Scary Week

What's up guys, I've been away for a little bit after an unexpected week back to Ohio. My Dad nearly died because of blood clots in his lungs. It all started about a month ago when he was walking in the yard and was gripped by an intense pain in his leg. He went to the hospital and the doctors couldn't find anything so they assumed he sprained a ligament, so they set him up with a leg brace. About two weeks later he had trouble breathing and pain in his lungs, so he went back to the hospital and they took chest X-rays and diagnosed him with pneumonia, gave hims some antibiotics, and sent him home. A few days after that he was in extreme pain and dire circumstances and was taken to the Emergency room when he got a CAT scan and that's when they found out that all this was caused by blood clots that developed in the veins in his legs, broke off and traveled to his lungs. As amazing as it sounds, he's lucky that's where they went because, if they go the heart you have a heart attack, and if they go to your brain you have a stroke.

Any ways, I found out about this all last Wednesday after coming home from the bars wasted so I was an absolute mess that night, and the next morning coming into work all hungover and thinking my dad might not make it. Luckily my boss let me take an emergency leave and I made the 12-hour 755 mile drive back to Northeast Ohio from Memphis on Friday.

Anyways, he's doing better now and is back home. I'm back in Memphis and back to my usual grind (which I oddly enough missed while gone). I'm just left feeling thankful that he's still alive, and pissed off that he was misdiagnosed twice over the course of a month. Imagine wearing a leg brace when there's nothing wrong with your legs (they even wanted to charge him $300 for orthopedic inserts for his shoes), or taking antibiotics when you're not even sick. I think a malpractice suit is on its way.

I'm sorry to hear about all that, but luckily they found the problem, and he's doing ok now.

glad he is doing better now, good luck.

Thanks guys.

Never trust what doctors tell you. Get several opinions and trust your instincts if you think something else is wrong.

Heck,the "stress test" they give has killed people.

Crazy story dude, can't say I'm a fan of doctors namely for the above reasons. But at least you found one that doesn't suck before it was too late.

Everyone must understand that doctors are humans too, and guess what, humans make mistakes. The only thing that sucks, is that doctors make mistakes and people die.


I'm not saying what they did was right, but people make mistakes and I'm glad they found out what was wrong with your dad Lee. I know you're angry and frustrated but it's good they found out what was wrong.

Not trying to be disrespectful or anything, just offering another point of view. We're tight you know that!! :D

I couldn't stress more of what schmange said. Always trust your instincts and if you think something is wrong besides what they tell you, get another opinion. Sometimes it's your life that's at stake.

Originally Posted by: Pantallica1Everyone must understand that doctors are humans too, and guess what, humans make mistakes. The only thing that sucks, is that doctors make mistakes and people die.


I'm not saying what they did was right, but people make mistakes and I'm glad they found out what was wrong with your dad Lee. I know you're angry and frustrated but it's good they found out what was wrong.

Not trying to be disrespectful or anything, just offering another point of view. We're tight you know that!! :D

I couldn't stress more of what schmange said. Always trust your instincts and if you think something is wrong besides what they tell you, get another opinion. Sometimes it's your life that's at stake.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Glad your pops is ok man!

[font=trebuchet ms]Jeez, I turn my back for a day or two, and all hell breaks loose! I'm so glad to hear that your father's situation turned around in time.

That's gotta be one of the worst feelings there is.[/font]

Glad your dad has pulled through, I'd be talking to a lawyer !! DVT is easy to miss but can be fatal !

well, it's good to hear that your dad is alright. but I swear if they charged me for either of the first two visits, leg brace, medicine, etc. I would be sueing the pants off them right now... and they're doctors, god knows they can afford it!

yeah, im thinking you got a case there......

anyways, best wishes to you dad. all that is crazy-not-cool. hope he gets much better and doesnt have to worry about this thing again.

Thanks for all of your well-wishing guys. There won't be a lawsuit though, my dad just isn't the type to press charges. He's the kind of guy that quietly works 80 hour weeks (yes 80, the amount I work in 2 weeks and I'm less than half my dad's age and I have a cushy office job). In fact it was working all those hours that caused my dad's problems. He's a heavy-equipment operator (bulldozers, backhoes, excavators, highlifts, etc) and he sits in the same position for 10-12 hours a day many times 7 days a week. The clots came from poor lower body circulation. Truck drivers get DVT (deep vein thrombosis) alot too. They eventually break off and can go to your lungs (pulmonary emboli(sm))

Thanks again for all the well wishes guys. You're all my gt homies.

Originally Posted by: 6strngs_2hmbkrswell, it's good to hear that your dad is alright. but I swear if they charged me for either of the first two visits, leg brace, medicine, etc. I would be sueing the pants off them right now... and they're doctors, god knows they can afford it!

Dude, that's the wrong way to think about it. Just because they worked for 8 years of their life to become a doctor, maybe more, and they earned the money, you should be able to sue them when they make a mistake? What about if you're at your job at the grocery store and you crush some eggs, should someone sue you?

I understand it's not that simple because we're talking about people's lives here. But I see a bad trend happening. Already, the county I live in, is pushing all of it's doctors out because of frivilous lawsuits. (Not saying Lee's situation is frivilous) Can you see a trend forming?

Would you want to work your whole life trying to better humanity and take care of your fellow man, knowing that if you make a mistake, you're going to pay for it? What happens if there are no doctors then? I wouldn't want to get in a profession where I could get sued for every mistake I make. There isn't one doctor on the face of the earth that hasn't made a mistake in their career, (well, maybe Kevorkian, he usually gets it right), but if we keep up with the lawsuits, the price of malpractice insurance keeps increasing, meaning higher costs for us as patients and the fact that healthcare is already through the roof.

I'm just saying, we need to appreciate these doctors for what they do and not the mistakes they make. How many times do you people call your doctor and say, "Wow, doc, you fixed me up good. Thank you so much." I would say hardly ever. But the minute something goes wrong, bam, lawsuit.

This country is in trouble and I think we need a penalty for frivilous lawsuits. I understand that sometimes people are negligent, and just don't care. That's fine, sue their pants off, because it was negligent. But if we keep letting these lawsuits run wild, soon you won't even be able to look at someone without getting sued.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox.

Lee, love ya man, in a completely heterosexual way.

There IS medical negligence in many cases.I know some have gone of the deep end and want a law suit on every doctor who wipes their ass the wrong way,but really stupid things happen some times.

Its just not just in the medical field either.Many psychiatric doctors have no buisiness dealing with a humans life and well being.

But,your dads alright(80 hours!)...hope it stays that way for many years.

sorry to hear that Leedogg. :(

Originally Posted by: Pantallica1What about if you're at your job at the grocery store and you crush some eggs, should someone sue you?

no, I would go grab them some different eggs, and they would not get charged for the eggs that I crushed. they would still have to pay for the new eggs, but not the ones that I crushed... and that's all I was saying, is they should refund you for all that money that you spent on medicine, leg brace, etc. because they made the mistake and told you it was the wrong thing... now, I am still saying that you should still have to pay for the cat scan, and the operation or what ever they had to do to save his life... but they should not make you pay for the stuff that you didn't actually need.

and I'm not saying that you should sue them for millions of dollars... just the amount it cost for the visits, the x-ray, the medicine, the leg brace, etc. probably no more then $1500... which is like half a weeks pay to them...

I serioulsy am against people just sueing each other for every little thing. but there are some cases where I see it as being justifiable.