This summer I have been engaging my brain by reading books which have mostly been Fiction and Medical-fiction. The novel I'm reading at this moment is called Foreign Body by Robin Cook. I was drawn to this book for two major reasons. The first was my aptitude toward medical literature as medicine is one of my passions in life. The second reason revolves around my love for Robin Cook. For any of you who don't know Robin Cook he is an amazing individual. He is an eye doctor who has his own practice in Florida. He has composed over 30 novels which never fail to enthrall his audience (almost all of his novels were best sellers according to New York Times). He is such a fantastic writer he is actually accredited to patenting the "medical thriller" by his innovative method of combining elements of medicine with fiction and binding the two common themes into one novel. I have been noticing a gradual theme which is embedded in the heart of his books: the clash between politics and healthcare and the desperate measures exercise in order to receive medical care. Unlike many writers Cook offers both perspectives from the patients and the opposing political officials. This theme is more appear-ant than never in Foreign Body. The novel in short is about a UCLA med student who actually learns about her beloved grandmothers death from a segment about medical tourism on CNN. Her grandmother Maria Hernandez flew to Africa in order to receive a hip transplant due to financial instability. She died because she was intentionally injected with a bolus of succycholine which causes fatal heart attacks. The nurse who committed the crime was just one of a group of eleven nurses working for a small agency called Nurses International. The nurses are to put to death isolated patients who have had a heart defect in their patient history and had anesthesia used in their operation. Basically the novel assesses both medical tourism and leaves the reader questioning ones safety when in the hospital or any medical facility for this matter.
I did just this when I started reading the novel. I had not known "medical tourism" was a growing industry. I am well aware of the idea of medical tourism as I am a medical tourist myself. I had a Gracillis muscle transplant at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. This was a very long voyage as I reside in CA. The plot of this novel actually made my stomach turn due to it's relativity to my experience. The patients traveled to a foreign country to undergo elective operations. Prior to reading this novel I thought I was one one of the very few individuals who would decide to have surgery in a foreign country. The motive behind my aspirations lied behind my desire for a good surgeon which would facilitate a great smile as it was " man made". The motive for the patients in this book for traveling to Delhi, India was associated with finances. I honestly don't believe this is a legit reason to travel to a foreign country. When I googled "medical tourism" to see exactly why patients would bother to travel to a foreign country to undergo an operation which could otherwise be performed in the U.S I found web sites which attempt to lure the patient in by advertising the trip to have an operation as some kind of paradise. Having surgery regardless of it's severity is a risky ordeal. There is always the risk of post operative infection or thrombus(blood clot). The advertisers suggested when one is recovering they can explore tourist attractions.This suggestion is something short of ridiculous. No one wants to embark on a water rafting voyage after surgery as this was the picture posted on the web site. Personally, when I was in Canada I tried to not strain my body as these actions disturb blood vessels which of course would be impaired as they were uninterrupted sutures used to ferment the implanted muscle and furnish blood flow. I did go to the mall, but my movement was slow as I did not want to engage in an action which would cause me problems down the road as I was a 5 hour plane ride away from California. This leads me to my next point: you are far away from your surgeons care. You could e-mail, but than the problem of time zones and operating schedules arises. Personally, I would not choose this plan of action if I had the chance to travel to a foreign country for an operation. The pre-op time period leading up to the surgery is somewhat excruciating in terms of the paranoia. Their is this butterfly feeling in your gut along with a slight touch of nausea which does not diminish no matter what activity your engaged in. You want time to go faster because you want the operation underway to release yourself from this mental torture.
As I turned the pages I began reflecting upon my experience at the HSC. My mom was with me which made decreased the chances of receiving inadequate medical care. She was also a RT who worked night shift and she was well aware the majority of medical deaths and mistakes are made on the graveyard shift. A recent study revealed 98000 deaths which were otherwise preventable due to medical errors. The patients were by themselves when they were murdered. They were prone on hospital beds with IV's in their arms.Needless to say they were sitting ducks. I have been a sitting duck many times in my life as I have undergone various spinal surgeries and the two smile surgeries. Robin's novel inspired me to google "hospital serial killers" and to my surprise articles elaborating on patients being mistreated by purposely tampered medications. To my horror their was an article written on July 16th documenting 11 patients who wer supposedly were the victims of mal- practice as various measures such as altered medications were taken to harm them. With this vulgar idea in mind we need to be proactive in our health. Even though it conflicts with our instinct to believe doctors we must always be on the defense for mal-practice.
I believe everybody should read Robin Cook's books because you can always learn something new especially in regards to medicine. Also, particularly for the MS community we need to recognize the importance of seeking alternative perspectives of treatment. Some doctors are somewhat knife happy. This is a taboo subject as we don't like to recognize our care providers as potentially harmful individuals. Many with us have had to find our way through the medical maze more some than others. None the less all of us at one point or another have found yourself in a hospital or rethinking a doctors potential plan for care. Personally, as an infant my mom had to defend her case protecting me from receiving a tracheotomy. Her medical expertise in the field of respiratory medicine allowed her to make n educated opinion. Also, her role as a parent gave her the intuition she needed to remain true to her decision. She made her case against teams of doctors who just could not understand the reason as to why a mother would not trache her 6 week preemie with tracheomalacia. The doctors based their treatment plan based on what would be "the easiest plan of action". They felt everything would be better if my life was just little bit easier with the trache.In hindsight, my mother was aware of the complications which arise when a patient is trached. Their is increased risk of infection given a stoma is an open orifice. Their is also special attentive care for the trach itself. Changing is needed and suction should be frequent to prevent blockage. To top off this barrage of negativity the aspect of appearance come into play. When your child or you are in danger of needing medical attention I would not advise seeking your opinion in regards to appearance. In my case, I had an informed guardian who knew what she was doing. This was just the icing on the five story layered icing cake! If you are certain of your decision just question yourslf, "Do I want my child or myself to have a gaping hole in my throat?". In my opinoin this situation would lead to decreased self confidence as time goes on. Just because it would be the easiest option for treatment doesn't mean its the right thing to do. Because I did not undergo the operation I continued to stay at UCSF where I was given Oxygen and respirator treatments by my mom in addition to the nurses. In the final analysis my moms insistence was awarded and she was indeed correct! She was also adamant about me not getting a blood infusion from the blood bank at UCSF; way back when in 1992 San Francisco was a gay haven! Not that I disagree with gay marriage or relationships we all know from statistical figures that gays do have AIDS. This was why my mother was insistent on me not receiving a blood infusion. Eventually my lung problems diminished as I became older. To end this blog post I will offer a call to action: Never let anyone be it a doctor or a teacher make an affirmation on your abilities as they are just individuals peering in from the outside. They may offer a degree claiming they are knowledgeable, but only we are truly capable of acknowledging our true potential. Lastly, I want to emphasis what a great writer Robin Cook is. You will find yourself engaged in the book within the first few chapters. His books are fast pace and the action begins at the beginning of the book. There i no droning introduction which actually makes you stop reading the book before it actually becomes interesting. He strings together characters like a pro and throughout the course of his thirty plus novels he masterfully has allowed them to develop and flourish in their relationships. This dynamic character development allows the audience to really get to know the characters as the audience has a personal connection with the characters he creates. With this being said you should definitely take a long lok at the next RC book you see. If your lucky enough you could just get a hard cover copy of his new book Nano which is being released on January 8th 2013.
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