Dear Lit Loves,
Greetings! Well, I haven't concluded reading Pieces of My Mother by Melissa Cistaro yet, but I am close to finishing it. I learned recently of a memoir that reminded me of an experience a close friend of mine had about three years ago. The book that reminded me of this friend's experience is entitled Stir by Jessica Fechtor. My friend had been experiencing headaches, dizziness, nausea, and mild seizures over the course of about eight months. Her primary care doctor kept "blowing it off" as hormonal changes and depression. I advised her to see a neurologist and she did. After having a CT scan and other tests, she called to thank me for my advice because the neurologist had called to tell her she had a meningeoma (brain tumor) sitting right between her eyebrows and within her nasal cavity. She was going to need brain surgery to remove it and obviously, the tumor would need to be biopsied. She looked up the neurosurgeon who she had been referred to for the surgery and she just didn't get good vibes about him. She called and asked me what I would do. I asked her to give me the afternoon to contact my medical specialists at Emory Hospital in Atlanta.
Here's the thing: I looked up the neurosurgeon my friend was referred to and not only was I NOT impressed with his educational background, but worse, he had already settled one malpractice lawsuit and was in the midst of settling another malpractice lawsuit. (I did a background check on the surgeon and looked up the medical malpractice case histories online). The whole situation gave me chills. I called one of my trusted specialists at Emory and asked him if his twelve year old daughter had received this diagnosis, who would he trust to do the surgery, biopsy, and follow up care? He told me the name of a specific neurosurgeon at Emory. I researched the educational background and number of surgeries for this neurosurgeon as well. Stellar. So I called my friend and gave her the neurosurgeon's name and contact information and told her what I discovered about the first medical referral she received. Let's put it this way, she had the surgery, the tumor was removed and found to be benign, but she did lose her sense of taste and smell. Now, that may be bad, but I cannot tell where on her scalp the neurosurgeon did the surgery. There is no scar, line of demarcation, and her face, as always, looks impeccable. The author of the memoir Stir had something similar happen and I can't wait to read her memoir. Here's the lesson though: Do your homework when it comes to your health or any surgery you have. Research the doctors. Do a background check to see if your doctor, specialist, or surgeon has any malpractice or negligence cases. Ask a surgeon for references of patients who have had similar surgeries or treatments. Call those patients and find out how they are doing, their opinion of the doctor, and how well they felt cared for after surgery or treatment. No one else has to do this for you. And don't expect specialists to tell you that they have had malpractice or negligence suits lobbied against them. You owe it to yourself to get the best medical care for yourself. And if you need something serious done, get about three or four recommendations medically and not just one. It makes a difference. Trust me.
Recently, our family lost a very dear acquaintance. A very generous and successful business man. I admired him greatly because he always tried to do what he thought was right. He had no problems standing up against an injustice. And one time a doctor left him waiting in an examining room for an hour and he took off the patient gown, got dressed, and left. His time was just as valuable as the doctor's so he told them he would come back when the doctor could see him without requiring the patient to spend an hour waiting in a patient room. He may have just found an entirely new doctor, but the point is, he stood up for himself and his right to prompt and vigilant medical care.
About a month ago that same family acquaintance developed intestinal turbulence. I believe he tried treating it himself for two weeks. Finally, he made it to a local hospital at which point, it was discovered the man had an E. Coli intestinal infection that evidently had spread to his bloodstream. He was severely weak and mentally confused. The hospital placed him on a ventilator and feeding tube while they tried to get him to respond to an array of high-powered antibiotics. Briefly, he was able to be taken off the ventilator, but not the feeding tube. He must have tried to communicate to his family and doctors, but no one was able to understand what he was saying. Four days later, he died. I was saddened. I had also had experiences with intestinal C.Difficile infections, Ischemic Colitis (inflammed colon), and an E. Coli infection. Seven years ago I spent two weeks at Emory Hospital for treatment of Ischemic Colitis so when I began experiencing intestinal problems two years ago, I called my gastroenterologist at Emory and was seen that afternoon. She immediately suspected a C. Difficile bacterial infection and prescribed antibiotics. I also had to have stool and blood tests done. One week later my gastroenterologist called to tell me my stool test was positive for E. Coli. I was placed on a much stronger antibiotic for a longer period of time. And the gastroenterologist told me that I did the right thing. When I started having the intestinal symptoms, I called her office and demanded to be seen. If I had not done so, I might have found myself in the ICU with my own E. Coli infection. I was treated with antibiotics for a month and had to return to Emory for repeated stool and blood tests. I finally got the "All Clear" from Emory's lab department. And now, whenever I am placed on antibiotics for any illness, I have been advised to also take a daily probiotic to prevent any intestinal distress or infection developing. Also, the CDC had to be informed of my E. Coli infection and I had to document where I had bought my groceries in the last month and which restaurants I had visited over the last month along with documenting what I ate while I was there. The CDC goes to check the stores and restaurants food to make sure there is not E. Coli present on any of the food so they can potentially prevent a massive E. Coli outbreak.
Here's the deal: Folks, do your homework when it comes to who you allow to treat you. Be aware of potentially serious symptoms. And if a doctor can't get you in to his/her office fairly quickly, don't be scared to seek treatment at a hospital or find a specialist who can get you in for an examination as soon as possible, preferably that day or the next. And for heaven's sake: take someone with you if you think or know you have something serious, particularly something like cancer, because honestly, as a patient you may freeze and stop hearing anything beyond an oncologist telling you your diagnosis. Trust me, I've seen it happen. I've been my dad's medical advocate through a rare form of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and my husband was with me when I needed to be treated for basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) on my left arm. Get the best medical specialists you can, don't be afraid to fire a doctor if you have to, and always ask or seek medical help if/when you need it. In my experience, you will never be sorry for helping yourself if/when you need it.
Peace,
Grace
(Amy)
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