So for as often as I deal with the medical community there is something I find I forget frequently about them. They are only human. It's easy to forget that the doctor, nurse or tech you're dealing with is only human. We expect something bordering on the divine out of them and when they fall short it's a shock. Recently I was so angry I couldn't see straight with several medical professionals. One was a nurse who had written that I was legally blind on official paperwork for the Army. This woman had managed to make an embarrassing and significant mistake. She even owned up to the mistake. I can't say I initially cut her any slack. It's still a pretty outrageous mistake to make. You should know whether or not your patient of 5 years is blind. All that aside in my anger I forgot something really vital, she's only human. She's a fallible human being who sees countless patients in a day let alone a week. It wasn't the first time someone had assumed I was blind because of Riddick so why did it make me so mad? It's because she's a nurse and I expect more out of her. When I worked with her to fix the glaring errors in the paperwork I realized she was just an overwhelmed person who was trying. That's as much as I can ask from anyone. Although I still might invest in a shirt that says, "I'm not blind. Hearing dogs outnumber guide dogs 3 to 1. Do your research."
Another incident recently that left a bitter taste in my mouth came in the form of a bill. I was billed by a pulmonologist I saw last month. The man spent a grand total of 5 minutes with me. In those five minutes he listened to me cough and read my chart. Then he said how sorry he was but that there was nothing he could do to treat me. He didn't even know of anything else anyone else could do to help me. It angered me then to receive a bill. I'm still a little ticked he charged me when he didn't do anything. However one of my other doctor's gave me a different perspective on the situation. He said that any doctor willing to admit when he is utterly beyond his realm of expertise is if nothing else an honest doctor. I guess when I think about it the bill isn't the real reason I'm angry. I'm angry not at the particular doctor but at the overall situation. I'm tired of being given up on at the get go. I'm tired of hearing that there is nothing that can be done for me. I'm tired of being labeled a medical lost cause. So instead of confronting that I did the easy thing and I got mad. I got mad at this man for admitting something few doctors will, he was only human. In the end I will probably always hold a certain level of mistrust for the medical community. They've earned my mistrust and as much as those rare doctors have earned my trust. I just hope that next time before I get angry I remember, they're only human.
