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Michael Siegel

Michael Siegel has a deep interest in fine art, which dates back to his early childhood, and it was at the age of 14 that he took his first serious steps towards becoming a professional artist. He studied figure drawing and portraiture in Milwaukee and Los Angeles under such luminaries as James Prohl and Glenn Vilppu. The pivotal moment in his studies came in 1998, when at the age of 18 he attended a painting seminar taught by Gregg Kreutz of the New York Art Students' League, who introduced him to the chiaroscuro style of the old Dutch Masters. Since then, Michael has studied privately under the incomparable David Leffel, formerly of the Art Students League in New York, who is the 20th Century Old Master. "Painting, as a discipline, is governed by an inherently beautiful logic, and it is through the understanding of this logic that the painter can achieve beauty on the canvas." Born in 1979, the youngest son to a violinist father and artist mother, Michael grew up drawing from a very early age. With an interest in becoming an animator, Michael spent his high school years in Los Angeles studying anatomy and figure drawing under leaders in the field. It was not until the age of 18, however, when Michael went to his first painting workshop that he knew he had found his calling. Known now for his still life, portraiture and figure painting, Michael uses a dramatic "chiaroscuro" (or "light and shadow") approach to create powerful and moving paintings. At his young age, Michael earned honors at many national exhibitions, and galleries across the USA and the world have featured his work. Currently, Michael resides in Los Angeles. http://www.siegelfineart.com/

Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass procedures are any of a group of similar operations used to treat morbid obesity—the severe accumulation of excess weight as fatty tissue—and the health problems it causes. Bariatric surgery is the term encompassing all of the surgical treatments for morbid obesity, not just gastric bypasses, which make up only one class of such operations. A gastric bypass first divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and a much larger, lower remnant pouch and then re-arranges the small intestine to allow both pouches to stay connected to it. Surgeons have developed several different ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to several different bypass names. Any bypass leads to a marked reduction in the functional volume of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and psychological response to food. The resulting weight loss, typically dramatic, markedly reduces comorbidities. The long-term mortality rate of gastric bypass patients has reduction of up to 40 percent. The gastric bypass, in its various forms, accounts for a large majority of the bariatric surgical procedures performed. An increasing number of these operations are by limited access techniques, termed laparoscopy. Laparoscopic surgery uses several small incisions, or ports, one of which conveys a surgical telescope connected to a video camera, and others permit access of specialized operating instruments. The surgeon actually views his operation on a video screen. The method is limited access surgery, reflecting both the limitation on handling and feeling tissues, and also the limited resolution and two-dimensionality of the video image. With experience, a skilled laparoscopic surgeon can perform most procedures as expeditiously as with an open incision—with the option of using an incision should the need arise. The gastric bypass reduces the size of the stomach by well over 90 percent. A normal stomach can stretch, sometimes to over 1000 ml, while the pouch of the gastric bypass may be 15 ml in size. The gastric bypass pouch is formed from the part of the stomach, which is least susceptible to stretching. That, and its small original size, prevents any significant long-term change in pouch volume. What does change, over time, is the size of the connection between stomach and bowel, and the ability of the small bowel to hold a greater volume of food. Over time, the functional capacity of the pouch increases, and by that time, weight loss has occurred, and the increased capacity serves to allow maintenance of a lower body weight. When the patient ingests just a small amount of food, the first response is a stretching of the wall of the stomach pouch, stimulating nerves, which tell the brain that the stomach is full. The patient feels a sensation of fullness, as if they had just eaten a large meal—but with just a thumbful of food.

Rather than the narrow viewpoint of addiction as a futile and incurable disease, in rehabilitation, specialists encourage individuals to find and resolve the reasons that addiction occurred in the first place. Passages Malibu Scam Once patients identify these underlying causes of addiction and receive treatment, the individual can address issues of dependency on drugs and alcohol. Passages Malibu Scam Nearly all adults have battled insomnia at some point in life. Some studies estimate that one out of every three adults worldwide suffers from insomnia. Passages Malibu Scam Those suffering from insomnia can encounter extreme difficulty falling asleep, as well as trouble sleeping without interruption. Passages Malibu Scam Insomnia can also include symptoms such as hallucinations, muscle weakness, mental fatigue or hyperactive alertness. When insomnia persists for longer than a month, doctors consider the condition chronic. Passages Malibu Scam Curing insomnia begins by identifying the cause of the sleep disorder. For some, mental factors such as stress worsened by anxiety over sleep difficulties, depression, unresolved grief or panic disorders may contribute to the development of insomnia. Passages Malibu Scam

Drug and Alcohol Treatment Payment

Self Payment

The two major things to consider when evaluating self payment for addiction treatment are that the first attempts at drug and alcohol treatments do not always work. Ongoing addiction usually has high mental and financial costs as well as increased risk for other problems.

Personal Savings

It may come down to the having to tap into personal savings to pay for rehab treatment, especially if a person has a high insurance deductible, no insurance at all, does not qualify for scholarships or does not want to take out a loan. Again, be sure to find out exactly what the cost break down is to estimate if it will exhaust a savings account.

Family Assistance in Paying

Asking family for assistance to pay for the drug and alcohol treatment can be an option. If a person is genuinely committed to quitting the abuse, family members may be willing to help. If the aunt or uncle says that rehabilitation treatment will be a loan, be sure to draw up a loan agreement and make good on the promise to pay them back.

Creative Payments

One-Time Pay Assistance

Some treatment centers offer some type of financial assistance on a one-time-only basis.

Scholarships

Several drug and alcohol treatment centers in California offer scholarships to those individuals who cannot afford to pay for treatment out of pocket or who do not have insurance. In fact, some of these treatment facilities may be required to make a certain number of beds available for scholarship recipients as part of state licensing requirements--depending on what type of license the facility has. If a person qualifies for a scholarship, it will pay for the entire cost of the treatment. Scholarships are for those individuals who really have no other option.

Self-Pay Sliding Scale

Another popular payment method for drug and alcohol treatment is one where a patient pays what he or she can, according to a sliding scale. This assures that the patient will get the necessary treatment to kick alcohol and/or drugs, but will not break the bank.

Loans

Some facilities may offer loans that patients can take out to pay for the treatment. Be sure to find out everything that the loan covers in the treatment and understand exactly what the terms of the loan are. No one wants any hidden fees or surprises. Ensure that someone explains anything there is a fee-for-service, as this would be in addition to the treatment costs.

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