March 19th, 2010 by Bongi in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Dialysis, Kidney Transplant, Renal Failure, South Africa, Trauma Surgery
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The myth of the glory of war is perpetuated in part due to the fact that the stories are only told by survivors. If the guy that took one through the neck in no man’s land in world war one and then slowly faded away in a mess of saliva mixed with blood, lying in his own stools, crying for his mother were to tell his story from beyond the grave it wouldn’t look so glorious at all. It would maybe be a better reflection, though, of the reality of it. In a certain sense we run the risk of glossing over medicine too. I would hope this blog does not.
I am extremely affected by the patient calling out to me to save him in strained monosyllabic speech at the last moment of his life. It is almost too much to bear. And yet I am the survivor. I walk away to live another day or to tell the story or to enjoy a sunrise in the African bush. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at other things amanzi*
March 14th, 2010 by DrCharles in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Depression, Psychiatry, Shopping
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He wasn’t like some other men who moan and protest the very idea of shopping with their wives. He wouldn’t throw small tantrums at the idea of spending money on beauty, belts, and blouses. He enjoyed strolling around the city streets, feeling the sun warm the concrete, watching the wild array of people and their interactions with the world. But as soon as he would step into a small boutique and close the door behind him, the tinkling of little bells on the door handle was like a Pavlovian cue to feel a different sort of anxiety beyond spending money. For the walls seemed to close in on both him and those sad, tragic characters looking up from their registers, smiling and greeting him with: Hello, is there anything I can help you with today? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Examining Room of Dr. Charles*
March 14th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, News, True Stories
Tags: Gastroenterology, New York Times, Pancreatitis, Pediatrics, Social Media, Twitter
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I have many reasons to use Twitter. One of them is that it’s quite easy to get feedback from doctors who also use Twitter for communication. Now one of my stories was featured in the New York Times.
Some people are even using Twitter for more urgent questions. Bertalan Meskó, a medical student at the University of Debrecen in Hungary, wrote a post about a patient with mysterious symptoms: “Strange case today in internal medicine rotation. 16 years old boy with acute pancreatitis (for the 6th! time). Any ideas?”
Within hours, specialists worldwide had responded, suggesting gallstones, lupus or growths on the pancreas. One of the suggestions helped the doctors with a diagnosis.
“It would have been impossible to find that specialist through e-mail, because we had no idea who to contact,” Mr. Meskó said.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
March 13th, 2010 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Asthma, Chronic Disease, Critical Care, Feelings, Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, Pneumonia, Pulmonology, Rant, Reflections, Sickness
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A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about being stricken with pneumonia and my reflections on what it must be like for people who live continually with chronic illnesses. I was surprised by the response from many readers, quite a few of whom I’ve never seen comment here, who voiced understanding and even relief that a “normal” would take the time to reflect on what their life might be like.
Well, my illness is continuing even longer than my pulmonologist had expected and this has evoked for me a whole new layer of emotions. I write the following not for sympathy or concern, but rather for the Medicine and Health channel of ScienceBlogs to give voice to those much worse off than I who may not otherwise have a voice in our national health care dialogue. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata*
March 8th, 2010 by Bongi in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Critical Care Medicine, Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, ICU, Injury, Law, Run Over By A Truck, South Africa, Surgery, Trauma
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South African society is a completely lawless society. Pretty much everyone does just what they like and more often than not they get away with it. Red lights are just a suggestion, yet it is not uncommon to see a taxi stop in the middle of the road without warning. This attitude goes through almost all levels.
Yet there are some laws that people do obey. The law of gravity comes to mind. Mostly if you trip or fall off a wall or out a window you do approach the earth with increasing velocity and finally come to rest in some form of disrepair when you finally meet said earth, even if you are South African. Another law that is obeyed was well illustrated by a patient we once saw in the old days. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at other things amanzi*
The myth of the glory of war is perpetuated in part due to the fact that the stories are only told by survivors. If the guy that took one through the neck in no man’s land in world war one and then slowly faded away in a mess of saliva mixed with blood, lying in his own stools, crying for his mother were to tell his story from beyond the grave it wouldn’t look so glorious at all. It would maybe be a better reflection, though, of the reality of it. In a certain sense we run the risk of glossing over medicine too. I would hope this blog does not.
