I have known Janet Lynn Mitchell since I met her about five years ago. We don’t see each other   often, but we recently had the chance to catch up at a women’s writers conference and I remembered just how amazing this woman’s story of medical malpractice is. But just as important is the story she chose to live –with joy–nd then tell us about in her book Taking a Stand . . .which Rest Ministries happens to carry in our bookstore! We are marking it down to a discounted price of $7.99 through 8/6/10.

Just last week a new study came out that revealed that “one-third of doctors who knew of peers who were incompetent or impaired, such as from alcohol or drug use, said they did not turn them in.” [ See Many Doctors Don't Report Incompetent Colleagues] The study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, covered a variety of medical specialties, including family practice, anesthesiology, internal medicine, cardiology, psychiatry, general surgery, and pediatrics. 17% said they had direct knowledge of a peer incompetent to practice in their hospital, group, or practice; and of this 17%, 67% 17% reported the colleague to relevant authorities.

While we can recognize that medical malpractice insurance prices and rates can be staggering for physicians, what would you do if you discovered your physician didn’t even have medical malpractice insurance? I asked Janet to share her story with us here at Rest Ministries and we will be featuring it over the next few days. I hope it encourages you. Regardless of medical errors or human mistakes, God is still in control and will lead us down the path where He wants us to make a difference for Him.

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Taking a Stand – Janet Lynn Mitchell Discovers Her Doctors Lied for 15 Years

“It’s time you know . . ..” Dr. Ulild sighed while leaning back against the wall in his examining room.

Know what? That I really did hurt myself when I fell?

Instantly, Dr. Ulild broke eye contact with me. “Janet, what has happened to you is water under the bridge . . .. I was there; I was in on your first surgery. Dr. Allgood cut your bone at the wrong angle, the wrong degree. I tried to stop him, to tell him not to cut there, but Allgood goes too fast. Janet, your ligaments were cut. The rest of your surgeries on your right knee were to try to fix this mistake.”

Horrified, my heart began to pound. I could hear each beat. I thought back to high school when Dr. Ulild had become one of my orthopedic surgeons. He had been my confidant as I faced ten surgeries, all performed within three and a half years of each other.

Noooooooo! He couldn’t have, I screamed through my thoughts. Dr. Ulild and Dr. Allgood had told my parents and me that my poor surgical outcome was, “due to a congenital complication—from the way God made me!” I was familiar with Psalms 139 and knew that God had knitted me together in my mother’s womb. My doctor’s explanation made sense.

Yet, now I knew for fifteen years, my doctor’s had lied. I had lost the use of my legs due to a medical blunder and my doctor’s had had the nerve to blame my God!

I fought tears as Dr. Ulild began his list of instructions. “Janet, go to Dr. Allgood, tell him that you found out. See what he will do for you. I’m certain he’s gotten rid of your medical records.” Then leaning back against the wall, he cleared his throat and glared. “I need to make it clear to you, Janet. You’re not to tell anyone who told you this.”

“But Dr. Ulild, why didn’t anyone ever tell me this before? Why didn’t you tell my parents?”

“Janet, we thought we could fix it.”

“But didn’t I, the patient, have a right to know?” I wondered.

Emotionless, Dr. Ulild then reviewed the options I now had concerning the condition of my right knee. A total knee replacement sounded like the best choice, yet it came with no guarantees due to the amount of nerve damage. The good news was that my MRI showed I hurt my knee when I fell. Unfortunately, I had degenerative arthritis in all compartments of my knee. Dr. Ulild described it best when he said, “Janet, your knee is like that of an eighty-year-old woman!”

Dr. Ulild instructed me to think about my surgical options. Before we said good-bye, he reached for the set of X-rays that I had brought to my appointment. So shaken, I stayed silent.

“I’ll make sure you get these back,” he said. “I want to evaluate them, to compare these films with your others.” Little did I know—these X-rays would somehow disappear!

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Watch for tomorrow’s article as Janet describes her hurt and anger at God for allowing this to happen to her as well as grabbing her medical charts and making a run for it! And yes, we as patients understand that the average medical malpractice insurance rates for our doctors are high, but later on Janet shares what she uncovered about her physician and just how long he had been treating patients without the proper insurance!

Rest Ministries is delighted to have Janet Lynn Mitchell’s book, Taking a Stand, available in our bookstore. When Janet and her parents discovered they had been lied to for years and huge chunks of her medical records had been purged (along with x-rays that mysteriously went missing) what was her answer? Read more in Taking a Stand as this woman makes choices about how to find joy despite the betrayals and also make changes in laws that will protect others. Order Taking a Stand today!

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• USA Today op-ed: Physician burnout harms patients (kevinmd.com)
• Understanding Medical Malpractice and Ways of Avoiding It (slideshare.net)
• Can deciphering your doctor’s notes improve care? (sfgate.com)

I had just received the third pink slip in two weeks from the lab that said my payment was passed due. Over three times I had called and my insurance company had assured me that the lab work was covered and that they would mail out a check that afternoon. This time, when I finally got a representative on the telephone, I was polite but firm. I said that I wanted the problem taken care of immediately, and I wrote down her name and the supervisor’s name. It was time to get even more assertive.

Has assertiveness gotten a bad rap, however, among the chronically ill? Is it assumed that we won’t have the energy or stamina to fight all of the battles that we will face? When we do talk to someone in customer service, we are rarely taken absolutely seriously.

After all, isn’t it just the drugs that make us impatient and nit-picky about all of this insurance stuff? Has anyone ever brushed off your assertiveness simply by assuming, “She doesn’t have anything else to think about all day, so no wonder she’s upset!”? Or “She’s just taking her frustrations out on me because she has a chronic illness.”

When you imagine an assertive person, what comes to mind? Webster’s Dictionary says that assertiveness is “positive; affirming confidently; affirmative.” Too often we confuse assertiveness with aggression which is defined as “making assaults and unjustly attacking.” Most of us have had moments when we have slid into an aggressive mode, but assertiveness is based on one’s ability to confidently step forward.

Rather than becoming aggressive, I believe that the chronically ill often become burnt out on fighting and we simply avoid any conflict. Who has the energy to fight for our rights? Next time a situation arises where you may need to be a bit assertive, here are some things in which to remember.

I have the right to say no without feeling guilty.

For those of us with chronic illness, this is a big one! We must say, “no, thanks,” or “I’ll pass,” much more often than we would prefer. Even when we master the ability to say no, the guilt continues to sit with us for days. Let it go! You know your abilities and limitations and what is best for your own health and your family’s well being.

I have the right to state my opinion, even if I change my mind.

Have you ever been on a jury and you had to state your decision up-front, but than as the deliberations continued, you changed your mind about the verdict? You have the right to say what you think, but it’s best to think before you speak. Is what you say going to hurt someone’s feelings? Are your comments going to help the situation?

I have the right to take risks and try new things.

Just because you have a chronic condition doesn’t mean you have to eat at the same restaurant the rest of your life. Try new things! You may find a new hobby or a new activity that you are able to easily do, in which you would have never thought about.

“When I started taking photos it was on one of those cardboard cameras,” says Darcie. “But then I found that I really loved it and I wasn’t half bad. So I bought a real camera. It’s been fun. I’ve had an excuse to go to events that I couldn’t participate in before, like boat races, because I am ‘the photographer.’”

I have the right to be heard.

Whether you are having a conversation with a medical professional or your mother, you do have the right to be heard. Too many of us fall into the habit of talking all of the time, however, and forgetting that we also have the responsibility to listen. Know your boundaries and what you are willing to listen to and not.

When a man approached me after a health fair and said, “I can cure you in 30 days,” I replied, “You have sixty seconds to tell me why I should talk with you further about your product.” I listened… and no, he didn’t convince me. He felt okay about it though, and I got out of an uncomfortable thirty-minute sales pitch.

So be assertive – practice in front of the mirror if you must. As you step out and share your opinion, it may feel awkward at first, but then you will gain more confidence and it will become simpler the next time the opportunity arises. Even studies have shown that assertive people are more likely to have personal and professional relationships that are based on honesty and mutual respect.

If you lead a support group or are considering it, don’t miss Lisa Copen’s new book, http://StartAnIllnessSupportGroup.com for your ministry needs. Over 300 pages with step-by-step instructions on how to write a vision statement, promotion and attendance and much more!

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• Being Authentic About Our Illness So God Can Be Glorified (chronicillnesspaindevotionals.wordpress.com)
• When God Says ‘Go’ But Your Body Says ‘No’ (chronicillnesspaindevotionals.wordpress.com)
• Being There For Others When You Are Ill And Also The Caregiver (chronicillnesspaindevotionals.wordpress.com)

Since herbal products are not regulated for their purity and potency, like conventional drugs, there can be severe adverse effectss and drug interactions. They can even be different from one batch to another. David Kroll, Ph.D., a pharmacologist and consultant to the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine (DCIM) says, “The single greatest resource for people who want credible herbal information is a health care practitioner who is uniquely trained in both conventional and alternative medicine. Those people are rare, but the DCIM has been established to train physicians accordingly and to offer a place for patients to turn today for this type of information and medical care.”

Your own research should never replace a physician’s advice, but here are some helpful web sites to learn more before downing your vitamins.

* Consumer Lab – find out tons of information on your vitamins and more. This lab tells you where to buy products, what to watch for and what to stop taking if it’s recalled.
* Diet-and-Health – Have gout, insomnia, or acne? This site tells you what you may be defincint in and what to consider taking.
* http://www.experimentalmedicine.org
* Guide to Nutritional and Herbal Remedies
* An FDA Guide to Dietary Supplements
* Quack Watch – though some people may find this controversial, the owner brings up a lot of points worth considering during your research.
* Mayo Health – Look up herb, vitamin and other supplement information

As with any health information you receive, check with your doctor before taking anything. No information provided by Rest Ministries is meant to be health advice.

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• Herbal Remedies Can Cause Cardiac Problems (nlm.nih.gov)
• Medical decision making is influenced by patients, lawsuits, and money (kevinmd.com)

E- patients take internet searches a step further. Not only do they occasionally conduct internet searches about health; but they become involved in online groups and organizations dedicated to a particular aspect of their health.

The upside? We can find people out there who know what we are going through. We can become involved in discussions with other patients like ourselves who have experienced the same side effects, the same pain, and most importantly, some of the same emotional aspects of dealing with an illness.

The downside? The internet makes everything accessible instantaneously. This may be feeding our fast paced society where our questions are never answered fast enough, especially in relation to our health. The internet is creating a shift in the health world, and this fast pace may be hard for hospitals and doctors to catch up with.

As far as generic information and moral support, the internet is a great tool. However, there is still a need to rely on traditional healthcare and to have a team of professionals around you. Not all patients are the same, and not all of our health related questions can be answered on Google.

Naomi Kingery, twenty year old brittle diabetic and author of The Sugar Free Series available at www.livetolovediabetes.com.

Does your friend have an HMO that requires her primary physician to be a “gate keeper?” In this model, doctors must cut costs by limiting referrals. It may be necessary to contact the HMO administration to demand a second opinion. Read the fine print in the insurance packet before calling. Alternatively, she may request a new primary physician. These two processes will take time.

Unfortunately, your friend may need to spend money out of her own pocket to see the physician of her choice. Try to stick with a doctor covered by her plan because that doctor may end up being her advocate with the insurer. Explain the situation up front.

Many illnesses are difficult to diagnose. One example is a disease called “interstitial cystitis.” Doctors give antibiotics because they mistakenly think the symptoms of pain and frequent urination are due to infection. Another example is acid reflux. Doctors give antibiotics for a sore throat or cough that is not caused by strep bacteria, but by acid bubbling up from the stomach. If you “google” symptoms, you may find some clues.

I am embarrassed by doctors who give patients the brush off and HMOs that gouge. Your friend is blessed to have your concern.

Amy Fogelstrom Chai, MD, MS, is an Internal Medicine specialist with additional training in the area of medical research methods. Her experiences as a patient helped to redirect her priorities to home life and Christian ministry.

A Newsweek Poll found that 72 percent of Americans say they would welcome a conversation with their physician about faith; the same number say they believe that praying to God can cure someone—even if science says the person doesn’t stand a chance. Tell your doctor you’d like to see more physicians trained to understand spirituality and medicine.

(Newsweek, Nov. 10, 2003).