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State of the Heart: A Medical Tourist's True Story of Lifesaving Surgery in India
Average Customer Rating: 
List Price:
$24.95
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$16.47
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Manufacturer: New Harbinger Publications
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.1974120092
EAN: 9781572244924
ISBN: 1572244925
Label: New Harbinger Publications
Manufacturer: New Harbinger Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 269
Publication Date: 2007-08
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Studio: New Harbinger Publications
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Editorial Reviews:
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In 2004, at the age of fifty-three, self-employed contractor Howard Staab learns that a leaking mitral valve in his heart needs to be repaired. Left untreated, his doctors tell Stabb, his condition may kill him at any moment. The procedure to repair the heart valve costs at least $200,000 at the Durham Regional Hospital near Stabb's North Carolina home-if there are no complications. This gripping memoir describes Stabb and Grace's experiences from the initial diagnosis through their trek to India, the operation Stabb undergoes, and the chilling dangers he faces after the surgery. In an afterword, the book offers resources for readers considering overseas health care, including hospital recommendations, visa and inoculation information, and things to look for when choosing an overseas health care provider. In all, the memoir alludes to the collective story of the more than 43 million uninsured Americans who face, everyday, the very real possibility that their lack of health insurance may either bankrupt or kill them-if not both.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Astonishing. I had no idea...
Comment: You won't believe the account of this experience. What happens when people are proactive about arranging with the hospital to pay out of pocket for an expensive surgery? What conditions do they encounter when they trek to India to have it done affordably? Where does the money go when we or our insurance company pays some 4000% of the cost of the same surgery done in another country? Warning, this book will spawn as many new questions as it answers. You won't find this stuff out anywhere else. Just read it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a must read
Comment: WOW! Like any great piece of art, this book achieves the impossible - it speaks to a wide range of fundamental topics and raises profound questions, while simultaneously remaining very accessible, open to interpretation, and close to home. By staying within the context of her fascinating personal memoir, the author avoids political preaching and dry statistics. She doesn't tell you about the problems with our health-care system - she SHOWS you. She doesn't tell you what India was like - she takes you there. Come to your own conclusions about the developing world, about medical tourism, about our country's inability to take care of its citizens. But first, read this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: what our health insurnace has come to.
Comment: I thouroughly enjoyed reading about this and realized that its much more affordable to do it this way, i.e. combining travelling abroad and major surgery, than to help finance the huge insurance complex in this country.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Comment: I've never known anything about India beyond dealing with customer service reps named "Buzz," "Chuck" and "Barbie" who mysteriously have heavy Indian accents. This book gives me a whole new vision of this fascinating country.
The medical saga is exciting but also tragic, in that it should never have had to happen. Look at the city life described in the book; look at city life in our country. Now ask: Why would a productive American citizen have to travel to India for affordable health care? Can't we take care of our own? This book examines the whys and hows of getting medical care overseas with the facts enveloped in a readable, personal story.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fixing a broken health care system
Comment: State of the Heart shines a glaring spotlight on our broken health care system here in the United States. To think that a $200,000 procedure here can be done for less than $10,000 in India is unbelievable.
As one of millions of Americans who can't afford health insurance, after reading this book I would have no problem going to India for care. In Howard's case, the treatment he received in the hospital there was much better than the treatment he got in the hospital here in the States, at a fraction of the cost.
This book also gives you a sense of the streets of India, the sights and sounds, so different from our own. It portrays the people of India as gracious, caring souls.
I can only hope if the situation ever arises, I will have a guardian angel like Maggi to help me through it!
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