The Other Side of Medicine
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The Day I left Home to come Home
“Sit back, relax and enjoy your flight,” the captain announced. My husband and I held hands and said a quiet prayer. Tears flowing down our faces spoke what our mouths couldn’t express. I closed my eyes and tried to obey the captain. The plane took off, leaving behind not only our country, but a piece of my heart as well. It seemed like yesterday when my husband surprised me with the news: “Honey, I just got an offer to work in the United States. It’s a private practice in Athens, Georgia, a college town near Atlanta.” “What?” I cried “But we don’t know anyone there, and our whole family’s here!”…
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Carla’s Rollercoaster Ride
“Thanks for picking me up, again. I need a new car,” Carla grumbled as she got in her friend Alex’s car.” “Luckily all I have in my agenda today is a boring appointment with my dentist.” Alex offered to wait outside so they could go to lunch afterwards. “I’m so sorry, Carla,” the dentist said as he held her hand. “But that is not a cold sore on your tongue. It’s cancer.” Carla’s chair turned into a monster roller coaster that turned upside down and flipped around. She gripped the arm rests to keep from passing out. “You need surgery to remove it. Additionally, you might require chemotherapy and radiation.…
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Do you Trust like a Melon?
It was three o’clock in the morning when the cell phone rang. No, it shrieked. I was so sound asleep I didn’t know if it was an ambulance or a tornado siren in my bedroom. “Who is it?” My heart pounded and my body shook. “Calm down,” my husband said as he picked up his phone. One of the hardest things about having a physician husband is surviving night calls. That’s the other side of medicine that only the family gets to experience. “Why do you always expect bad news?” he was asleep before I could respond. It took my heart a while to calm down and my body to…
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Do You Believe in Miracles?
He walked into the ICU like he did every day, except his heart weighed heavier than usual. He had been chosen by the patient’s family to deliver the news, a heart wrenching task which was harder than his fourteen years of medical training. Family members had spent days in the waiting room, praying for their dear mother and trusting that the doctors were doing their best to get her well. He held the lady’s hand and took a deep breath. “You know you’ve been in a coma, and we didn’t know if you were going to make it.” He looked away, praying for the right words. “Unfortunately, in order to…
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The Nightmare that turned into a Gift
“Call 911 now!” The command echoed in my ears like in a deep tunnel. What’s happening to me? A wave of pressure constricted my head. Everything in the room spun around. Every muscle in my body became limp as I began to sink in a spiraling hole, like the one from the old tv show, The Twilight Zone. Before I knew it a doctor and several nurses surrounded me, took my blood pressure, pinched my arm for an IV, and wrapped a line of oxygen around my head. “It’s not necessary to call an ambulance. It’s not a big deal.” I managed to mumble. As a medical practice administrator, I…
