May 29th, 2011 by AndrewSchorr in True Stories
No Comments »
Ruthie and Andrew
When I was diagnosed with leukemia my daughter, Ruthie, was just two and a half. She has vague memories of our household being turned upside down with worried, hushed conversations and friends and relatives calling A LOT. Because a leading specialist, Dr. Michael Keating from MD Anderson Cancer Center, advised against having treatment right away (something better was coming along), I did not have treatment for more than four years. By then Ruthie was seven. She has vivid memories then of me going off to Houston, accompanied by her mom, for a week of initial treatment and then successive weeks of treatment every month for quite a while back here in Seattle. She also remembers me tired, nauseous and, some days, in bed. The better memory is me participating in a clinical trial that worked and then returning to a full and active life.
Ruthie and I had never really talked about her observations of this until last night. Now, almost 18, Ruthie will be headed to college soon. It’s been a “journey.” As with many teenagers, they can be rebellious and oppositional, at times. But, in most cases, they eventually return to that loving person you remember. Ruthie has been making that return and, as she does, we’ve been talking more.
Last Friday night Ruthie called me in a panic. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*
June 2nd, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Interviews, Opinion
7 Comments »
There’s a nice article in the May issue of Plastic Surgery Practice that discusses how to deal with unhappy or difficult patients. No matter the area of medicine or surgery, you’re bound to have one or two of these patients over the years. It never hurts to learn or review tips in dealing with them.
In the article, Rima Bedevian interviews Julie Ann Woodward, M.D., chief of the oculoplastic and reconstructive surgery service at Duke University:
…how to successfully deal with them -– with compassion and humanity without allowing them to “run you over” or manipulate a difficult situation into a potentially litigious one.
Dr. Woodward provides a helpful checklist for doctors. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*