Fill’r Up

When forced to deal with a doctor you are meeting for the first time, it is vitally important to possess certain skills.
Chief among them is the ability to read people accurately and quickly.
I fancy myself in possession of such skills, albeit admittedly, I error on the side of caution.
This means if I am not an initial fan…I stay open minded long enough to give it another shot.
But I usually get it right the first time.

This brings me to Dr. Surgeon.
Surgeons are a different breed.
We’ve been dancing with doctors enough these past couple of years to know that as fact.
Rarely, (never actually in our case, but I hate to “totally” stereotype) do you find a “people person” in the bunch.
They get in, do their job, get out, and move on.

They are the best of the best.
And the best are cautious.
A good one will ask themselves first, “Is the risk of doing more harm greater than the probability of correcting the problem?”
No room for egos here.
But that we all know is an oxymoron.

Herein lies the dilemma as I “think” I understand it.
The surgeon is always going to give you the worst case scenario.
Hell, in the medical world, it might even be his fiduciary responsibility, I don’t know.
Regardless…I understand it.

We don’t however have to “believe” that his scenario is necessarily going to be the outcome.
And therein lies the trick; disengaging your heart from what your brain just heard.

Dr. Surgeon is a “glass half empty” kinda guy.
That’s my take.

The rational side of me knows that he has data and experience to back him up.
What he doesn’t know about us is that we have some pretty impressive data and experience backing us up too.

Almost two years ago, we had a different “Dr. Surgeon” in TC’s hospital room.
He told her to go home and get her affairs in order; she had 3 or 4 months left to live.
Well she sure threw his stats out of whack!

I hope I have an opportunity to see the good doctor before TC’s surgery Friday morning.
I’d like to offer him a full glass of water…

And some whiteout for his stats.