Crazy Night

I know that there was NOT a full moon on Tuesday night, but… oh, my. It was a crazy night.

So, first of all, we were short staffed. That happens sometimes, and we can usually make it work. Well, actually, we always make it work – we have no other choice.

The symptoms people were presenting with were crazy – things way beyond the scope of a free clinic, or so one would hope.

The first patient I dealt with had come in with a compliant of headaches. We had ordered an MRI – which, I have to tell you, usually I say no. What are we going to do with the information once we have it? Is there anything we can do? We don’t have access to a neurologist, there is no neurosurgeon, so… what can we do with the information? But, this gentleman had the MRI – which showed “his brain was shrinking.” Honestly, I have no idea exactly what that means. I am sure there must be a real diagnosis in there somewhere, but that is what he heard and what he shared with me. Understandably, he is scared. He didn’t know what to ask the doctor, and I didn’t know what to tell him. We are working on getting him seen at one of the larger medical centers in the state. It is a slow process.

Then, there was the young woman with headaches, memory loss, and some other vague symptoms. We made the decision to have an MRI done on her; we are still waiting for those results.

The third person I met Tuesday night is 39 years old, which means she is just a little too young to qualify for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program. But, she found a lump under her arm, near her breast. She is terrified, in tears, and I have very little to offer her. But, I tell her we will get the ultrasound, if there is anything suspicious, we can get her into a surgeon, and we will go from there. I know a little bit about her fear; I found a lump near my breast when I was about her age. I was lucky – it was nothing. I share that with her, but am not sure if it helps or not. When it’s your life, other people’s stories don’t really help.

And, then there was the patient I didn’t see. But, I saw her test results today, and my heart sank. She too presented with headaches, memory loss, some balance issues. Her diagnosis: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which is the most common and deadliest of malignant primary brain tumors in adults.

Holy crap. I envisioned a clinic where we would take care of people with minor issues – colds, asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure. Not where we are having to tell people that the diagnosis is going to change their life forever… and we have almost nothing to offer them. Healthcare reform is not coming soon enough for some of these individuals.

What do I tell them?

On a lighter note, I did get a marriage proposal on Tuesday night. Well, sort of. He wants to run off with me – or would if I weren’t married. I told him THAT would be the biggest mistake of his life.

At least there is something to make us smile!