It was ironic that I found out so much about my doctor after the fact. In 1996 we didn’t have the internet to work with and at the time, my father was still practicing medicine and he was the one that was asking around about who should do my surgery. This particular doctor used his own staff in the OR so it really was no surprise that they backed him, he is their meal ticket and employer. Now, I know for a fact that it was not the first time that he had come to surgery in such a condition. When I went back to the Mayo for my 4th surgery, my dad sent me to an old friend who had moved back there to teach and work in the medical school at University of Minnesota. When I saw him, he indicated that he had been the surgical instructor for my surgeon when he was going through school and had kicked him out of the OR several time for coming in in an impaired state. That would have been nice to know before I let him cut on me.
With regards to law suits, he has been involved in several, but he is very charismatic and likeable on the witness stand and so juries like him and he gets away with things. I have heard that when he is not under the influence, he is a decent surgeon, I wouldn’t know. I do know that even after 15 years have passed, he is still practicing here in Las Vegas. That is just sad in my opinion. Being a doctor is a huge responsibility because you not only hold a person’s life in your hands, you also hold what their future life is going to be like based on how well you do your job.
Having said all that, I have learned over the years to just let it go. I don’t see that this man and I would ever be friends, but I have forgiven him for his serious lack of judgement. Being bitter about my lot just made me angry, and I don’t want to go through life angry.
