Thank God for Doctors; Let’s Not Abuse Them

My experiences have convinced me that we in the U.S. have a highly impressive medical system; as we work to make it better still, we should avoid undermining its core strengths. 
My wife, Patricia, and I recently drove to Austin, Texas, where our son, Benjamin, and his family have just resettled. While we were there, I started seeing semi-circles of light in the periphery of my right eye and began noting “floaters” crossing my vision. The next morning, things had not improved; I went online to figure out what I should do. By 10 a.m. I was sitting in the examination room in a retina center in Austin, one of three locally.
The apparent competence of the doctors and staff, along with the equipment they used, was impressive.  While I was there, they also found a mole hidden almost out of their view. I told my wife on the way back to Benjamin’s that I feel so fortunate to live in our country with so many caring and capable people at the ready. 
As things turned out, there was no medical emergency, but they told me to watch for any further developments. I have since spoken with three men who had had similar experiences, and none had responded promptly. Within a matter of days, they had lost most of their vision. What could have been for them a relatively simple procedure turned into operations requiring several hours of delicate surgery. One did not fully recover his sight.
Why am I telling you all of this? First, if this happens to you, see a retina doctor immediately. Second, I want to underscore how fortunate we are to have what we have, so we don’t lose it. 
Why is America the sought-after nation to go to when one has serious medical problems? The ultra-sophisticated medical structure we now possess did not simply fall from the sky;  a lot of applied people devoted themselves to the task. People do that when they feel rewarded and fulfilled. When I was young, we would go to the eye, ear, nose and throat doctor. Over time, professionals specialized in the eye alone. From there we now have specialists in the all the individual eye functions and diseases.
At this point in our national life, we are attempting to radically change how medicine is practiced, increasingly bringing it under government control. We are told that this will improve our medical coverage. The quality of our medical care is awfully darn good right now; the expressed concern is that some lack access to it. Let us openly analyze the problems and seek solutions, while not altering the fundamentals which have provided us with such excellent care. The changes now being implemented have caused many in the medical profession to become disillusioned. This will not do. We need a collaborative effort which works to both support continued excellence in health care while also expanding access to that excellent care. 
Art Hall
From the Bible:  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.   James 1:17