Alexandra's story...

Today I got an e-mail from one of my followers who had an interesting story to tell. She relates a recent visit to an emergency room in her area. It’s just another example of how the medical community fails to understand “end-stage” alcoholism and how they can help rather than see these patients as “throw-away” people.

This is Alexandra’s story:

I had quite an eye-opening experience at the ER today. Donald is my alcoholic "friend" and he is 50. His alcoholism is progressing and until last week he was still very functional. He was diagnosed with chronic calcific pancreatitis a few months ago, when he went to the ER in great pain. He's on Medicaid and goes to the local clinic where all the other Medicaid patients go and they were supposed to refer him to a GI doctor but never did.

Donald has pretty much stopped eating as of last week. He stopped bathing and changing his clothes. He's very confused when he's drinking and asks the same questions over and over. Some of his questions are getting quite nonsensical.

Last night he stepped on something in his room and cut the bottom of his foot. There was blood but he didn't show it to me until this morning and it had stopped bleeding by then but since he has diabetes, I told him maybe a trip to the ER would be a good thing because maybe he needed some stitches. I thought they could clean it up put in a stitch or two and properly dress it with bandages. I also hoped for a shot of antibiotic.

So I dropped him off at the ER door and went to park the car. When I got inside, he was telling the nurse that he had been ice fishing and fell through the ice and cut his foot! I shook my head and told the nurse no, that's really not what happened. Donald looked at me and said "It's not?" He was dead serious. I had heard of the guessing that alcoholics do when they can't really remember stuff but had never seen it in him this bad.

Then the doctor came in. I told the doctor he cut his foot, and that he was also losing weight, was having a lot of shakes and confusion and was throwing up a lot, etc. I also told the doc Donald had been diagnosed with pancreatitis. The doctor asked me if he was still drinking and I said yes.

I could see a look of disgust come over the doctor's face; it seemed as if, all of a sudden, Donald was a total waste of his time. The doctor told me that as long as he was still drinking his pancreatitis would get worse. He then barely glanced at Donald's foot and said to the nurse "just clean it up, put a Band-Aid on it and get him out of here," then he turned and left the room.

Then it was the nurse's turn. She said to me that he needs to stop drinking (Duh!) and that I shouldn't buy him anymore alcohol. I told her I don't buy it, that he goes and gets it himself. The nurse responded with he shouldn't be driving and I said that he doesn't drive, he walks! Then she said that lots of people have quit drinking, I should just "make" him stop and "all that happens is that they just get the shakes for a couple days and then they're ok."

I was just floored. She left the room. Both the nurse and the doctor had Donald just lying there with his shorts on and didn't even get him a blanket or gown. They knew he has diabetes, didn't bother to check his blood sugar.

Donald wanted to leave. I agreed since it didn’t seem that they were going to do anything for him anyway. He struggled to get his clothes back on and we left. No one seemed too concerned.

I just couldn't believe the callousness of that doctor and nurse. I realize the people in the ER are overworked but to just blow off someone just because they have an addiction is so sad. I wanted to get that doctor back in there and have him take a good look at Donald lying there all yellow and skinny and ask him "DO YOU THINK HE WANTS TO BE THAT WAY?"

It's sad to me that a doctor and nurse would think that alcoholism is so easily stopped and all someone has to do is stop drinking and that will be the magic bullet for this disease.

Unfortunately Alexandra’s story is not so unusual. Our medical community should treat all patients with the idea that they will help do what they can do. In this case, his foot needed to be examined and treated. It shouldn’t have made any difference that he had been drinking. Of course, we all understand that if he doesn’t stop drinking, he will continue to digress. But, that doesn’t mean he should get an infection in his foot and left with a new problem to be faced.

I understand that doctors want are in the business of saving the lives of people who want to be saved. I understand their frustration. All end-stage caretakers feel that frustration acutely. We should not be treated as though we don’t know what’s going on. Believe me. We all know exactly what’s going on.

If I had breast cancer and had cut my hand while washing dishes, should my hand be treated in spite of the fact that I may not live three more months. Of course it should. Why should it be any different for a person dying of any other malady?