My lousy doctor

My senior attending physician recently told me, “A physician who treats himself, has got a lousy doctor.” This he said while being hospitalised just a few days after having a myocardial infarction. Feeling an uncontrolled severe reflux for two days, he had finally recorded an electrocardiogram “just in case.” Seeing the inferior wall Q waves and remnant ST segment elevations, he still waited to show the electrocardiogram to a cardiologist, who eventually made him go to the emergency room.

Shortly after, on an unforgettable evening, I suddenly felt the worst abdominal pain I have ever had in my life. I knew, palpating my lower abdomen, that severe tenderness, rebound, and guarding are …