Medical Follies

Instead of writing last night, I talked to my mother after she received the results from her latest tests. It turns out she does not have cirrhosis of the liver, type 1 diabetes, or a need to take any of the drugs the hospital prescribed. While in the hospital they tried to convince her that one doctor saved her life by fixing the internal bleeding that tripped her heart attack, then claimed he saved her life by temporarily stopping the bleeding (but she would have to return for more surgery), and now say that whatever he did had no affect on the bleeding since it had already stopped on its own and they're not even sure where it came from anyway.

Just so you know, not all the people at St. Thomas's Hospital in Nashville, TN are completely incompetent quacks. A couple (literally two) of the nurses were very kind and attentive, and the heart surgeon was both genuinely concerned and understanding of her condition. All the other staff seemed conflicted as to whether they wanted to be mindlessly incompetent or just disgruntled and uncaring. It's like that everywhere, although I find it more excusable in my workplace since people's lives aren't on the line. Most of the hospital employees didn't know why my mother was under their care, and they frequently forgot or double-booked tests/meds/procedures.

My advice - never get sick enough to have to go to a hospital. You'll live longer.