So this dude is brought into the ER almost moribund. Not really responding, tachypnoiec, looking quite dry.
Really unwell. So...
Oxygen on, blood pressure cuff on, chest leads on, pulse oximetry, cannula in, some blood for the lab, fluids in, arterial stab, slightly acidotic, oxygen levels ok, low CO2, high anion gap, blood glucose 29, second cannula in, more fluid in, chest radiograph shows consolidation in the right base, insulin sliding scale up, some IV benpen and levo, patient gets better, starts talking, refer medics. Well done team.
A textbook case of DKA.
Patient's relative starts thanking god for saving this chap's life. 3 relatives join hands with the patient and proceed to give thanks to the lord.
Reviewing a patient in the next bay, separated by a shelf and a curtain, I'm obliged to hear everything they're saying.
God is thanked for saving a life. God is thanked for being benevolent and merciful. God is thanked for his kindness and infinite wisdom.
Yep. No thanks to the paramedics, nurses, or doctor. Seriously. If god really wanted to save a life, he should have done it at the patient's house and not in the ER at 0200.
I'd like to see a 'faith' healer work on a DKA patient. If you can make 'crippled' people walk, treating DKA without insulin should be child's play.
And whenever something bad happens to a patient, it's never god who gets the blame.
You want to know why? Try going to your attorney and ask him to sue god for 'killing' someone. He'll tell you it's much easier to sue the hospital, the staff, and the potted plant in the waiting room.
And don't even bother telling me that god works through doctors, nurses and paramedics. I have considered the premise and I find it offensive. Very. I work through me.
God didn't send me to medical school.
God didn't buy me medical books.
God didn't bless me with good senior doctors who continue to educate me.
If you're offended, go pray.
May the Force be with you. Because if there is a god, he isn't. His masterplan is all worked out and he isn't supposed to interfere.
And why is god a he? Why is he never a she? Oh I'm sorry, is that offensive? Next time you want a doctor, go put on a lab coat and see if he'll work through you.
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6 comments:
Thanking God is second nature to most followers of religions. Don't blame them for not thanking the medical staff who save their lives or lives of their friends and relatives because their first thoughts are of themselves only and gratitude to God is more important than to mere mortals, medical staff included.
Most people need to know there is some sort of a higher power out there looking out for them in times of trouble. Also, most people forget about the existence of said higher power in times of happiness. Don't take it personally, that's just life.
Are you bitter at God (which would mean acknowledging his existence) or at the people who believe in God, or gods (millions upon millions of people?) I suspect you'd answer the latter; if so, I'd work on that if I were you. That's a lot of unnecessary bitterness to be carrying around.
Really nice pics. Just saw Jane Eyre in the theater, and your pics are reminiscent of the film's cinemotography. Especially the rock pictures.
To paraphrase my favourite movie quote: There is a God... and you are not Him! Many doctors have a god complex; they believe it is they who hold the keys to life and death because they can order IVs or wield some cool paddles to jump start a tachy heart. We are all mere mortals with limited understanding and flawed abilities -- even those who have achieved the status of neurosurgeon! What makes a good doctor is not confidence but humility; you must remember you are not perfect, your intelligence is limited and your talents are flawed. When you remember these things you will be more apt to review your judgement and double check your work... you will look at all possible avenues of treatment rather than making snap decisions and missing the one key element which could mean the difference between life and death. You really should google anecdotal evidence of miraculous recoveries from catastrophic medical conditions; if it doesn't make you re-think your position on faith then perhaps you need to check your own god-complex.
nice post
@mom on a mission: regarding miraculous recoveries. i don't doubt that there are things i don't understand and there certainly are things that i will never understand. i've witnessed miraculous recoveries, people on the brink of death brought back by the sheer persistence of the staff working on and for them, including one lady who was fished out of a river in winter. she was brought in clinicalley dead but miraculously recovered thanks to foil blankets, the skill of the paramedics and the 7 nurses and doctors who took it in turns to pound on her chest, ventilate, and feed warmed crystalloids into her veins for 38 minutes before 'spontaneous' return of circulation. i've also seen young people with cystic fibrosis die in their 20s. individuals who've never smoked die horrible deaths from lung cancer. ovarian cancer cutting short the lives of women who were formerly in their prime. and more recently, a young man with cardiomyopathy who will likely die of heart failure in a year if he doesn't get a transplant. i reiterate the case described above, if you can 'cure' diabetic ketoacidosis without insulin outside of a hospital, then i accept that i have to reconsider my position on faith, again.
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