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HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Posted:
The patient is an 83 year old gentleman who presented for replacement of his G-tube (a tube that goes directly into the stomach through his abdominal wall). Because he had a history of multiple medical problems and operations, we decided that this would best be done surgically under general anesthesia.
When I encountered the patient in the pre-anesthetic care unit (PACU), I thought to myself, "My gosh...he looks just like my dad." Indeed, he was only a year older than my father would be right now. He was a frail man who had clearly not been recieving good nutrition because he was emaciated. He couldn't eat food because he had a history of stroke which had compromised his ability to swallow without sending food into his lungs. That was why he needed the G-tube.
So while he was waiting to be taken back to the OR, I decided to make some conversation with him. I asked, "Sir, tell me, did you fight in World War II?" Indeed, he had.
With a bit more conversation, I learned that he had been in the 83rd infantry division in WWII in Europe and that he had been part of the team that had helped liberate both the Buchenwald and Treblinka concentration camps.
When I next go in, I think I'm going to take a pad of paper with me and have a talk with him about it. This frail, old man is a hero in the truest sense of the word. He was there and saw it with his own eyes. I owe him my life and my liberty.
And he's my patient.
The patient is an 83 year old gentleman who presented for replacement of his G-tube (a tube that goes directly into the stomach through his abdominal wall). Because he had a history of multiple medical problems and operations, we decided that this would best be done surgically under general anesthesia.
When I encountered the patient in the pre-anesthetic care unit (PACU), I thought to myself, "My gosh...he looks just like my dad." Indeed, he was only a year older than my father would be right now. He was a frail man who had clearly not been recieving good nutrition because he was emaciated. He couldn't eat food because he had a history of stroke which had compromised his ability to swallow without sending food into his lungs. That was why he needed the G-tube.
So while he was waiting to be taken back to the OR, I decided to make some conversation with him. I asked, "Sir, tell me, did you fight in World War II?" Indeed, he had.
With a bit more conversation, I learned that he had been in the 83rd infantry division in WWII in Europe and that he had been part of the team that had helped liberate both the Buchenwald and Treblinka concentration camps.
When I next go in, I think I'm going to take a pad of paper with me and have a talk with him about it. This frail, old man is a hero in the truest sense of the word. He was there and saw it with his own eyes. I owe him my life and my liberty.
And he's my patient.
-Mike
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella
A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura
BRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,207 posts
Location: "In your ear", United Kingdom
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,207 posts
Location: "In your ear", United Kingdom
Posted:
wow man, to me my grand dad was a hero, he was kept in russain jails for smuggling people across the russian boarders in sibera,when teh gremans in vaded, he was told to help the russians or die, so he joined teh free polish army ( i still have his medals)andfought the germans, i know thus becuase even thouhg he dies before i was born heis teh most heroic person i know, and i still love him....tell the gent you are treating that i also thank him for what he did, and hehas my deepest best wishes for his quick recovery! hostly please wish him well!
id love to hear some of his stories if you manage to note any down?
thanks
later days
wow man, to me my grand dad was a hero, he was kept in russain jails for smuggling people across the russian boarders in sibera,when teh gremans in vaded, he was told to help the russians or die, so he joined teh free polish army ( i still have his medals)andfought the germans, i know thus becuase even thouhg he dies before i was born heis teh most heroic person i know, and i still love him....tell the gent you are treating that i also thank him for what he did, and hehas my deepest best wishes for his quick recovery! hostly please wish him well!
id love to hear some of his stories if you manage to note any down?
thanks
later days
Step (el-nombrie)
BRONZE Member
paranoid of gov't conspiracies
217 posts
Location: USA
paranoid of gov't conspiracies
217 posts
Location: USA
Posted:
that's really cool, my grandfather didnt fight in the war but he was put in a concentration camp just b/c he lived next to germany in holland and he forced to work but he got out when the war ended so yay for all those that did fight and thank you! cuz otherwise i wouldn't even be here!
that's really cool, my grandfather didnt fight in the war but he was put in a concentration camp just b/c he lived next to germany in holland and he forced to work but he got out when the war ended so yay for all those that did fight and thank you! cuz otherwise i wouldn't even be here!
BRONZE Member
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia
Posted:
In a present where we call a footballer recovering from an injury a hero, or worship the latest boy-band, we have forgotten about those who have really done something remarkable. It would be nice to think that that sort of heroism (though I don't doubt your patient will dismiss it as nothing of the sort) will never be needed again, but somehow I doubt it.
In a present where we call a footballer recovering from an injury a hero, or worship the latest boy-band, we have forgotten about those who have really done something remarkable. It would be nice to think that that sort of heroism (though I don't doubt your patient will dismiss it as nothing of the sort) will never be needed again, but somehow I doubt it.
There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.
GOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Posted:
quote:I think the mark of a true hero is that s/he would dismiss it as "I was just doing my job" or "I was just doing the right thing."
Originally posted by Eera:
It would be nice to think that that sort of heroism (though I don't doubt your patient will dismiss it as nothing of the sort) will never be needed again, but somehow I doubt it.
-Mike
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella
A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura
BRONZE Member
Ninja (shhhh, don't tell)
420 posts
Location: Truro, UK
Ninja (shhhh, don't tell)
420 posts
Location: Truro, UK
Posted:
i like the definition that says a true hero is one who lays his life on the line for the good of others, without the others knowing. true selflessness.
i like the definition that says a true hero is one who lays his life on the line for the good of others, without the others knowing. true selflessness.
I only wanted to be 16... and free
member
95 posts
Location: Cairns, Queensland
95 posts
Location: Cairns, Queensland
Posted:
My Great Grandfather served in the British Navy in WW2. I have a few of his medals still. Sadly he died from cancer of the throat when I was about 4 or 5. He was and still is my hero.
My Great Grandfather served in the British Navy in WW2. I have a few of his medals still. Sadly he died from cancer of the throat when I was about 4 or 5. He was and still is my hero.
When a man lies, he murders some part of the world.
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