Even if doctors are demonized, they do make a difference

As a long-distance truck driver, he did not have time to visit a doctor. In fact, the last time a doctor ever examined him was decades ago. When his leg started hurting, he ignored the pain for months before it got too severe and started interfering with his ability to drive.  He showed up in my office in severe pain and limping. And while he tried to joke it off, I could see the fear in his eyes. I examined him and then sat down and faced him. I knew he wanted to get out of the office by any way and was hoping I would tell him it was just a pulled muscle. But, I suspected it was more dire than that, and as I shared my suspicions that it was a blood clot, I saw his eyes mist over but the tears failed to fall. Since it was evening, there was no way to get any radiographic studies done, so he was asked to go to the ER. And there, the blood clot was confirmed and the patient hospitalized. A few weeks later, he came back to see me and thanked me for saving his life. I knew it wasn’t just me but a whole team of health care workers who saw him in the hospital. I wonder if he thanked them, because they played a role in saving his life as well. Would they ever know how grateful he was that he was diagnosed before having a catastrophic pulmonary embolism? People like to demonize doctors these days. While the health care system totters on its unsteady legs, blame looks for a victim to cast itself upon. Doctors are easy victims because, for most of us, we care about doing the best fo...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs