Unneeded, riskier spinal fusion surgery on rise

As reported on MSNBC.com, A study of Medicare patients showed that more complex spinal fusion surgeries have increased 15 times between 2002 and 2007. Although simple fusion surgery declined during this time, hospital charges grew by 40%. In the article, it is suggested that aggressive marketing of devices used in the fusion surgeries is playing a role in this increase. There have been allegations of financial kickbacks to doctors using the spine surgery products.

Conditions that spinal fusion surgery is used for includes common lower back conditions caused by aging and arthritis. The findings suggest that these more challenging operations are riskier and they lead to complications and deaths.

About 5% of patients who had simple or complex fusion surgery, suffered major complications such as stroke. This is compared to decompression surgery patients that stroke was a complication because of the surgery, 2% of the time. The risk of death 30 days after the surgery was .6% for complex fusion surgery compared to .5% in simple fusion surger and .3% for decompression surgery.

When you read articles like this, does it make you stop and think a little? Does it just make you question why one surgery over another is more dangerous? Maybe it makes you wonder why people resort to surgery in the first place? Hopefully, at least you are asking one of those questions.

Our body gives us warning signals that something isn't right and usually this is through pains in our body. All too often, we ignore those pains and we deaden them through all types of pain relievers, hoping that they will just go away. Pain is one of the ways that body says - hey, I'm trying to get your attention. Often, there are things we need to change in our lives and yet, we fail to heed the call of the body.

So after some time has gone by, where we have ignored our body, we then seek medical care as the answer to all our problems. We fail to look inside of ourselves and look at what may be causing the condition. We just want someone to take the pain away which is usually nothing more than masking the pain so we don't feel it. If drugs and medications don't work, than surely surgery must or so we think. And for the new age, alternative therapy people - we think that if we put electrical stimulus in our muscles or we do this or that form of bodywork, nutritional supplements and or some type of flavored drink mix, than we will be cured! And alternative therapy people are a little more smug about it because they are doing it naturally they think. Please don't get me wrong. There are many alternative therapies out there that are very beneficial but don't be blind sided by them. Don't mask the pain in exchange for another therapy.

At the end of the day, we are still ignoring our body and what is sending the signal up through our body. We've learned all our lives that pain is not good and so we do things to "avoid" the pain, not fix the pain. Its easier that way, we tell ourselves. Again, at the end of the day, we are still ignoring what the body is trying to tell us.

Looking to others, whether it is alternative therapies or medications and surgeries, for the answers is only going to keep us searching, and wanting relief. It is only when we look deep inside that we will find the answers that we need. Yes, there are people who can help us get there but until we look within, the body will not fully heal itself. At the minimum, there will be residue of the pain lying in a dormant state within our body.

All too often, we fool ourselves into believing that we need to get rid of the pain. If we just spent the time going into the pain and becoming consciously aware of what was causing the pain, it would go away. It would not just go away temporarily either. If we shined the light of truth on it, we would find the pain running for the hills trying to get away from us as fast as it could.

It bothers me so much when I turn the TV on and see the constant barrage of ads on medications. While they do claim this medication does something positive for us, they also enjoy listing all the harmful side effects that each one has. Yet, in alarming numbers, we continue to purchase and consume these medications as if they are giving us life. In reality, they are taking life away from us. I do not want to state that all medications are bad and should never be used. That is a decision you need to make with your doctor but make the decision in an informed way. If you do not go searching deep within yourself and just turn to the surgeries or the medications as your salvation, than you are truly robbing yourself of being human.

There is a concept called the "placebo effect" that has extreme healing power for us. In fact, when many of these studies for medications and surgeries are done, the placebo affect often does just as well, if not better than the medication or surgery. However, these things are often just not written about because they would take millions and billions away from the medical establishment. What company would really want you to know that you could basically heal yourself, if your mind was convinced that it could? That would take a lot of money from the drug companies and surgeons and hospitals. Think about it. Don't take my word for it. Try to prove to yourself if this is true or not.

Health care is not about taking drugs, doing surgery or finding someone to tell you that if you do their therapy or take this supplement, you will be healed. There is just so much of that thinking out there and if it truly worked, these people would work themselves out of a job. The way you become healthy is to get in touch with yourself and to truly travel deep into your mind and body, through the fear and controls you put in place in your life. Anything less than that and you are robbing yourself of truly being human.


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The Audacity

While this blog is about much more than child molestation, it is very hard for me to sit by and not say something. I was abused by two people in my life, who to this day have never acknowledged it and in fact have done almost everything in their power to silence me. I'm still standing! They have not silenced me and they will never silence me.

When I just read the story of the Catholic Bishop in Connecticut on CNN.com, I became furious with the Catholic organization. The Bishop is quoted in a letter to parishioners stating the following:

The "legislation would undermine the mission of the Catholic Church in Connecticut, threatening our parishes, our schools, and our Catholic Charities," the letter says.

So let me ask anyone who is reading this: Is the church not there to bring love, peace and goodwill to all men? Are they not there to protect our children, as Jesus stated in the bible? Are these Church officials nothing more than a bunch of crime thugs trying to skirt the laws and protections of our land at our expense?

You may say I'm being too harsh and this has no place on this blog, but I know a countless number of survivors who it does matter to, and who have had to deal with a nightmare all their life. It has kept far too many from finding joy and peace in their lives, because of the living hell they go through on a daily basis. It has claimed the lives of too many because they were too afraid to fight and to stand up and break the silence. That is why I'm angry. That is why I'm furious with the Catholic Church.

Yes, I know it doesn't stop with the Catholic Church. There are other religious organizations just as bad, but so far, they've gotten away with what they have done. In time, it will come out. And anyone who supports the atrocities taking place in the Catholic church is beyond my comprehension. I understand you have your faith and your commitment. I respect that. However, if money is continued to be given to these organizations that support child abuse, then is it just the leadership of the church that is guilty?

I'm really bewildered that a Bishop would put out such a letter and I can only hope that the legislators in Connecticut do the right thing and stand up for what they believe. If there ever is a time for people to stand up and be accounted for, this is it. I hope that all people in Connecticut contact their legislators, and beg them to support the legislation. The victims of child abuse need this and deserve this. There have been far too many wounds inflicted upon the human mind, body, spirit, and our society to let this be swept under the rug again.

This is why I continue to speak out. This is why I stand up with others who have been abused to break the silence. It is hard enough for victims of child abuse to learn how to function on a daily basis, and the last thing they need is for the church to have their way in silencing them. It is a sad testament to this religious organization, and it must stop.


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Rules, Religion and Control

If you've been following the news lately, you will most likely have seen the series done on Anderson Cooper AC360 with respect to Scientology as well as all the coverage of the Catholic church cover up on child molestation. It is all over the news and of course when the "words" come out from those victimized by these organizations, the first thing that is done is to silence the victims.

The Scientology group of course brings out people to claim that what these victims are saying, just never happened. If you watch closely, you'll see that each person speaking on behalf of Scientology is almost reciting some memorized series of statements cloaked as fact, to basically say the same thing. It makes them appear to be speaking in unison against a rebellious few. Coincidence in the way this is done - not in my mind!

Then if you go to the Catholic Church and see the coverage of the victims that is coming out and how much it has been hidden all the way to the top of the Church organization, you see the top officials making the victims out to be nothing more than spreading gossip and hate against the church. You see the church officials do everything they can to discredit the people who are bringing these accusations out. Of course when that does not work, you invoke people's sense of shame and guilt by making statements connected to beliefs of the church so as to make it almost a sin to speak out.

These organizations are very clever in how they stomp down on those that speak out about people in the organizations . Yet, the Bible is very clear in the case of children that children are not to be harmed. Maybe that is one part of the Bible that these people don't feel they need to follow. Who knows? I would offer an explanation that it has nothing to do with following the bible. My premise is that it has more to do with power and ego than anything else.

The ego loves to be fed and you feed the ego through power, money, possession, fear and control of others, abuse, molestation, jealousy, hatred, bigotry, racism and on and on and on. The ego is the one that causes us to do things that we would otherwise not do. Ok, maybe that statement is a little overly simplified but in many ways, the ego is at the root of everything. So the power that these organizations have is simply a way to feed the ego of the people running them as well as all the people under them.

That is why the Scientology Church and the Catholic Church all try to find ways to silence the victim. For if the victims are allowed to expose the "sins" of the organization, than they would lose their control, power and money. I'm sure there is someone reading this thinking that I'm being too harsh on these places. And it isn't just the Scientology Church or the Catholic Church that does this. It is churches of all denominations and governments and groups. Where there is control, power and money - you'll find the ego is alive and well.

What I'm more amazed at is how people allow themselves to be controlled and manipulated as members of these organizations. They give money out of the sense of duty and obligation as a passage way to greater rewards and gifts for their own life. And even when all of these facts pour out about the abuse and atrocities that are a result of the inner workings of the church, they still give money to these organizations. Why is that? What part of this is hard for them to see?

It all comes down to these people who from little babies on up have been fed a set of beliefs. In the beginning, nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the way these things were taught to them or if it did, the desire to belong to these organizations over powered the need to be consciously aware of what was being taught. And so as the family units within the rules of society were developed, these beliefs became equal to taking a breath of air. The consciousness of the mind and brain of these peoples had been diminished to follow blindly the will, control and power of those who were in charge. It was a snowball affect of epic proportions that ran so quickly out of control, no one could notice. Of course, each of these people were mindless and following along as if they were being fed the last morsel of food while those in charge were counting on and manipulating the same people to do this. It was a viscous cycle cloaked in the concept of love, forgiveness and purpose both for now in this life time and in the future.

When we give our power away to those in charge or with more authority, we lose a little piece of ourselves. Each time we do this, we lose a little more. We become less than human as we hand over that which is so valuable to ourselves. We don't think anymore of what seems normal and reasonable. We just allow ourselves to be led blindly and mindlessly. Yes, most of these organizations do not want you to be consciously aware because if you are, you might not go along with the rest of the people in what is considered belief and fact.

And if you don't think that this applies to you, than I've got some bad news for you - it does! If you are not constantly evaluating through an objective view point, all that you hold dear to you, than you are following the status quo. It doesn't mean that what you believe is wrong but you must be willing to challenge it in an objective way in the absence of fear and control to find out if it truly is something that should be in the fabric of your life. Accepting norms and standards and beliefs because that is what society and religious organizations push us to do is not only feeding the ego of those in control but it is aiding you in becoming a mindless person without consciousness.

Consciousness is the way we evolve and become more human. It is becoming more aware of ourselves and all that we are. It is letting go and discarding all that we find to be less than in our lives and embracing that which is helping us discover more of ourselves. Giving our power away to others, no matter how noble the cause, is giving up the basics parts of our humanity. We are not meant to be mindless people in search of truth. We are meant to be conscious people in search of awareness and the evolution of our souls. For when we give up ourselves and when we give up the fear and control in our lives, only then will we truly find ourselves.

Note: Photo by NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog