About a decade and a half or so back, I was a new trustee on the Pennsylvania Medical Society board. During one of my first society board meetings, a staff person asked if I could talk to another about anesthesia. She needed surgery and wanted to know if I could take care of her. She was going to be admitted to one of my local hospitals. I met my future patient and found out that she needed a relatively quick urological procedure. However, she wasn’t without co-morbidities especially significant lung disease. The day came and in my opinion, I gave her the perfect anesthetic. As I was patting myself on the back, she went into major bronchospasm and spent the night in the ICU. The next day, she recovered nicely, and I gave her my cell number and said call if I can help you in any other way. Little did I know that she was a wizard at texting, and I would get daily messages and pictures of Daisy, her dog.
As time went on, she needed another short procedure. I gave the perfect anesthetic again, and she ended up in the ICU again. I began to question my abilities, but she was forgiving, and our friendship continued. I received more texts and more pictures of Daisy dressed in outfits appropriate for the season, a pirate costume for Halloween or Stars and Stripes for the Fourth of July.
In 2014, I broke my ankle, had surgery and was using a knee walker while at work. She asked how I was doing so I sent her a picture of me in scrubs with my scooter. Within a week I received a picture of Daisy in scrubs on a scooter. Daisy and I became August in the 2015 Daisy calendar that my patient had made.
More anesthetics occurred, and less complications thankfully.
As time went on, her health continued to deteriorate, but her spirits never faltered.
She eventually went into nursing home care. Her biggest concern was not being with Daisy. Daisy eventually went into foster care and passed away peacefully at a ripe old dog age. My patient was given Daisy’s ashes to keep with her as a memento of the most photogenic pooch.
My patient’s health continued to deteriorate over the months and years including a cancer battle, however her spirits never wavered, and the anesthetics continued for various reasons. But, each one came with a massive bag of M&Ms and a “There’s my number 1” each time I arrived. Every nurse and doctor she came in contact with, knew of our friendship.
Even the American Society of Anesthesiologists knew of it since she contacted them telling them of “my amazing skills”. A few trips to the ICU post op but who is keeping track.
This kind lady even broke her femur while the nurses were transferring her from the bed to a stretcher after a procedure in order to get her back to the long-term care facility. A few were concerned about a lawsuit, but I told them they would likely just get M&Ms.
She passed away January of this year. Our last text exchange: “Don’t want to go under anesthesia without you. You won’t but better not to have it. You are right again.”
She was blessed with great friends and two took it upon themselves to take care of her after her death. They gathered her belongings and contacted her “power-of-attorney” which is a distant relative since she had no close living ones. As occurs commonly, with the long-term care needs, my patient was left without the funds for burial. However, her friends were determined to have her, and Daisy buried with her mom. They worked their magic, and a very reasonable price was set by the funeral home to get my patient and her dog to their final resting place.
We still needed some money though and the three of us could have put it together ourselves, however, we decided to ask our friends at the Pennsylvania Medical Society for help. We each took our own paths to contact friends at her old stomping grounds. It was decided that I would handle any funds we would receive. The ladies asked for my PayPal account number. I said “huh”. So, all were told to send checks or cash to my home address. Whatever we didn’t collect, the three of us would cover the rest. Within two weeks, I collected three times what was needed to pay the funeral home in full. Let me write this one more time. I received “3” times the amount needed from her friends at the Med Society!
We decided that the balance of the money will be donated to charities including the Foundation in my patient’s name.
My final message: Patients are people and friends, and the world is full of generous and kind individuals.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Joseph F.Answine MD FASA
