Hard and Fast - That Emergency Life

Tonight is one of those nights.  I work the evening shift tomorrow, so I am trying to stay up.  My boyfriend is out of town.  It's just me and my dog and a bottle of wine.  So I write... About the physicians being human....   Remember back to the first post when I mentioned the physician that encouraged me to write my stories?  He is the first person I told that I was actually writing.  Tonight was the first night I gave two friends the link to specific entries.  Anyway... I can't sleep yet and I feel like writing.  I feel if I am to tell stories of the physicians and the moment I knew they were human, it was only right to start with the one who encouraged me to write... GS. Anyone I work with will know who I am speaking of.  He is a veteran.  Navy.  Probably something prestigious with a lot of medals that I don't know about.  His son is a Navy pilot, his daughter is awesome and he has two grandchildren...

I work a helluva lot more than I write.  Especially now that I am putting this in a blog format.  I am mindful that people who may one day read this do not do what I do.  They cannot fathom that I and my colleagues see horror every day.  Yet we shop in the same produce aisles and phony laugh at the same meet and greets. I also try to be sensitive to the people who I've worked with along the way and to those currently in my personal and professional life.  Even to those who have done me wrong or led me wrong, I am at peace with that.  It's not an excuse for bad behavior, it's an understanding of what emergency work really entails and what it does to a person.  Even through the heartache, tears and awful moments, I have learned a lot from the best. And a disclaimer... I'm not perfect.  I've made mistakes.  I have regrets. If we learn anything about That Emergency Life... it's that life is short.  To forgive.  To move one. ...

We been dancin' with Mr. Brownstone He's been knockin' He won't' leave me alone No, no, no He won't leave me alone Spoiler alert: Mr. Brownstone isn't a grumpy next door neighbor.  Back in 1987, Guns-n-Roses released the song on their album Appetite for Destruction .  The song was written about their heroin addiction.  Back in the 80's, we knew about heroin.  We knew how destructive it was.  We knew the terrible addictions and withdrawals it caused.  In 1995, we watched Leonardo Di Caprio depict what a withdrawal looks and feels like in The Basketball Diaries.    Heroin kind of went away for a while. Then certain governing bodies decided that "pain" was a vital sign.  Everyone had to rate their pain, 0-10.  Next came patient satisfaction scores and asking patients if their pain was assessed and treated.  Next came big pharma, pushing these medications... these drugs... without any care or forethought on how/if/when they cou...