Three Patients

Three of my patients did not show up for their appointments. Each of them visited with me last Tuesday and each of them had an excuse. The first patient was at the emergency room due to an asthma attack. The smoke of the fire that burned down his house triggered the attack. The fire started in the drier. The second patient’s nephew died. He had an argument with his mother and was found dead in his room three days later. He ingested his mother’s psychiatric medications. She had attempted suicide three times, three failed attempts. My last patient’s husband died. She brought the death certificate to prove it to me!

We, providers of health care, are trained to empathize with our patients and to protect our emotions. But on that day, I ran out of empathy and it hurt!