Remember the Alamo!

Well, I figured that was a good title to open a post about another Texan who is fighting the good fight against the healthcare system, lol.

John T. James, Ph.D. created the site Patient Safety America as a result of his son Alex's death 5 years at the age of 19 ago due to uninformed, careless, and unethical care by cardiologists at a hospital in central Texas in the late summer of 2002. You can read the full story here. He has written a book called "A Sea of Broken Hearts" sharing his experience as a lesson to others. It is a journey of heartbreaking mystery and discovery as a father pieces together the events that led to the death of his 19-year old son, despite extensive evaluation by a "team" of cardiologists. That personal struggle opens into a broad-ranging examination of our profit-driven health care system. The story concludes with an appeal for ten patient's rights to protect us all before we personally encounter the dangers of our health care system.

The most painful and shocking sentence in his story is that the Texas Medical Board, under the direction of Dr. Donald Patrick determined that my son's care exceeded the standard of care in Texas. I think this says a lot about the standard of care in Texas.

I hope you get a chance to check out his site, read his story and join his cause.