Ignoring doctors: often advisable

One of my most vivid memories of treating patients is managing a man in his 50s with congenital hypothyroidism. He presented to us with bilateral pneumonia and respiratory failure. Should we treat him? After a long discussion we decided not to. The next day, when I entered the ward, he was sitting up in bed reading a comic. Dozens of visitors came to see him because he was one of the most popular people in his village. I learnt a lot about the impotence and ignorance of doctors and the …