2002-09-27 - 6:32 a.m.
THE RIGHT QUESTION
As a postconviction lawyer, I no longer do trial. Because of Wisconsin�s convoluted appellate procedure, I still occasionally conduct evidentiary hearings. I put witnesses up on the stand and question them, just like Perry Mason (but with less success. I�ve never had someone confess on the stand.) I cross-examine witnesses. Conducting hearings well requires good questioning skills. The best hearings involve asking exactly the right question of exactly the right person. Until today, I hadn�t thought about how much staying alive could require the same skill.
I am allergic to iodine. The allergy has been getting progressively worse and it�s not just a matter of a runny nose or itchy eyes. It�s a matter of hives, big ones. I was warned long ago that, mishandled, the allergy could become life-threatening. Luckily, it is rarely an issue. Unfortunately, it is an issue today. I will be taking a CT scan and the radiologist wants to use contrast dye. In other words, he wants to use iodine. It can be done�but only with pre-medication with prednisone and benedryl.
My doctor knows of my iodine allergy and when his medical assistant set up the CT scan appointment, she was very careful to mention it. After mentioning it, she asked what needed to be done. �Just tell her not to eat after midnight and not to drink anything but water,� she was told. She called me, told me of the appointment, and gave me that information. I questioned it and she repeated it. Initially, I assumed that nothing needed to be done until I got there. Then it occurred to me that assuming in this circumstance was foolish.
So I called the place where the CT scan was to be done. I said I was confirming my appointment and mentioned the iodine allergy. The woman I spoke to assured me that they were aware of the allergy. I asked her what I needed to know. She told me not to eat after midnight and not to drink anything but water. So I decided to ask another question. �What is your policy on pre-medication?� I asked.
There was a pause. �Maybe I should give you to G.,� she said and put him on. I explained the situation. �Well,� he said. �Your own doctor should be dealing with pre-medication because he knows you and the radiologists don�t.� Then I got bold. �And if my own doctor were dealing with it, what would you be recommending he be doing?� I asked. He then proceeded to give me the medications, the dosages, and the timing of them. He then repeated that my own doctor should prescribe them.
I called my doctor and spoke to the medical assistant. I told her the information I had obtained from G. She was very apologetic about not getting the information. I assured her that I knew how it happened because they originally gave me the same answer that she got. She told me that she would talk to the doctor and get back to me. The upshot is that I have the pre-medication and know how and when to take it.
But it got me to wondering. On Passover, the Haggadah, the book that contains the service for the Passover seder (or special dinner) has a section that speaks of four sons: the wise son, the wicked son, the simple son, and the one who does not even know how to ask a question. The section explains the proper way to explain Passover to each of these sons. On one level, the passage is about teaching children by meeting them where they are.
But now I�m very worried about all but the wise son. What happens to them in the medical world? If they run out of luck, do they get sicker or die?
LAST YEAR: Out of Step
LAST FIVE ENTRIES:
Silence as a Measure
Having No Life
Wider Opportunities
Zero Sum Winning
The Message
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Copyright 2006 by Ellen |
