small world indeed
'Doc' you gotta come see this guy right now-says the usually laid back-i have seen it all nurse. That made me hurry. I step behind the curtain. A young guy , in his late thirties I guess. I immediately identify the familiar smell of melena/hematochezia (blood in stool). It is overpowering, but I have quite a tolerance for crap now...especially bloody crap. Its a daily thing.
He looked pale, sweaty but alert and pleasant. He had been bleeding for a couple ofhours. Large amounts each time. It was clear to me at the outset that he would need a blood transfusion. His young wife was at his bedside. Pacing, very worried. Hugging him intermittently. I felt very worried about him. He had a young family. He was suffering from a disease that was easily curable with surgery and blood transfusion. So whats the big deal then ? Well, his religious belief would ask him and his wife to sacrifice their young family at the altar of faith. He was of a religious persuasion that proscribed the acceptance of blood products. I was powerless to do anything about it anway. I called the surgeon who came immediately and took the guy to the OR for emergency colectomy. The surgeon (as they usually are) was quite blunt. Without blood transfusion, it is unlikely that you will survive, but we are gonna give it a good try. That really freaked the guy out. Although I was not privy to the next hushed conversation behind the curtain, I figured out later that he OK'd transfusion if it would save his life. Thank freakin god (not the one the guy supposedly believed in).
The next morning, a couple of people came to my door to hand out 'informational leaflets' about how i could be one of the lucky ones who ascends to heaven if I joined their cult/religion/mass (morass?) of irrational people. They belonged to the same branch of organized craziness called religion that the patient believed in. It took a lot of self restraint for me not to lash out at them, for nearly causing a young family to lose a father/husband because of some fucked up belief in not accepting blood transfusion to ensure heavenly ascendancy. Part of this was because at that very minute, a technician was in my house working on my AC , was standing near the front door who just happened to be the abovementioned guys father in law. Small world in deed.
He looked pale, sweaty but alert and pleasant. He had been bleeding for a couple ofhours. Large amounts each time. It was clear to me at the outset that he would need a blood transfusion. His young wife was at his bedside. Pacing, very worried. Hugging him intermittently. I felt very worried about him. He had a young family. He was suffering from a disease that was easily curable with surgery and blood transfusion. So whats the big deal then ? Well, his religious belief would ask him and his wife to sacrifice their young family at the altar of faith. He was of a religious persuasion that proscribed the acceptance of blood products. I was powerless to do anything about it anway. I called the surgeon who came immediately and took the guy to the OR for emergency colectomy. The surgeon (as they usually are) was quite blunt. Without blood transfusion, it is unlikely that you will survive, but we are gonna give it a good try. That really freaked the guy out. Although I was not privy to the next hushed conversation behind the curtain, I figured out later that he OK'd transfusion if it would save his life. Thank freakin god (not the one the guy supposedly believed in).
The next morning, a couple of people came to my door to hand out 'informational leaflets' about how i could be one of the lucky ones who ascends to heaven if I joined their cult/religion/mass (morass?) of irrational people. They belonged to the same branch of organized craziness called religion that the patient believed in. It took a lot of self restraint for me not to lash out at them, for nearly causing a young family to lose a father/husband because of some fucked up belief in not accepting blood transfusion to ensure heavenly ascendancy. Part of this was because at that very minute, a technician was in my house working on my AC , was standing near the front door who just happened to be the abovementioned guys father in law. Small world in deed.
posted by PaoBhangra at 5:23 PM
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