After surviving the emergency department (ED), I think the worst is far behind me. I have a room. I have a call button. I should be soon on the road to better health. After being woken up by a resident on my medical team early in the morning, I am promised the attending will visit me later in the morning. And good to his word, the resident and attending show up in my room several hours later.
My attending informs me she is a nephrologist (kidney doctor) and does internal medicine one month a year. I look at the calendar. Drats! Today is the first of the month. That means she will be an attending on the medical team for the next 30 days. The doctor interrogates me about my medical history. She wants medical records on the spot proving my diagnoses. She disrespects my pulmonologist and criticizes my pulmonologist's medical decisions. This sends me off into a fury. How dare this woman insult another medical professional. How dare she show disrespect to one of her own colleagues. I immediately despise my attending.
The physician goes on and on how things in my medical past do not line up. For example, I have been to many medical centers over the years. Obviously, the doctor asserts, this is a red flag something is wrong. I am trying to cover something up. The doctor goes on and on about me not having my medical conditions, and she was going to prove it. She knows I am just faking everything.
I am absolutely livid at this point. I am grateful my mom has arrived in my room and is now backing me up. We both try to make rational talk with the doctor, but the doctor will have none of it. She tells me over and over again, she only does things by the book. (It's the odd school thinking of if your body does not read the book and present in a word-for-word fashion, then you do not have that condition. Many of my friends have died from this erroneous school of thought.)
Moreover, she asserts, if she cannot figure out what bacteria is causing my infection, she will send me home on nothing. She would rather have me sent home on no treatment than send me home on the wrong antibiotic. She did not want to be wrong. She did not want me to show back up in the ED sick from being on the wrong medicine. (I really wanted to point out to the doctor at this point, this was the DUMBEST and MOST arrogant and egocentric practice of medicine I have ever heard of! She does not want to be wrong. So, she would rather send a person with an infection home on no treatment than send a person home on a medicine which may be ineffective against the bacteria. If you do not treat the infection, the patient WILL still be sick. The person WILL return back to the ED or even possibly have bad complications and pass away before being able to seek medical attention. This doctor is practicing very negligent medicine. I immediately want her off my case.)
When the physician finally leaves, I am nearly shaking in rage. I tell my mom I am going AMA (against medical advice). I don't care if I am sick. I am not sticking around this hospital with this doctor from hexx on my case. I am going home!
My mom convinces me to stay. I agree to stay until 5 p.m. At 5 p.m. I will make the choice if I am going to stay another night. My mom departs for the hotel. I stew in my anger for several hours.
(Link to Part Ten, please click
here)
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