I was there when our first daughter was born two months prematurely requiring immediate, life-saving surgery to overcome an esophagus abnormality, where her esophagus was attached to her lung rather than the normal development. We were told when this surgery occurred (1980) that 20 years earlier the medical community would not have been able to successfully perform the "heroic" surgery, saving Jocelyn's life. Our medical insurance paid dearly for this procedure, the hospitalization and aftercare. Jocelyn is now a healthy, 29 year old woman.

I was there, when Irene was expecting our second child and she was told to abort by her OBGYN .... because Jocelyn's medical issues were "hereditary" and the same incidence would re-occur. That information later proved to be outrageously erroneous after consulting with another physician who performed "heroic" research on the matter. JoAnna is now a healthy, 25 year old woman.

I was there when Irene was hospitalized with an undiagnosed disease. After a two week local hospitalization she was transported by ambulance to UCSF; two days later she was diagnosed with incurable Primary Amyloidosis. We are intimately involved with the system, oftentimes changing the course of routine protocol because of our influence. UCSF and others have used "heroic" efforts to save Irene's life using modern medical technology, many circumstances of which have been articulated on this website. Our health insurance provider has paid in excess of seven figures for treatment protocol and continues to pay ongoing medical expenses.

Everyday, across this nation, committed doctors, nurses and countless emergency medical personnel use EXTREME measures and HEROIC medical acrobatics to save lives. Our society places such a high value on human life that extreme measures and "heroic healthcare" are what we have come to expect as routine medical protocol.

Billions of dollars are invested and spent each year by pharmaceutical companies, bio tech firms, centers of excellence, medical research centers, teaching hospitals and more, for inexhaustible research in the bio tech field. Why? To discover medical breakthroughs, perform "heroic healthcare", and to save lives.

The U.S. Health System is far from perfect. However, transferring our healthcare needs to a government controlled system, fraught with layers of bureaucracy and out of control, unaccountable spending, is beyond my comprehension. The system will be far from HEROIC in the future if faceless bureaucrats hide behind federal regulations and ration our care.

Ronald Reagan gets it right with this quote:

"Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."

Although there is harsh and sometimes deserved criticism of insurance companies who are involved in the system as third party payers, I would much rather take my chances in the private sector where choice and competition ultimately reign.

Irene and I often discuss whether or not a government run healthcare system would approve her ongoing battle with Primary Amyloidosis or whether she would have even been treated after first being diagnosed with this hideous and incurable disease.

I conclude with the hope that the "Heroic Healthcare" System of the U.S. is still in place when you or I may need extreme measures for ourselves or for those we love.