AD,
I know that many doctors do care, as witnessed by the many fine doctors who work with thals and do incredible things with treatments that have greatly extended the lives of modern thals. And I feel that my wife's surgeon, a fine doctor originally from Sri Lanka who has the Golden Rule hanging as an art print in his waiting room (as soon as I saw that I knew he was the right doctor), is both a caring and expert surgeon. However, my own experience was quite the opposite and relating the experience to Lisa was one of the things that provided some early bonding for our friendship. Our hospital "war" stories that took place at the same hospital were a topic of conversation at our first meeting and was one of the things that led us to quickly become close friends. I feel that my surgeons did their best to kill me but I was too stubborn too die.
During my 18 day stay for a perforated appendix, I was accused by one doctor of staying in the hospital for drugs! My fever every night rose above 103 F and I melted bag after bag of ice on my head trying to cool off, yet somehow this doctor thought I was faking it. I guess I was also faking the non-stop gunk that they pumped out of my stomach. One week after my initial surgery to remove my appendix, I was sicker than ever and I was being accused of wanting drugs! For the record, I found morphine to be a drug with no possible recreational use and also, weak pain relieving ability. It was not until my brother called the hospital and gave them a good hot-head paisan yelling before they decided it was time to act. That afternoon I was taken for a CT scan and an abscess was found in the spot where the appendix had previously been located. This was the same spot that I had been telling them hurt like hell and was causing much pressure. Now, for an abscess to form, either material from my intestines was left inside me to fester or the appendix wound was not properly sutured when closing leading to leakage. I had full blown peritonitis and went through a second surgery, where in addition to the appendix wound being re-opened, I was also cut from the top of my navel 4 inches down, and into my abdomen so my intestines could be inspected for any further abscesses. After the surgery I was left with a 4 inch long scar an inch deep, and open! It took two months to close and made for some very limited activity along with the severe anemia that I was left with because after the second surgery I was left with a bleeder for 12 hours before anyone bothered to change my dressing! My hematocrit upon leaving the hospital was only 25, with over 40 being normal. It was my months long experience that gave me a small taste of what a thal intermedia or minor goes through every day. It also gave me great empathy for Lisa. I also had many bad experiences just being in the hospital, much of it caused by overworked and often nasty nurses. A point of interest is that later on, my surgeon was sued and was no longer allowed to practice, after he sewed a woman's uterus to her intestines. :wtf
Something is very wrong with the medical profession when so many patients have such similar bad experiences. AD, yours have been never-ending. Is there some way the medical profession could make more of an effort to show a caring and understanding face to patients? Is it really so much to ask that they show the same kind of common courtesy that I am expected to show customers in my store?!.