Beyond Blood: ('Inside the Mind of an Anesthesiologist')

S. Clarence Dodge

$32.99

This product is not returnable.

Publication Date: December 15th, 2020

Publisher:

Xlibris Us

ISBN:

9781664144712

Pages:

828

Description

Saturday, December 14, 2013. The case ended up taking seven hours. Her incision stretched from pubic bone to sternum. Although saturated with narcotic, she awakened writhing in pain. Any more pain meds . . . and she'd quit breathing. With help to carefully turn and position her onto her side, I then slipped in an epidural catheter. I put it up high, to be sure the band of numbness would cover the length of her incision. Within minutes after the first dose, she morphed into an entirely different person, chatting with us. Need for IV narcs, gone. She was able to take deep breaths and cough without pain. How could I have lived with myself had I not taken this extra step? It likely helped shorten her hospital stay and reduce the cost. Curses to any payer claiming epidurals for post-op pain are not necessary. Damn any CEO taking credit for the savings while putting a portion into his own pocket.

About the Author

Dr. Steven C. D., MD, was born in 1946, the same year as Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Mitt Romney, Sylvester Stallone, and G. W. Bush. He graduated from college magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics. While growing up on a farm and later in college, he seldom spoke of his personal secret with which he wrestled: the reason he always avoided doctors, hospitals . . . or any chance of seeing blood. At the very sight of human blood-or even a needle-he'd panic, become light-headed, and soon pass out. How did this blood paranoia, plus a fear of being drafted to fight in Vietnam, lead to his switch from mathematics to medicine? What made him choose anesthesiology as a specialty? What was a day, a night, a weekend, or a holiday like inside the mind of an anesthesiologist? The answers lie inside this book.