A Holy Ghost Story
On Halloween night, I thought I’d share a ghost story. My patient Jim, (not his real name) was admitted with breathing problems and treated for pneumonia. He also suffered from gradually worsening pain and weakness in his legs after back surgery. During his hospital stay, he developed respiratory failure and was intubated. The usual culprits like pulmonary embolus, sepsis, and cerebral bleed were ruled out. Despite aggressive treatment, his respiratory failure worsened. He failed spontaneous…
My Friend Scott
An exception to the HIPAA privacy rule is being made for this patient. I received permission from Scott and his wife to tell his story. On his birthday in 2004, Scott was having one of the worst days of his life. He had recently been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and was growing tired of the continual thoughts of dying. While driving home, he began to cry and said out loud, “I don’t want to…