Kathy,
Wow, ever feel your are on a Neuro roulette wheel, and this time the diagnosed lands on ? Place your bets folks, hit the dart board and win the magical diagnosed.
Doctors are so weird sometimes, I know I have one for a son.
This past week all the kids were over for my wife's birthday. My son noticed my feet were swollen, duh, have been for past 6 months, and my son the Doc, took my wife outside and told her she needed to get herself prepared for me to die. I obviously had Congestive Heart Failure and would drop dead at any time.
This is the same Doctor son who refuses to review my medical reports, muscle biopsy, etc, that lead to the initial DX of ALS back on May 11, 2006. He is still in denial about ALS but can tell by just looking at my feet for 30 seconds that I Have CHF?
Bless his heart I know he is still floating down the rive de-nile about ALS.
I always try to consider what has the Doctor (or my son in this case) gone through this week. Look at it from their perspective. He is an Emergency Room Doctor, Did he have to tell 15 people that their child, wife, loved one was dead in the ER this week. Did he have to deal with drug addicts, prostitutes, drunks, etc. What kind of Hell has he been put through at work, at home, with family problems, etc. Working an average of 80 hours a week, while raising a large family.
Regardless of what we think, Doctors are just as HUMAN as we are and subject to mood swings, pressures of work, bills, family problems, personal problems, etc. Then we walk into their office wanting a DX after talking to them for 15 minutes, because after all this is the 5th Doctor we have been to and still have no DX. So we get frustrated to say the least and want to take out the ball bat and dance all over their heads. Break out a can of whoop asp. Maybe 2 or 3 cans.
I'm just saying we all get mad at this crazy process and sometimes we take it out on the Doctors or their staff, because after all we are scared and want to know what the heck is going on, RIGHT? But , consider this for a moment, if they go ahead and give you a diagnosis of ALS, what are you going to do differently? Yeah, now you have a name for it, but the end results are going to be the same. There is no treatment. I know we all hope for some disease that has a treatment, don't get me wrong, I'm not playing that down. Just trying to play the devils advocate :twisted: for a moment and have you consider the Doctors point of view.
OK, I'm ready for the bashing now. Go ahead. I can take it. I'm a big boy now at 61 years old.
Oh by the way, I hope you have a great week end.
God Bless
Capt AL