Re: support therapy
Tim O'Connor (tim@roughdraft.org)
Fri, 03 Apr 1998 10:09:28 -0500
I previously said:
> Oh, and if it matters, his training was in Europe, not here in the US.
> Rigorous as hell. (I often enjoy querying doctors and scientists about
> their training, residencies, internships, and so on; apprenticeship is
> apprenticeship, in science or art or writing, and one can learn quite a lot
> by listening, watching, and comparing to previous conversations.) Sure, we
> have rigor here. But
My own mental soup got diluted a bit at that moment. I meant to finish the
sentence along the lines of:
Sure, we have rigor here. But this fellow was drilled by teachers whose
rigor is legendary, and it shows in his work. Do I speak bitterly? I
speak as someone who has been sick recently, and who was in an emergency
room in close-to-fatal state a few weeks ago, while my "doctor" carried
around and apparently ignored my blood tests, which told the story
objectively; couldn't be bothered to visit my bed to see how I was; and
overruled the diligent resident and refused to admit me, with the
unforgiveable attitude of, "He's **my** patient, and this is my decision.
Send him home." I can't wait until my next office visit. One thing about
staring Mr. Death in his tired eyes: you reach a brink that remarkably
removes social inhibitions and effectively allows you to see a medical
functionary as nothing more special than a dog-walker who picks up after
the dog drops a load. And that is a remarkably liberating sensation.
--tim (feisty, but defiantly alive)