A guest was coughing and feverish, and I heard crackling
noises when I listened to his lungs, a sign of fluid. I suspected pneumonia.
I prefer diagnosing pneumonia to an upper respiratory
infection because I can prescribe an antibiotic and skip the stressful
explanation of why I’m not prescribing an antibiotic.
Unfortunately, this guest was 85. Most victims of
pneumonia don’t need hospitalization. Even without treatment, most recover.
This is not the case with the elderly where, long ago, pneumonia was known as
“the old man’s friend.” Dying of pneumonia when you’re already feeble is
apparently not a bad way to go.
The son did not like hearing that his father must go to
an emergency room, but they went. When I phoned the following morning, I
learned that the diagnosis was pneumonia. The doctor had prescribed an
antibiotic and sent them out.
I was shocked. Hospitals always admitted elderly
patients with pneumonia. What incompetent was on duty?... The son assured me that his father was
resting comfortably and promised to return to the hospital if symptoms
worsened. When I called that evening, they had checked out.
If something bad happens, they will sue the hospital,
but they will also sue me. It takes a long time for a malpractice lawyer to
organize a suit, so his letter wouldn’t arrive for about a year.
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