Thanks, Candy. I think part of the problem may have been that she had chronic back pain the entire time I was alive; she had sciatica and underwent four unsuccessful vertabrae fusion operations. Each one reduced her mobility but did nothing to alleviate her pain. Why they did the third and fourth operations is beyond me. Seems like that classic definition of insanity to me.

 

Anyway, she experienced significant pain in her stomach, but both she and her doctors initially assumed it was just her back acting up. It was much too late by the time they corrected that misdiagnosis. But as you say, it probably wouldn't have made any difference.

 

My dad freaked out and ran around the house yelling about suing everybody, including the mailman. It was with great difficulty that I talked him out of it. The legal process would just have made him more miserable, and any suit would likely have failed anyway.

 

Makes me wonder how many people in the US develop treatable cancers but don't have ready access to medical care, for one reason or another. That's what Republicans want for everyone (aside from the current Elon shit, they've been trying to kill the ACA since its inception). They are the party of death and misery.

 

People who are in good health often can't understand what it's like to need medical care and not get it. And they often use skin color as a qualification for who should and shouldn't receive it.