As you've heard by now in the last few episodes, a doctor's life is pretty hectic and challenging in today's healthcare system. Most of us are really just trying to get through our day. So when I hear stories of doctors that took extra time out of their day to help a patient out, it makes me feel really hopeful and good.
Justine's story of getting diagnosed with cancer that was showing up in her neck by a gynecologist is one such story. For one thing, most gynecologists don't examine your neck. Second, that doctor knew that Justine was going to blow off her advice to make an urgent appointment with an ENT doc, so she made the appointment for her. This is amazing. Most just wouldn't take that extra time. And, that gynecologist may well have saved her life.
Justine's second story of having to give birth to her first child during the first days of the pandemic is heart wrenching. What a stressful time to be without your partner and family. This is one of millions of stories of doctors who went out of their way to help patients through a scary time of care, even while they were dealing with their own fears and stress about the pandemic.
Lastly, Bonnie's story about getting diagnosed with an incredibly rare condition is not too unusual actually. Rare things occur rarely, so patients often go through multiple doctors, tests and months if not years to get a diagnosis. She had one doc that stuck with her during that time even though her condition clearly did not fall under his specialty. That's dedication. We all need doctors like that!