Dear Doctor
by Peter W. Johnson
To Dr. [Name Omitted]
RE: Uncensored and thoughtful compassion
Dear Doctor,
As you know, I have had my share of disappointments about the way certain health facilities are run, and how I was treated by them. But I have no desire to name names, or to get any individuals in trouble. My intents for writing this letter are to voice my frustrations about a disturbing trend I see regarding health care in general.
I recently drove myself to the ER in my home town at the end of June or the beginning of July (I don’t know the exact date) since at the time my wife was experiencing symptoms of mental illness which were difficult for both of us to deal with. While I was there, I once again encountered the ridiculous and stubborn reluctance of medical personnel, to administer simple empathy and compassion when and where it was needed — probably because I once again demonstrated the gall to become upset about their indifference. I believe that the people in the ER that night, like so many other medical employees, are currently phobic about offering even simple, basic help without official permission.
In this case, my fault was that I had failed to realize that I lacked one pill from my Amiodorone prescription which I had not noticed was empty. It was a Sunday, and, the following Monday, I would be able to refill my prescription at our own drugstore in Superior. I just needed one lousy pill, to get through till that day!
Earlier I had thought that I was experiencing symptoms and was frightened by that feeling. Although I called Walgreens and CVS, in the hopes that I could obtains a temporary prescription (consisting of only the one extra pill) I soon learned how hard such a simple thing could be. If my wife and I had done business with a 24/7 drugstore, I probably would have found that none of the problems I encountered, would have happened, but, since we have been customers at our current drugstore for 35 years, where the druggist has been quite kind to us over the years, and whom we personally know, we did not feel like abandoning him.
When I became anxious that night about what I thought might indicate that I was not in a normal sinus rhythm, I pressed my Medical Button and summoned an ambulance. Since I was exhibiting anger, the paramedics and the police assumed that I was doing well. But I did not want to spend all night in a state of anxiety, so I drove myself to the ER, thinking I could get just one damn pill from them, without a Supreme Court Ruling being required. How little I knew!
On my person, I had a driver’s license with my name address and photo ID. I also had the most recent empty prescription bottle, which contained and authorization from you to refill the prescription four times before November—either your name or Carol’s name was on the bottle. I don’t remember for certain, but it did OK four extra refills.
I understand the common feeling that we should all obey the rules and the proper guidelines, but, what happened to the golden rule? The more I think about their refusal, the more I am convinced that none of the hubbub and objections had any real reasons to have been raised in the first place.
But regardless, I was left on a table for at least half and hour, to await examination by the appointed ER physician.
I don’t believe there was any credible scenario that justified their stubborn refusal to give me one Damn Amiodorone. Was I going to try and get high on one little heart pill? Did I have some nefarious plan to obtain one single heart pill from a drugstore, in order sell them in a playground while concealed in my long trench coat? Can’t you just hear me whisper, “Hey kid! Wanna get high on Amirodorone?—one little heart pill can’t hurt you!”
Or was I so clever that I obtained 30 heart pills—one at a time, from 30 different drug stores, in order to obtain a full prescription of the treasured stuff? Did I only want to commit suicide with one pill, when I stood on top of it and jumped the, less than one quarter inch separating it and the floor—resulting in my death?
Was I clever enough to deceive authorities by going through great pains to create a fake ID and false address, which so closely matched my face that, I might have actually been mistaken for ME? Would it have meant anything just to acknowledge that at least fifteen years of my medical history were already included in the digital records of the clinic, or that I had also seen my heart doctor in this same home town clinic for years?
Would it have been such an impossible thing just to simply access those records and believe that my photo ID matched the face they saw? Or was it all the result of a sinister plot to undergo extreme and painful plastic surgery in order to obtain one ecstatic dose of a heart pill? Did I personally hack into the clinic’s computers and deliberately enter fifteen years of false history, in order to get my hands on one lousy Amiodorone at that very moment? Can’t be too careful… I am sure you get my point.
After a while, I began shouting at a nurse—not because she was personally responsible or personally able, to change the ER’s protocol, but because she represented a real person intent on enshrining the absurd and needless requirements that confronted me—always conform, and damn it, accept the expected rules!
Now, even though I still don’t know that nurses name, she represented the physical presence of a system gone wacko, and so I used her as the object of my anger—as a sounding board, no more, no less. The whole situation reminded me of a dispute I had a local nursing home, when, as a sweaty member of their senior fitness program, I dared to ask that a fan be turned directly towards me while I exercised.
It’s a long story, but, suffice it to say that, they were so afraid of violating any rules by using the existing fans (for the very purpose they were designed) that they were “forced” to kick a trouble maker like me (and a heart patient like me) clean out of the program — lying like Karl Rove just before election day, all the while. Consequently, getting any personally satisfying justice from that incident proved to be harder than felling a two thousand year old redwood with a butter knife. And, as a profuse sweater, I actually desired a cool breeze that would keep the sweat out of my eyes, and calm my mind while exercising. Have you ever heard of such arrogance?
Don’t misunderstand me Docto: my overall experiences with the clinic and that nursing home have been positive.
I have met many friendly and remarkable employees and I have also noted that the actual nursing home is well kept, clean, and that the employees, workers, nurses, and staff are personally responsive to their patients. But, in my case — they just weren’t!
Wouldn’t simple compassion indicate that denying a 50 plus years heart patient a simple fan to workout with, as being totally unacceptable and unforgivable?
No Doctor, you are not at fault.
The nurses are not at fault, the clinic and the entire clinic’s health system is not at fault—nor is the entire boondoggle we call the American health care system! The pharmaceutical companies are not at fault.
But unshakable monolithic dogma does not hesitate to make anyone who even remotely breaks or even bends, the rules, into a villain — especially when common sense empathy and real world compassion are easily felt but NOT reasonably applied.
You cannot do anything, I cannot do anything, the legal system cannot do anything, and the US Congress cannot do anything. Large pharmaceutical and insurance companies CLAIM they can’t do anything.
But the largest failing of all, is that no one is able to do a thing about the patient care phobia that strikes fear into the heart of employee’s who would gladly walk to work on their hands, if it would prevent them from being culpable for anything! But, in most cases, simple acts of uncensored and thoughtful compassion are what really make a big difference.
And, what is really needed to improve medical care.
Instead business men and corporations, have us sign absurd documents freeing them from any kinds of reasonable liability due to negligence or otherwise. When all is said and done, real world negligence will not be overlooked just because of these outrageous documents that only intimidate customers and clients into believing that they must accept the situation and not prosecute a particular business or corporate entity. But if that is so, then why isn’t it illegal to ask customers and clients to sign them in the first place?
One of the nurses at the ER felt obligated to tell me that the entire situation was my fault for failing to refill my prescriptions — well yes and no — we all need to be attentive to such things. But is there anybody on this earth who has never forgotten or misplaced something worth a lot to them just from wearily fighting personal problems and failing to remember every little thing in the process? Anybody who says so, is either lying or can’t recall what he or she failed to remember in the first place.
If one has an account with Walgreens or CVS, one need never be sabotaged by meds which can only be picked up at a particular given time. But the world of the past, which involved routine lay away plans and a sufficient amount of trust between businesses and customers that use them, has been eclipsed by the world of credit and digital consumerism.
In my childhood world, neighbors were not afraid to help other deserving neighbors get over the lean times and many more customers had access to those former long lay away plans. And, incredibly, we occasionally bent the rules in order to help someone! Nowadays we are afraid to look at others and we pay for manufactured conveniences with the possibility of going broke, and, being manipulated by our financial institutions.
But why don’t we all accept our responsibility for the world as it is, and sincerely transform our old ways into real political and compassionate actions instead?
Doctor—as a caring MD—and a good one, I thought you might be receptive to my feelings.
When we dare to change our minds without fear of evil, or wrongdoing, we will then be able to make much needed changes to the world.
You also may not be able to do anything right now, but, just meditating on the problem may create larger and more positive changes.
Peter W. Johnson
Peter Johnson is a senior citizen who has become much more interested in what is happening in America and the world, than he was as a young man. He’s interested in poetry and expository writing, and has had letters to the editor published in Time magazine, Newsweek and Playboy magazine. He is concerned about ignorance and indifference that has been circulated concerning the significance of man made global warming and is dismayed dismayed by the way political lies and corruption are being used to influence the public (apparently free from any penalties or adequate culpability). He frequently writes letters of opinion to the editors of his local newspapers.
doctor graphic via shutterstock.com