Target: Pain Doc

Little does Dr. Roxie Smart know, as she appropriately treats the pain of the poor, disabled and elderly in this rural town, that the government has plans to bring her down.

Suddenly twenty federal, state, and local agents enter her office one afternoon. The reason given for the raid is Medicare/Medicaid fraud. But she has committed no fraud. "Boy, are they going to be sorry they did this," she thinks. But the government is never sorry. They have an agenda and their agents are brainwashed to believe that drugs cause addiction. They will do whatever they have to in order to close a pain doctor down.

Dr. Smart is not new to setbacks or personal traumas. Married for twenty years to a misogynistic alcoholic, she was able to thwart a negative self-esteem. Going to medical school at the age of forty and kissing her abusive husband goodbye, she pressed on to what she thought would be bigger and better things.

During her residency she met David and they married. Now she expected life to be a fulfilling dream of helping other people and reaping the rewards.

But God had plans for her beyond her wildest expectationsplans that required her to get tough. No sooner had she finished her residency and found a job in a rural area, her son was diagnosed with cancer. On top of that, she lost her position in the clinic where she was working. At that point she lost her faith.

Trying to build a medical clinic as an independent female physician in a rural town is tough, but Roxie did just that. Her belief in alternative medicine and the ability to help people heal led her to doing work that no other doctor could do. But happiness was not to be.

David walked out of the marriage, leaving her shattered. It was at that point that she found God again. Through the endless trials she had gone through, she no longer looked at material possessions as the mark of success. When the raid happened, she was not concerned about loss of business, home, or property. Only the welfare of the people she served.

Following her divorce from David, she met several men. Wilson was a particularly persistent suitor. With the physical handicaps of cerebral palsy, he was looking for a caring, supportive woman, and Roxie fit the bill. She finally agreed to marry him, in spite of her bad history with men. He becomes her strongest supporter after the raid.

Roxie believes in fighting fire with fire. She meets the government head on. She finds lawyer Kent Levi to be a good match for her. Hard working and dedicated to keeping her out of prison, he works toward a plea agreement. During this time, the office continues to stay open. Patients remain loyal. Some of the patients are concerned about their future. This has happened to them before. But with no other choice, they must leave their future in God's hands.

Roxie expects to receive support from her friends. A participant in Emmaus walks both in the conference room and in background, as well as another ministry, Kairos Outside, she thinks her friends are supportive. But slowly, gradually, they show their true colors. She sees the wisdom of Kent's recommendation of making a plea agreement with the government.

Although it goes against every fiber of her being to accept blame for something she didn't do, she realizes that is her only recourse. The cards are stacked against her with Medicare law, the expense of a trial, and leaving her future in the hands of twelve strangers. Given the option of spending 1.5 billion dollars with the possible outcome of twenty years in prison, or walking free with only six months probation, the choice is simple, but heartrending.

Although the story is fiction, there is instruction in drug addiction and alternative medicine interspersed throughout in specifically marked chapters, for the reader's education.

Dettagli