Lots of coverage in today's media about what the amazing Cardiff woman, Allison John has achieved. Have met Allison at least a couple of times at Kidney Wales Foundation meetings - when she has always been unfailingly cheerful. During her 32 years, Allison's life has been blighted by ill health, and she has become the first British person to have all her major organs transplanted - heart, liver, kidney and lungs.
The reason today's media has gone big over Allison is that she has graduated from medical college and begins work shortly at the Neville Hall Hospital in Abergavenny. Its great to read her being quoted so positively - "At the moment I feel that I'm in the best shape physically that I've ever been and I'm so excited about the future". Inspirational.
People like Allison are a great example for us all - dealt a poor hand in terms of health, but still really making something of her life. I know others who fall into the same inspiring catagory, including my good friend, Trudy who lives in Montgomeryshire, and chairs the local Powys branch of Kidney Foundation Wales. I hope that Dr. Allison John enjoys a long and successful career.
UPDATE - My friend, Trudy tells us (on my facebook site) that the first person to have all major organs replaced was Mark from the Midlands a few years ago.
5 comments:
Mark Dolby, transplanted Heart Lungs and Liver in 1987, when he was 26. My maths it not that brillant, but I worked out that Allinson would have been 1 yrs old when Mark was transplanted.... he had his kidney in 2005 after more than 4 yrs of dialysing (live relative transplant). He's an aquaintance of mine we're both patients of Heartland Hosptial CF unit Birmingham......I was transplanted 4 yrs after Mark, were part of a very select batch of CF Heart and Lungs transplants that are all still here now..like Mark my heart went on to another recipient in a Domino transplant, as our hearts were ok, but our lungs were wrecked....
thanks for your comments Glyn, but your no stranger to facing adversity....
Completely off topic and I’m on a tight deadline so please excuse the typos, but I have a warning to communicate.
Further to my letter published on IcWales (MediaWales/Western Mail or Echo) some years ago and prior to the crash in UK real estate/house/property prices and while building societies were still talking up the housing market - the letter (from memory) warned of a chill wind blowing through the housing/speculative property market in the USA and that it wouldn't be too long before the chill wind arrived in the UK.
Well, I have a similar warning: the USA is facing unparalleled unemployment in the private sector. The small business sector doesn't know what's coming down the pipe (particularly with regard to the recent enactment of Obama’s health care plan which is proving to be anything but with respect to the small business sector). The US small business sector is now so frightened that small businesses are not hiring new workers even if they need them. Obama's health plan has led to thousands of dollar increases per employee, which has to be paid by small businesses or they have to face a $3,000 dollar punitive fine per worker not provided by employer funded health care - the health care companies are now passing on the anticipated Obama health care price hikes thereby increasing operating costs of small businesses - the great job creator, so small employers are not replacing retired workers and not hiring new workers.
I've noticed something startling - the parking lot where I live has an increasing number of cars that live in the parking lot for most of the day - meaning, the drivers are not joining the morning commute to work - meaning, they have no job to go to. This in an area of the USA that is said to be recession proof because of the close proximity of large Federal employers and contractors to Federal government.
Just like the price dip I noticed in the US housing market, which happened before the UK housing market took a dive, I have noticed fewer people going to work and the rush hour in the Washington, DC burbs is less intense.
Honestly, private sector employers are so frightened that they are not hiring - and this isn't going to change until at least 2012. Meaning, even if the GOP/Republicans win Congress they will not be able to reverse the massive spending programs and inevitable tax hikes on private businesses until at least 2012 because President Obama will be able to jinx any and all policy reversals engineered by a future Republican congress by simple Veto - which requires 2/3rds of Congress to overcome, an unlikely scenario. It will take a change of President to undue the damage to the US private sector.
In case I'm not clear: the EU/UK/Wales is going to 'get some' because of President Obama's HUGE spending program which is leading to FANTASTIC borrowing and MASSIVE costs on the US private sector. Firms that paid for health coverage for their workers are in a state of uncertainty so extreme they are delaying investment and hiring decisions - hence the anemic hiring stats – and this is not going to change much at all given President Obama’s stubbornness even in the face of obvious evidence that his strategy is not only not working, but paralyzing the entrepreneurial small business sector, which is going to feed into the EU/UK/Wales. I know many of my fellow Brits thought President Obama was the person to breathe life into the USA. Just as President Obama has turned his back on the American small business sector he has also turned his back on the EU – just that the EU has woken up to it yet.
President Clinton 'just in time' realized that his agenda was not working and reversed direction leading to a boom time for the US economy. I arrived in the USA in the middle to tail end of that boom - it was incredible. There was full employment - if you had skills you could get a well paid job. If you had very good skills you got a very well paid job.
Now look at the graduates most of whom voted for Obama, they are graduating without jobs to go to. It is a pathetic sight. They don’t have any health care because they are not in employment. Obama is destroying the economic base of the United States.
The really troubling thing is: survivors (i.e., small businesses that have not gone under) still don't see a future under "Obama Care" - the level of uncertainty is crippling/paralyzing small business owners, it is like they are walking around with a bulls-eye on their foreheads - Obama says he supports small businesses - but he his 'Obama care/health plan' is so obtrusive and expensive for small business owners (and middle and large businesses) that business holders are holding back on expansion, are not hiring in anything like the numbers they would like too.
And "Obama Care Plan" is going to come to the EU/UK/Wales ... you will see how 'good' it is too.
Well the latest US job figures are out and BLOW ME AWAY, even President Obama is worried.
Obama has noted that 60% of the latest job losses were from small businesses with less than 50 employees - perhaps he is FINALLY getting the message: those small businesses are the great job creator and job destroyer when government creates uncertainty so severe that small businesses don't hire and are more inclined to let people go.
Here's the quote (in today's Washington Post):
"Obama noted that in the last few months of 2009, businesses with fewer than 50 employees accounted for 60 percent of the job losses in the U.S."
The Obama burden on private businesses is enormous - his health plan (read: job destruction plan) is forcing business owners to provide a government approved health plan for each employee or pay a punitive fine of $3,000 per employee . This is focusing the minds of small business owners who make hiring decisions. Specifically, the health care industry has just passed a 28% increase onto small businesses in anticipation of the greater cost of Obama's health plan. The health plan is rolling out, and will lead to doubling of health care costs which are passed onto employers. We can expect an average of one worker getting fired for each $30,000 dollar increase in premiums. So for each $300,000 increase over current premiums = 10 firings. Such are the premium hikes that even large employers are reacting by dropping their worker health care plans and paying a fine of $3,000 per employee because it will be cheaper to pay the fine than provide an Obama approved worker health plan to their workers.
Obama’s health care plan is, surprise surprise, proving to be a job-killer plan - very predictable, but hey, Obama was a community organizer, has never run a business – he just thinks forcing business owners to pay out cash will have no real impact. His agenda can be summed in: "Paint a bull’s eye on the forehead of each small businesses and fire away".
For whatever reason Obama decided to hit small businesses - inflict on them a degree of uncertainty so severe that small businesses are running fast to cover their rear ends from future anticipated costs - and in anticipation of increased employer premiums on health insurance (paid for by the employer) for their workers has forced many small businesses to let their people go EVEN IF THEY NEED THEM.
Don't think for a moment that this will not impact on Wales - it already is impacting on Wales. For example, new Graduates will face increasingly bleak chances of securing employment in the private sector.
Obama's actions can be summed up as: CRAZY. He's managed to destroy the fabric of the US economy. He has put in place future increases in costs on the private sector and in particular small businesses and has increased there legal exposure. Obama doesn't understand that tying up small business owners with onerous time consuming obligations has but one lasting effect: small business owners lay off more staff because they are spending more time dealing with Obama inspired red-tape, and small business owners know there's more coming down the pipe. They now think Obama has declared war on them.
And how do small businesses respond: they get frightened and nervous and don’t hire and even let go workers they don’t want to let go but for the increased health care premiums forced on small business owners for each employee/worker on their books.
Addendum
So the US housing stats were out yesterday - the worst monthly drop in existing-house sales since last century.
The reason?
Dead simple: people don't know if they will have a job c/o Obama Health Care ... business owners are forced to make hard choices with increased health care premiums WHICH THEY PAY for each of their employes. So jobs are being destroyed by Obama's health care plan - what's the point on having an expensive health plan paid for by your employer when your employer can't afford it and lets you go.
Simple logic, but Obama and his team doesn't 'get it'.
Oh, well, the economy is beached, has run aground, is on the rocks and can't get off ... c/o Obama's idiotic agenda.
And 'pretty polly', 'what happens in Vegas' will be happening in the EU->UK-> Wales.
So "expect 'great' things" as in expect unemployment and underemployment to go up, uP, UP.
The private sector is in for a very rough ride c/o Obama's 'health care' -> read: job destruction plan.
... and still Obama won't change course - Bill Clinton did when he saw his agenda was hurting the US economy he changed course and the US economy boomed.
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