Man's Inhumanity To Man

Sister #2 got a call a week ago from a life long friend. 

She has been living in Washington state and had been down to visit her sisters in the LA area. One of her sisters spotted something on her skin that concerned her and advised her to have it checked out when she got home. The day she got home she wasn't feeling well and when she emptied her bladder the urine was very dark. Calling her doctor, she got instructions to go to the emergency room immediately. 

Very quickly, she was admitted to hospital and tests were done. A day or so later, sitting in her hospital bed, a robot entered the room. It approached her, verified who she was, and proceeded to let her know that she had untreatable liver cancer, had only a very short time to live and she needed to get her affairs in order. The robot exited the room. 

There was no one with her. No family, no friends. No staff followed up to check on her. She completely fell apart. A man, Russian with broken English, walked by the room and heard her. He entered the room, sat with her and comforted her in her pain. In other words, he treated her like a human.

She died yesterday. The robot was right but was it right to have a robot give that news?

This medical system is sick and broken. 


Cindi, I hope your next adventure is even more amazing than you expected it to be.

Comments

  1. Marie SmithSeptember 6, 2023 at 1:36 PM

    Health care is in an awful mess but good grief. If we don’t have a bit of the human touch to deliver such news, we have lost the care part totally. Terrible! Poor woman. Rest in peace.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JenniferSeptember 6, 2023 at 2:08 PM

    This is so terribly sad. It hurts my heart to think of people being treated in such a cold, clinical way by health care professionals. I understand why some doctors become "robots" but they should find warm and caring humans to deal with the human, emotional stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MargaretSeptember 6, 2023 at 2:08 PM

    That is insane! Which hospital was it and will anyone complain about this treatment? Completely inhumane and cruel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. PixieSeptember 6, 2023 at 4:07 PM

    WTF!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Debra She Who SeeksSeptember 6, 2023 at 5:57 PM

    So sorry for your loss. And yes, absolutely, such news should NEVER be delivered by a robot, only by a trained health professional who can provide emotional support. I hope you write a formal complaint to the hospital and to the state government official in charge of health care matters. That is simply outrageous.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)September 7, 2023 at 10:22 AM

    This is despicable. My God I am so sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  7. BillSeptember 8, 2023 at 9:47 AM

    Wow, what is this world coming to. Sorry to hear this.

    ReplyDelete

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