tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post115429647105060056..comments2024-02-18T13:53:30.168-08:00Comments on Surgeonsblog: Memorable patients: part fourSid Schwabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-65117782257665847262014-04-07T06:51:40.865-07:002014-04-07T06:51:40.865-07:00Thank you, Sonya. It was a long time ago, but I st...Thank you, Sonya. It was a long time ago, but I still feel it, very acutely. Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-7797925637386543942014-04-07T05:54:25.241-07:002014-04-07T05:54:25.241-07:00So sad :(
RIP Amy.
I thought you wrote that beau...So sad :( <br />RIP Amy.<br /><br />I thought you wrote that beautifully Sid, with such compassion.sonyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-13522069126939861752014-02-01T04:37:36.527-08:002014-02-01T04:37:36.527-08:00Simultaneously horrifying and moving. Thank you f...Simultaneously horrifying and moving. Thank you for writing that, and for doing all you could to save Amy.Doug Vartynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-14300199613395691802014-02-01T04:35:23.846-08:002014-02-01T04:35:23.846-08:00Simultaneously horrifying and moving. Thank you f...Simultaneously horrifying and moving. Thank you for writing that, and for doing all you could to save Amy. The MacSween Cuphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09044522749649568155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-65907812350927292352011-07-14T11:07:46.726-07:002011-07-14T11:07:46.726-07:00Exactly, while they could have saved their own dau...Exactly, while they could have saved their own daughter (they crashed her into a cement wall for crying out loud!?), they are now blaming you for her death. You must be very strong.John Valentyhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/johnvalentynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-80251116926774500262011-04-30T14:59:47.794-07:002011-04-30T14:59:47.794-07:00Thanks, lea. Glad you found the blog.Thanks, lea. Glad you found the blog.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-83399759384618991512011-04-30T10:18:23.471-07:002011-04-30T10:18:23.471-07:00This is really sad. You know, sometimes, reading o...This is really sad. You know, sometimes, reading online blogs somehow makes stuff less real, but this really touched me.<br /><br />(Hi, I'm new to this blog.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01103137342785802033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-37729829224413423102008-12-19T18:52:00.000-08:002008-12-19T18:52:00.000-08:00Chica: Thank YOU!! I'm glad you found the blog, an...Chica: Thank YOU!! I'm glad you found the blog, and hope you enjoy wandering through it. Sounds like you're well-immersed in things medical, in an important area.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-22366797722792575582008-12-19T18:10:00.000-08:002008-12-19T18:10:00.000-08:00So glad to have found your blog. I am going to de...So glad to have found your blog. I am going to devour every word of it. I work in Trauma Research at the R. A. Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland. While I have no formal medical training (I have a public health degree so far) I am infinitely interested in everything I see going on around me and am constantly trying to learn as much as I can about what ails every patient that comes through our doors. <BR/><BR/>I have seen several scenarios play out just like the one you just described - the 15 year old boy living in the inner city who had his entire life ahead of him with honor roll and marching band...his promising life taken from him in a case of mistaken identity by a local drug dealer and four fatal gunshots (the boy was still talking and begging for reassurance of life as he was lying in our trauma bay where the attending surgeon was trying her damndest to keep him alive through two cardiac arrests and make good on her promise)...the young woman who was well known and much loved at the high school she worked at helping underpriveledged kids get into internships, who had her throat randomly slashed as she waited in line with her boyfriend at a convenience store. Unfathomable and horrific. <BR/><BR/>My job is currently working on studies dealing with coagulopathy and traumatic brain injury in addition to two drug studies. I love my job and am dying to know more about medicine.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for such a well written and heart-felt blog.CharmCityChicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14899751182372272036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-78774379242442040932008-12-06T12:47:00.000-08:002008-12-06T12:47:00.000-08:00I should add this: in an emergency, the first thin...I should add this: in an emergency, the first thing to do is reach in and compress the aorta between your thumb and fingers; then, if it takes a while to get the right clamps, you can compress it with a "stick sponge." There are also instruments with a very broad and flat distal end, for placing over the aorta and pressing down on it.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-13559785668341223352008-12-06T09:31:00.000-08:002008-12-06T09:31:00.000-08:00Badriab: in the context of an emergency such as th...Badriab: in the context of an emergency such as this, it's done essentially blind, by feel: reaching in with one hand above the stomach at the g-e junction, feeling the aorta behind the esophagus, and guiding a large vascular clamp across both. If and when the situation becomes semi-stable, there may be the opportunity to place it more carefully.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-58459898396280966912008-12-06T08:25:00.000-08:002008-12-06T08:25:00.000-08:00Dear Dr Schwab, Thank you, very much for the grea...Dear Dr Schwab, <BR/>Thank you, very much for the great blog. Could you describe in detales how to clamp the aorta just below the diaphragm. <BR/><BR/>Thanks.<BR/>Badriab.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-38445372919617857282008-07-30T05:08:00.000-07:002008-07-30T05:08:00.000-07:00Oh geez... I can't imagine the guilt and the loss...Oh geez... I can't imagine the guilt and the loss you must feel when you find that all of your skill, all of your technology, when everything you know is simply not enough... But to know that all of it could have been prevented by the people who loved that child... To know that it was senseless stupidity and a complete disregard for that child's safety that brought her to you...<BR/><BR/>...and to have those very people be angry with you for not being able to fix their mistake, their incompetence as parents... <BR/><BR/>I don't know how you guys do it, day in and day out and still maintain the compassion that you so obviously have for the human race. You are a better man than I, sir... A better man than most of us...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-5238071606980404372008-07-27T21:39:00.000-07:002008-07-27T21:39:00.000-07:00lynn gardenhire: lucky you happened by. You learne...lynn gardenhire: lucky you happened by. You learned something. O- is the universal donor, AB+ is the universal recipient.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-79615988980492466952008-07-27T20:03:00.000-07:002008-07-27T20:03:00.000-07:00I'm crying for Amy. Hope her family was able to fi...I'm crying for Amy. Hope her family was able to find strength to move on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-27526164753961753052008-07-27T18:14:00.000-07:002008-07-27T18:14:00.000-07:00I worked in the OR for 16 years. I remember going ...I worked in the OR for 16 years. I remember going with the surgeon to talk with the family after a very similar case. <BR/><BR/>I will stand by this statement until I pass on: That was the hardest damn thing I will ever do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-69684064057170723512008-07-27T18:05:00.000-07:002008-07-27T18:05:00.000-07:00In a grim kind of way, you're fortunate this doesn...In a grim kind of way, you're fortunate this doesn't happen often.<BR/><BR/>My first child was stillborn - a totally unexpected event, and utterly devastating. However, I only had to go through that once. I've often thought of those ob/gyns (and the delivery room nurses) who deal with high-risk pregnancies, and who have had numerous babies die. It must be terrible.sthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10762348555231146888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-32720674566981919922008-07-27T17:58:00.000-07:002008-07-27T17:58:00.000-07:00Don't mean to pick; but, I have always understood ...Don't mean to pick; but, I have always understood that O+ was the Universal Donor, not O-.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-42143221790579270882008-07-27T17:50:00.000-07:002008-07-27T17:50:00.000-07:00What a sad and unforgettable story... but you know...What a sad and unforgettable story... <BR/>but you know you did the best that you could and that is all you can do, so it's important to be at peace with yourself.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-58715789234498017452008-07-27T15:37:00.000-07:002008-07-27T15:37:00.000-07:00While I read the post time seemed to be at a stand...While I read the post time seemed to be at a stand still. I'm still stunned by what I read.Wynner3https://www.blogger.com/profile/10133180919129881087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-50663940910606958582008-07-27T12:22:00.000-07:002008-07-27T12:22:00.000-07:00I'm sorry for my crudity but Fuck Me. Man I'm gla...I'm sorry for my crudity but Fuck Me. Man I'm glad you do what you do - much respect - because I'm pretty sure I couldn't.<BR/><BR/>Good luck out there.<BR/><BR/>CraigAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-49529239039299393042008-07-27T09:22:00.000-07:002008-07-27T09:22:00.000-07:00I actually frowned at the mother there.The child i...I actually frowned at the mother there.<BR/><BR/>The child is very badly injured and yet she is not taken to a hospital straight away. Waiting for half an hour to call 911? It's going to get better somehow?<BR/><BR/>Then the doctor is expected to do the impossible and save a life. When that fails, as was to be expected he gets "how could you not have saved her." It's the doctor's fault now?<BR/><BR/>The doctor has to live with the mental anguish from not having been able to save a badly injured child and the mother is piling on the guilt?<BR/><BR/>Denial is not a river in Egypt.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-26892745200018464152008-07-22T08:58:00.000-07:002008-07-22T08:58:00.000-07:00Brings back memories. It always feels the same, ev...Brings back memories. It always feels the same, even after decades, doesn't it? I comfort myself with the thought that the only way to make it stop hurting would be to forget them. I would rather keep hurting, if that is the price remembering them exacts.<BR/><BR/>Be well, Doc.CountyRathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10228262536418983673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-67062886145270830022008-05-06T14:57:00.000-07:002008-05-06T14:57:00.000-07:00gah..........I can't believe people can do such si...gah..........I can't believe people can do such silly things.........pulling the kid in a sled behind the car? <BR/><BR/>That doesn't make much sense to me.......at all. <BR/><BR/>You were a saint for not reacting when the mom was beating on you like that..........<BR/><BR/>oh btw........two of the links in your blog are broken or don't exist anymore........the one about the "Pringle technique" and when the patient's EKG readings began to "widen"<BR/><BR/>both are links from trauma.org<BR/><BR/>very well written story.........<BR/><BR/>The Integral of athenivanidxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-77913237895320214702008-05-03T09:18:00.000-07:002008-05-03T09:18:00.000-07:00I'm not surprised by their reaction. For most peo...I'm not surprised by their reaction. For most people, it's a virtual impossibility to accept that they had killed their own daughter. Someone must be blamed, and their grief prevents them from blaming themselves.wackyvorlonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10535452691009849962noreply@blogger.com