David Parian

I have had a lot of wonderful jobs; started businesses and run a franchise. I am capable and hard working and never thought I should have anything that I didn’t earn. I’ve run for the state Senate, sat on city council and always believed that you had to give back what you had been given.

But in 2003 my life changed and I did not get a fair deal.

A few years earlier, a heart murmur was discovered. I was getting a routine physical and it showed up. An echocardiogram was done but I was told I could maintain my way of life. Unfortunately when I had a tooth extracted, I was not given an antibiotic and got an infection. My wife kept calling my doctor who said it was just the flu. Days passed and I kept getting sicker and sicker and I kept being told I had the flu.

Finally, I went to the emergency room. My hands were swelling, I ran a very high fever By the time I got there, the medical personnel told me that I might not live – the infection had entered my blood stream.

I was put on antibiotics but unfortunately, the fever caused two mini strokes. For a few days, I could not see and my memory has been impacted. Eight months of physical therapy have helped but I am neither the man I was nor the man I could be if good medical care had been provided.

What do I want? I want accountability in our healthcare system. I want the power taken away from the insurance companies and given back to the physician and his patient. I want to see physicians listen and I want them to know about best practices and standards of care.

Everyone with a heart murmur must be treated with an antibiotic when given any surgery and that includes tooth extraction and other dental work.

I will keep working until healthcare is once again patient centered and not payment driven. And I keep finding others – we are starting a movement!