![]() ![]() Despite all the adversity, she truly treasured life, savouring every moment. was able to maintain her own home until her death. I, and others, wrote many let ters to Social Services and other agencies on her behalf, and, thankfully, Ms L. She constantly struggled to maintain her independence Social Services wanted her to be placed in a nursing home (as she needed 24-hour care), but she was a young woman, so full of life in spite of her failing body. was in her 30s and was a beautiful, vibrant woman, despite being disabled by weakness that confined her to a wheelchair. She also had a history of terrible sexual abuse as a child and young woman. ![]() It was a genetic disease, and she had seen her brother die of the same condition when he was a teenager. had a progressive, degenerative neu romuscular disorder. gave me a different cotton-ball animal, and now I have a whole collection. died a couple of years ago, but each year when I take out the Christmas decorations, I see the stocking and remember Mr B., his life, and his story he lives on in my memory.Īnother precious gift in the box is a group of ornaments handmade from cotton balls. For someone with little money, this had obviously cost a great deal, and to me it was priceless. My husband picked up the package-it was the teddy-bear stocking for my new daughter, from one Mr B. That night I received a call from a nurse on the hospital’s obstetrics floor, informing me that I had had a visitor who had dropped off something for me. My third child was born just before Christmas one year, and I went home from the hospital the same day. I discovered that he was a very intelligent man who had accomplished a great deal and I often wondered what he could have done if given the opportunity of education. He didn’t complain or feel sorry for himself he just wanted to speak and be heard. He had a story to tell and he needed someone to hear it-and to care. I didn’t do much other than listen, but this was actually all he wanted. However, once we had established that I would be his doctor and set up regular, often weekly, appointments, he settled down. He had no family support system and was very lonely. was in his 60s and had been going from emergency room to emergency room. His life was spent in and out of hospitals and he had undergone various surgeries. His illiteracy and his disability led to merciless teasing in his youth and young adulthood. As a young child, because he was so often sick, he was never sent to school for fear he would catch some illness that would “be the end of him.” As a result, he never learned to read or write. Lo and behold, he survived, although he would face much adversity. In those days, woodstoves had warming trays, and this was where his parents kept him as a baby to keep warm. ![]() He had severe cerebral palsy and had been a very sick baby, not expected to live. was a great learning experience.įrom Mr B., I learned first-hand of the power of the human spirit. As it turned out, though, my relationship with Mr B. At least that is what my colleagues had been telling him for 3 months before my arrival: “There’s a new doctor coming, and she’s going to be your new doctor.” The combination of a relatively inexperienced physician and a patient with a reputation for being manipulative and demanding was hardly an auspicious foundation for a doctor-patient relationship, and I entered the room that day with some trepidation. He had been through many doctors in the city, and I was next in line. I had been warned beforehand that he was a difficult patient-a narcotic seeker who was always phoning the on-call service or going to the emergency room. I had been in private practice for only 2 years when I joined the academic teaching unit at Memorial University in St John’s, Nfld in my first clinic there, I met Mr B. I was pretty green when I first encountered Mr B. As I take it out, I am overwhelmed with memories of Mr B., one of my first patients in my current practice. On top is a teddy-bear stocking given to me when my third daughter was born. ![]()
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