Leah Yudle
Cell 2 Soul. 2006 Spring; 2(1):a17
Dear Doctor,
I am disappointed with your lack of response to my request to see you last week as a follow-up to the testing and treatment in your hospital's ER, where I was taken after a school bus rammed into the side of my van. As I explained to your secretary, my van rolled one-and-a-quarter times, landing with a final jolt on the driver's side with the roof wrapped around a telephone pole. I was removed from the car with Jaws of Life and transported by ambulance to the ER, where I was given a full battery of tests, admonitions that I would experience post-concussion dizziness and increased pain over the next few days, and a prescription for extra-strength Ibuprofen.
I am fortunate to be alive with what I hope will prove to be minimal effects over time. As I told your secretary, bouts of dizziness continue, as well as excruciating muscle and deep tissue pain in my chest, neck, and back during movement, breathing, and sneezing. I would think that a primary care physician would want to see a patient under such conditions or, at the very least, call to see how the patient is to express concern and make appropriate recommendations.
To be called back by your secretary, after she supposedly shared my information with you, with the message that you had no time for me for the next three months and that I could come to the walk-in clinic that evening, was inappropriate and inadequate for my needs. Aside from the fact that my situation warranted more personal attention, I was not willing to put myself at risk by sitting for an hour or more amidst sneezing, coughing patients. Coughing, sneezing, and blowing my nose are extremely painful acts, and exposing myself to a potential cold or flu at this point is the last thing I want to do.
Am I being unreasonable to expect more compassionate or even adequate care and concern from my physician?
Sincerely, Leah Yudle
(Author's note: The physician never did respond to the fax transmission of this letter, and I have found a new doctor.)