan Rivers, and, in truth, never particularly liked her.

[adriano46]

I both appreciate and sympathize with all that Tonyko wrote - and it is all unfortunately too true.

 

My apprehension here returns to what Unicorn wrote: I am deeply disappointed (disgusted???) that the Government and especially the infamous ACA did nothing (underlined NOTHING) to stem or pull in medical tort laws and all this frivolous and idiotic obsession with lawsuits. For me, the lawsuit is fine if it points out the culpability of bad medical practice in these "semi-private clinics" that seem to operate only for the wealthy and famous (and probably thank God the poor and medium-income cannot afford these and go to more "controlled" and supervised hospitals). My complaint is with avaricious family members (does Melissa REALLY need the money???), and that lower class of tort lawyers who take on such cases for the money.

 

Yes, Joan may have died through negligence, and she was (IMHO) a great comedienne, actress, commentator and wonderful person, and her death is a loss, but I am very prejudiced when I see such over-the-top lawsuits.

[bigvalboy]

The reality is poor Joan (who was NOT meant to go quietly into the night as she did) was also a victim of her fame. You or I or any non-celeb would NEVER have been given the latitude of having their own personal Doctors even PRESENT during a procedure in a facility they are not connected to or do not have privileges in, little yet be allowed to borrow instruments and conduct their OWN procedure. You would think they get the best care, but the medical community is not immune to that sycophant mentality when it comes to celebs, and they often pay the price for it. *And my 2 cents re the suit: If it were MY Mom I'd be pissed beyond words and want my voice to be heard and heard loud. Everywhere. And MONEY talks loud. And I take excpetion at suggestion of her culpability, YES she was aware of the risks of any procedure with sedation, even IV sedation, but she was NOT aware her own ENT would decide to perform a biopsy on the spot that would close her throat and cause her to stop breathing and that she was at a shitty clinic where this would go unnoticed long enough for there to be brain damage that would end with her plug being pulled. (I may be biased I liked this lady, a lot. I worked with her, hung with her, ate with her, she made me laugh and she had a good heart. She could have lived another ten years.

 

Excellent post....

[maninsoma]

The reality is poor Joan (who was NOT meant to go quietly into the night as she did) was also a victim of her fame. You or I or any non-celeb would NEVER have been given the latitude of having their own personal Doctors even PRESENT during a procedure in a facility they are not connected to or do not have privileges in, little yet be allowed to borrow instruments and conduct their OWN procedure. You would think they get the best care, but the medical community is not immune to that sycophant mentality when it comes to celebs, and they often pay the price for it. *And my 2 cents re the suit: If it were MY Mom I'd be pissed beyond words and want my voice to be heard and heard loud. Everywhere. And MONEY talks loud. And I take excpetion at suggestion of her culpability, YES she was aware of the risks of any procedure with sedation, even IV sedation, but she was NOT aware her own ENT would decide to perform a biopsy on the spot that would close her throat and cause her to stop breathing and that she was at a shitty clinic where this would go unnoticed long enough for there to be brain damage that would end with her plug being pulled. (I may be biased I liked this lady, a lot. I worked with her, hung with her, ate with her, she made me laugh and she had a good heart. She could have lived another ten years.

 

Lucky you that you got to hang out with Joan a bit. I would have loved to have known her. One of my favorite comedians of all time. I could always count on her to give me at least a few laughs, and that's saying something for me since a lot of what people produce in the name of comedy fails to amuse me.

[Tonyko]

Thank you for the responses :-) What I would LIKE to see come out of this lawsuit change-wise is what I tell MY elderly parents and ANYONE else who will listen. NEVER HAVE ANYTHING DONE THAT INVOLVES UNCONSCIOUS ANESTHESIA BE IT A GENERAL OR IV PROPOFOL-TYPE SEDATION IN A MEDICAL FACILITY W/O HOSPITAL GRADE RESUSITATIVE CAPABILITIES WHO MUST DIAL 911 IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG LIKE WE WOULD IF WE WERE IN OUR LIVING ROOMS. I went thru this battle with my Mom over a minor procedure right before Joan passed in fact, she said we're in NYC the top care in the world and even my siblings fought me, but I made her go to a HOSPITAL to do it, it was a pain in the ass and a lot of extra work but to me worth it! ANY FACILITY THAT KNOCKS YOU OUT SHOULD BE REQUIRED BY LAW TO ALSO BE AN E.R. OR NOT BE ALLOWED TO ANESTHESIZE. The end.

[bigvalboy]

Thank you for the responses :-) What I would LIKE to see come out of this lawsuit change-wise is what I tell MY elderly parents and ANYONE else who will listen. NEVER HAVE ANYTHING DONE THAT INVOLVES UNCONSCIOUS ANESTHESIA BE IT A GENERAL OR IV PROPOFOL-TYPE SEDATION IN A MEDICAL FACILITY W/O HOSPITAL GRADE RESUSITATIVE CAPABILITIES WHO MUST DIAL 911 IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG LIKE WE WOULD IF WE WERE IN OUR LIVING ROOMS. I went thru this battle with my Mom over a minor procedure right before Joan passed in fact, she said we're in NYC the top care in the world and even my siblings fought me, but I made her go to a HOSPITAL to do it, it was a pain in the ass and a lot of extra work but to me worth it! ANY FACILITY THAT KNOCKS YOU OUT SHOULD BE REQUIRED BY LAW TO ALSO BE AN E.R. OR NOT BE ALLOWED TO ANESTHESIZE. The end.

 

Great advice...I dealt with aging parents for years before their passing. It is amazing how we become the parent, and often have to step in, and just take charge and make decisions on their behalf, that we know is in their best interest.

[adriano46]

Thank you for the responses :-) What I would LIKE to see come out of this lawsuit change-wise is what I tell MY elderly parents and ANYONE else who will listen. NEVER HAVE ANYTHING DONE THAT INVOLVES UNCONSCIOUS ANESTHESIA BE IT A GENERAL OR IV PROPOFOL-TYPE SEDATION IN A MEDICAL FACILITY W/O HOSPITAL GRADE RESUSITATIVE CAPABILITIES WHO MUST DIAL 911 IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG LIKE WE WOULD IF WE WERE IN OUR LIVING ROOMS. I went thru this battle with my Mom over a minor procedure right before Joan passed in fact, she said we're in NYC the top care in the world and even my siblings fought me, but I made her go to a HOSPITAL to do it, it was a pain in the ass and a lot of extra work but to me worth it! ANY FACILITY THAT KNOCKS YOU OUT SHOULD BE REQUIRED BY LAW TO ALSO BE AN E.R. OR NOT BE ALLOWED TO ANESTHESIZE. The end.

 

Another vote for excellent advice.

[marylander1940]

It's been 3 years without her!