My day had started early that Friday. My wife, Joanne, and I arrived at 7 a.m. for my 10-year follow up colonoscopy with Dr. Smith. Although I had referred a number of my patients to his group, I hadn’t worked much with him or even met him. As the nurse was going through her checklist of tasks, she casually mentioned that he was retiring that day and a party was scheduled that evening.“Dr. Mieczkowski, everything went well,” Dr. Smith told me.
While taking my medical history and doing a brief exam, he was constantly looking up at the monitor, which showed a heart rate of 62 and a normal blood pressure. He commented on the low heart rate as an indication that I was stable. I was puzzled. “Dr. Woods, I’m on a high dose of a beta blocker for my blood pressure,” I told him. “My heart rate is always around 50 and never gets above 80.” It didn’t alter his thinking.
It was around 5:30 p.m. at this point. Then, to my surprise, Dr. Smith entered my room. He asked a few questions, peeked into the bedside commode, listened to my heart and abdomen and poked around a bit. I reiterated my worries and asked directly, “Are you going to do a repeat colonoscopy now?” He paused for a long while before finally answering, “Why don’t we wait this out and do a repeat colonoscopy tomorrow morning if you’re still bleeding. I’ll admit you to the hospitalist service.
It was around 11:30 p.m. when a sense of calm started to come over me ― it was an acceptance that I might die peacefully in bed.I thought. I was no longer afraid. “I’m going to die,” I said in a whisper. I can’t imagine how Joanne felt. My nurse got startled briefly, but she was experienced with critically ill patients and called in her team.Within seconds more nurses arrived, and they took control since the hospitalist was nowhere to be found.
1. Resist yelling at the nurse or physician. It doesn’t help, and you may get labeled as “a difficult patient,” which could make matters worse.