“Let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am Yahweh, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight.”

Jeremiah 9: 24

_____________

#####

The view of the Temple Mount from Mount Scopus.

Israeli Doctors are Fantastic

Recently, I read an article about a college professor in California who thinks Israeli doctors will ignore Arabs who contract the coronavirus and treat only Jewish victims. See “California State University Professor Spreads ‘Coronavirus’ Blood Libel about Israel”.

The professor’s name is As’ad AbuKhalil. He teaches political science at California State University, Stanislaus. This is what he said:

Israel will—I am sure—have different medical procedures for Jews and non-Jews. Non-Jews will be put in mass prisons.

People Who Share Strong Opinions Should Produce Good Evidence

AbuKhalil was raised in Lebanon and immigrated to the U.S. At this point in his life, he has the same mindset as Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. They take advantage of every opportunity to bash Israel and Jews.

AbuKhalil presented no evidence. He simply shared his hatred for Israel and Jewish people, and he used the coronavirus scare to inflame others who share his mania.

I doubt that AbuKhalil has ever set foot in an Israeli healthcare facility much less been treated by an Israeli doctor. In other words, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Even so, some people who don’t know any better will believe him.

Unlike AbuKhalil, I have first-hand experience with the Israeli healthcare system. This is my story. It’s detailed, and it’s factual.

Diverticulitis?

In early 2013, I got a routine colonoscopy. A short while later, I started having pain in my lower abdomen. The pain didn’t go away. It kept getting worse.

I made an appointment to see the gastroenterologist who performed my colonoscopy. He told me that I had diverticulitis and prescribed antibiotics.

The antibiotics worked just like they are supposed to, but in a few weeks, I had the same problem again. So, I made another appointment to see my gastroenterologist, and he prescribed the same antibiotic regimen.

That’s how it was for 3 long years. Ten days on antibiotics and a few weeks off. I spend a lot of time out of the country. Things were so bad that I had to take antibiotics with me on every trip.

In 2015, I made another appointment to see my gastroenterologist. This time I told him that I didn’t think I had diverticulitis. I told him that I thought I had a serious problem that might require surgery. Then I told him that popping antibiotics like candy is not good. Imagine having to tell a doctor something like that.

The doctor gave me a smug look, propped his feet up on his desk, and said, “No, you have diverticulitis. Some of my patients take antibiotics for the rest of their lives.”

Fast Forward to 2016

In the spring of 2016, Katie and I were heading to Israel. As had become my custom by then, I got a prescription for antibiotics before we left. A few days before we departed, my problem hit me again, so I started my 10-day antibiotic regimen. My antibiotics ran out shortly after we arrived in Israel.

I thought, This might be a problem.

We were in Jerusalem for several weeks. I was fine until a couple of days before we were supposed to return to the U.S. Having dealt with my problem for more than 3 years at that point, I “knew” that I needed antibiotics. That’s what my U.S. gastroenterologist had been telling me for more than 3 years at that point.

I decided to see if a pharmacist in Jerusalem would refill my prescription. There is a pharmacy within a few steps of the hotel where we stay in the City Center. The pharmacist told me that she could not refill a prescription from a non-Israeli doctor. She told me to see an Israeli doctor and get him or her to prescribe the medicine.

I thought, I might just take my chances and fly home without antibiotics.

I went back to the hotel, and Yahweh started nudging me gently to see an Israeli doctor. I decided to ask an Israeli friend in Jerusalem about how to access the Israeli healthcare system.

Israel has socialized medicine. Israeli citizens pay for medical care in their taxes. If they have a problem and it’s not an emergency, they go to a clinic. That’s what my friend told me to do, but I’m not an Israeli citizen. I would have to pay the full freight.

I still had second thoughts about seeing an Israeli doctor. It seemed like a hassle. Finally, I decided again to take my chances and fly home without antibiotics. This time, Yahweh nudged me harder. There was no doubt about it. Yahweh wanted me to see an Israeli doctor pronto.

My First Experience with an Israeli Doctor

Medical clinics in Israel are similar to urgent care facilities in the U.S. One is located a short walk from our hotel.

It took 45 minutes to complete my mission. That’s less time than I spent procrastinating about going to the clinic. This is what happened. Keep in mind that it took 45 minutes from start to finish:

I filled out some paperwork and waited to see a doctor. It was a very short wait.
I told the doctor that I needed to have a prescription refilled, and she told me that she didn’t refill prescriptions. She told me that she would examine me first. If I needed the prescription, she would write one for me.
When she said that she would “examine me”, she meant that she would give me a complete physical.
She drew blood, had it analyzed, and gave me a report on the blood workup in Hebrew and English so that I could give a copy to my U.S. doctor.
Then she said, “You don’t have diverticulitis, but you do have a problem. You need a CT scan.”
She wrote me a prescription for a CT scan and told me to give it to my U.S. doctor. She said that he couldn’t refuse to order a CT scan if I gave him the prescription.
She assured me that I did not need antibiotics.
Then she asked me a strange question. She said, “Has your doctor ever told you that you have a heart murmur?”
I told her, “No.” I explained to her that I get a complete physical every year, and my family doctor has never mentioned it.
She said, “Well, you do have a heart murmur. I think you have aortic stenosis. You need to see your cardiologist as quickly as you get home.”
She wrote me a prescription for an echocardiogram and told me to give it to my cardiologist in the U.S. She said that he would have to order an echocardiogram if I gave him the prescription. Then she wrote a report in Hebrew and English, so I could give him a copy.
I had no idea what aortic stenosis is. I said, “I don’t have a cardiologist, but I’ll have a physical in a couple of months. I think I’ll wait until then.”
The doctor was adamant. She said, “No! The first thing you should do when you get back to the United States is make an appointment to see a cardiologist.” The way she said it got my attention. Katie was there, too. It got her attention as well. Since Katie heard it and saw it, I couldn’t ignore the doctor’s advice. Katie would make sure that I didn’t. You know how women can be when they lock in.

That was it. As I said, it took less than 45 minutes, and because I had to pay the full freight, it cost me $150. That was the total cost of the most complete physical I have ever had. Compare that with the cost of your last physical, and you will be amazed. My routine annual physicals in the U.S. cost about $700.

A New Gastroenterologist

When we got back to the U.S., I found another gastroenterologist. I met with him, told him about my recurring gut problem, told him what the Israeli doctor had said, and gave him the report she prepared and the prescription for a CT scan. He looked over everything and ordered the CT scan.

A few days later, I got a CT scan with contrast at St. Francis Hospital in Greenville, SC. It was scheduled for 7:00 AM. When I left the hospital, I stopped at Waffle House on the way home and ate breakfast. I live on Lake Hartwell about 45 miles from Greenville, so I got home at about 10:30 AM.

As soon as I walked into my house, the phone rang. It was my gastroenterologist. He told me that he had seen the results of my CT scan and talked with a surgeon about it. Then he said, “You need to pack a bag and go straight to the hospital. They are expecting you. Your room will be ready when you arrive. We’re doing surgery on you right away.”

Turns out, I was right. The gastroenterologist who performed my colonoscopy in 2013 punctured my colon, and my small intestine gravitated over to seal it off. That’s automatic. Treating the problem with antibiotics kept me from dying, but it didn’t solve the problem. In fact, it made things worse.

Over time, my colon fused with my small intestine, and created a serious problem that couldn’t be solved without surgery. The surgeon removed portions of my colon and small intestine, because sections of both had been destroyed. The surgeon told Katie that the section of small intestine that he cut out was as hard as a watermelon rind. Eventually, it would have killed me.

For 3 years, I walked around with a time bomb in my gut, and I didn’t have a clue. It could have exploded at any moment. At some point, it would have exploded. That’s why Yahweh insisted that I see an Israeli doctor.

Again, it took 45 minutes and cost $150.

Have a Heart

As the Israeli doctor instructed, when I got back to the U.S., I did some research and found a great cardiologist. I gave him her report and the prescription she wrote for an echocardiogram. He examined the paperwork, listened to my heart, and said that I had a slight murmur, but it didn’t sound to him like a serious problem. Then he said, “We’ll schedule an echo to be sure.”

A few days later, I had an echocardiogram. A few days after that, I met with my cardiologist again. I expected it to be an uneventful meeting, but I was in for a surprise. He said, “You have aortic stenosis. You’ll need open-heart surgery in 2 to 5 years to replace your aortic valve. Your gradient now is 13. When it reaches 40, we’ll schedule surgery.”

Later, I discovered why they wait until the gradient reaches 40 before they replace a failing aortic valve. When the gradient reaches 40, you are running a significant risk of dying from an aneurysm in the aorta that is brought on by normal activities. Since replacement valves have life expectancies, the longer they wait to replace the valve, the less likely they will need to replace it again before you die from natural causes.

I met with my cardiologist for the first time in June 2016. I had open-heart surgery in January 2019.

Fast Forward to August 2019

In August 2019, Katie and I were off to Israel again. My recovery from heart surgery was progressing nicely, but 3 days before we were scheduled to leave, a blood clot in my left eye caused me to go totally blind in that eye for less than a minute.

Blood clots are not uncommon following open-heart surgery, and they can be very serious. Within two hours of that incident, I was in my ophthalmologist’s office having my eyes examined. He found no problems with my eyes. That ruled out everything except a blood clot.

The next morning bright and early, I was in my internist’s office. He examined me, ran a blood test, recommended that I take one aspirin a day, and gave me the go-ahead for my trip to Israel. My cardiologist didn’t see my internist’s report until a few days later. By that time, I was in Israel.

My Second Experience with an Israeli Doctor

I got a call from my cardiologist while I was in the Archeological Park at the base of the Temple Mount gathering information for a SnyderTalk editorial that I planned to write. See “Yahweh’s Temple was not on the Temple Mount”. Eventually, it will become a book.

My cardiologist wanted more data. He didn’t know that I was in Israel, so he told me to come to his office to get another echocardiogram. I said, “Doc, I’m in Jerusalem.” He laughed and said, “You need to get an echocardiogram in Israel right away.” There was urgency in his voice.

Sometimes clotting forms around replacement valves. Microscopic pieces of those clots can break off, circulate in the bloodstream, and cause stokes and all sorts of other problems, things like temporary or permanent blindness. My cardiologist wanted to know for sure that I did not have clotting around my new aortic valve. An echocardiogram is the only way to get that information.

I went to the clinic in Jerusalem the next morning. I met with the doctor, explained my situation to him, and told him that I needed a referral for an echocardiogram ASAP. He gave me a complete physical, and wrote the referral. I had 2 choices for the echocardiogram: the Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus on the east side of town or Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Kerem on the west side of town.

John the Baptist was born and lived in Ein Kerem. That’s where Mary the Messiah’s mother spent time with Elizabeth, John’s mother, before the Messiah was born. I’ve visited Ein Kerem a few times, but I didn’t particularly need to go there on this trip. Mount Scopus is beside the Mount of Olives. It’s called Mount Scopus, because that’s where Alexander the Great scoped out Jerusalem as he was on his way to Egypt.

According to Josephus, what we call the Temple Mount is actually a Roman fort called Antonia Fortress. Josephus said that the fort was so large that it obscured the view from Mount Scopus of Yahweh’s Temple in the City of David. I needed to confirm that piece of information, so I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone. I went to Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus.

Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus treats Arabs almost exclusively. The doctors, nurses, and staff are Jewish. I was there for about 3 hours. Arabs with health problems, some serious, and family members were sitting all around me the whole time. They got the finest medical care available anywhere in the world, same as me. They were treated with the utmost respect, and I could tell by the looks on their faces and by the way they interacted with the doctors and nurses that they appreciated the care they received. They would have received the same level of care at Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Kerem, but it’s about 6 miles farther from their homes.

I walked into the clinic that morning at 9:00. I walked out of the hospital that afternoon at 4:00. It took 7 hours to complete my mission, and Katie and I took a break for lunch. I had no appointments. Everything was done on the fly.

The total cost of the doctor’s appointment to get a referral for an echocardiogram, the echocardiogram, a cardiologist’s analysis of the results, and a complete report written in Hebrew and English was $530. In the U.S., it would have cost at least $2500. When I told my cardiologist in the U.S. what it cost, he smiled and shook his head. All of my doctors are becoming believers in the Israeli medical system.

As’ad AbuKhalil is Long on Opinions and Short on Facts

As’ad AbuKhalil couldn’t be more wrong. Israel has the finest medical system in the world. To Israeli doctors, patients are patients regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion.

AbuKhalil has opinions. I have facts. You be the judge.

By the way, I did not have clotting around my new aortic valve. That was good news.

Healthcare in the U.S. Isn’t All it’s Cracked Up to Be

My best friend is a professor in the University of Virginia Medical School. We raised our families together in Charlottesville, and we’ve spent a lot of time together over more than 4 decades. He told me that 50% of doctors in the U.S. shouldn’t be practicing medicine.

Bad doctors don’t have the right attitude. Some of them are lazy. They don’t keep up with developments in their fields. Others enter medicine for the money and prestige. They see patients as sources of income and little else. My first gastroenterologist was a bad doctor.

Doctors in Israel compete for their positions, and records are kept on every patient and every doctor that treats them. If there are problems, people know about it, and they deal with it.

The U.S. could learn a lot about healthcare from Israel. I think Israel has the best healthcare system in the world.

#####

_____________

#####

_____________

#####

“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)