AN AMERICAN QUAD TALE



It was early March 1984. A  promising young composer was on the verge of a career
breakthrough.  Renowned television composer, Mike Post, had heard this young man's work and
had offered him the opportunity to become one of his composition assistants.  In addition to this,
the largest talent agency, having the most prestigious clients in the film and television-
composing arena, had promised representation.  The young composer was Tim Simonec, and
these prospects hopefully would end a long drought of unemployment.

Unfortunately, the previous six months had carried more than just career disappointments for
Tim.  It started in August of 1983 with a slight numbness in his fingers. By October, the pain of a
stiff neck was a daily occurrence.  Then came extreme weakness in the arms, which finally led to
a loss of finger dexterity in February.  This condition greatly effected Tim's ability to play the
piano, one of his passions.   At first, Tim felt it was a pinched nerve, and sought help from two
different chiropractors, the latter of whom diagnosed his condition as a misalignment of the
spine.  The chiropractic treatments were unsuccessful, and at this point Tim felt sure he had a
neurological problem.  

The long period of unemployment had caused the cessation of all medical benefits, and the little
money Tim had saved had been spent on fruitless chiropractic treatments.  And so now the
question was... how could he afford a neurologist?  As fate would have it, also in the summer of
1983, Tim's cousin, David, had been diagnosed with a massive brain tumor and had been
operated on at Harbor/UCLA Medical Center, a county facility.  So, Tim called Harbor to inquire
about seeing a neurologist.  He was told to go to Emergency and the doctor on duty would
determine the necessity of a neurologist.