Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Moral Failure?

Not all Fridays — let’s face it — are fun, games, leisure, and license. Some suck. Not unlike a very recent one, a several-day visit to what I will call Palomino Hospital in the horse country in North County, where your columnist has found himself spending more and more time. Now some criticism has been leveled at “T.G.I.F.” for being sometimes a tad depressive. I have an explanation: my thyroid. It’s shot out, like much of the rest of me, and that is why (in part) I found myself in the care of the sinister Dr. W.

But this is about a patient next to me — quite mad, as it turned out. He was attempting to call 911 from his hospital bed. Darren, we’ll call him, suffers from multiple liver problems and alcoholic dementia. Wet brain it is sometimes called. He is maybe 32. And, oh, yes, this was a Friday night.

Darren was convinced that Dr. W., a tall man of some Asian descent (not suggesting anything here), was intent on cutting out his very compromised liver. The good doctor seemed to mistake bullying for reason and upbraided the poor loon for his “social irresponsibility in drinking to excess.” Naturally the M.D. had no intention of surgery. His suggestion was a locked mental ward. It was, in fact, his first suggestion, instead of, say, sedation.

Darren, a diminutive and pudgy young man, was easily bullied by the tall and well-built Eurasian physician. Doc W. upbraided him for his moral failure at sobriety. “This is the second time I’ve seen you in here this week! What’s wrong with you?” It would seem this was a question the good healer himself should be considering.

W. went on in this vein for some time before he called security. While no threat from the patient seemed evident, it appeared that the doctor had missed the meeting of the AMA where it was determined that alcoholism was a disease, considered much like diabetes or, say, psoriasis. To W., it was a moral failure, such as pederasty or kleptomania.

Sponsored
Sponsored

A beefy, pleasant security man was posted next to Darren while the patient went on over the phone to his mother about how the staff was trying to murder him. At no time did Darren pose any physical threat. Still, two other security guards stood over him for some 45 minutes. Meanwhile the nurses tittered a little about the absurdity of calling 911 from a hospital room but were mostly far more sympathetic to Darren than his doctor-on-call.

The nurses said that your narrator’s blood tests had come back indicating a badly functioning thyroid. This, they said, would account for much lethargy and depression — if, in fact, I were experiencing any such thing. It was agreed that this was the deal.

Not to dwell on my case, but I too received a ration of much the same kind of thing as Darren from Doc W. “Why do you suppose you’re depressed? Hmm? You haven’t taken your L-Thyroxine, have you? What did you expect?”

“L what?”

“Hah!” was his only response, his head thrown back in contempt.

“So. You get depressed and you drink. Is that right?”

“Well, yeah. Not always, but, you know...”

“That doesn’t help, does it.” It wasn’t a question.

“Well, at first, a little, but then, you know. I guess I take it too far.”

“I guess you do.” And then he repeated himself in a contemptuous tone, “I guess you do.”

The doctor also suggested a mental ward for me. A locked facility to prevent any further folly on my part. The bedside manner of a pissed-off tarantula was a phrase that occurred to me.

Darren spent much time on the phone to relatives, declaring the homicidal intent of his caregivers. Beyond this he did nothing threatening except express a will to leave. Nurses, security, and Dr. W. all stayed him with warnings about leaving, which Darren took to be some sort of legal charge. His message to relatives then became “I’m being held against my will!”

A nurse I had not seen before (of the Nurse Ratched type) appeared at my bedside and accused me of smoking in my room, threatened me with discharge, and calling security. I had done no such thing, though I wished I could have. I had nothing to smoke anyway.

Spending much time in hospitals might lead one to think that the subject enjoys the experience. Angiograms? Stress tests where one is forced to remain conscious but unmoving for six hours? Quadruple bypasses? Pacemaker implants and replacements? Hour-long attempts at IV implants and blood samples when one is a hopeless “stick,” as they say? The only enjoyment involved may be watching the television show House, which sometimes airs on Fridays — or used to.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?

Not all Fridays — let’s face it — are fun, games, leisure, and license. Some suck. Not unlike a very recent one, a several-day visit to what I will call Palomino Hospital in the horse country in North County, where your columnist has found himself spending more and more time. Now some criticism has been leveled at “T.G.I.F.” for being sometimes a tad depressive. I have an explanation: my thyroid. It’s shot out, like much of the rest of me, and that is why (in part) I found myself in the care of the sinister Dr. W.

But this is about a patient next to me — quite mad, as it turned out. He was attempting to call 911 from his hospital bed. Darren, we’ll call him, suffers from multiple liver problems and alcoholic dementia. Wet brain it is sometimes called. He is maybe 32. And, oh, yes, this was a Friday night.

Darren was convinced that Dr. W., a tall man of some Asian descent (not suggesting anything here), was intent on cutting out his very compromised liver. The good doctor seemed to mistake bullying for reason and upbraided the poor loon for his “social irresponsibility in drinking to excess.” Naturally the M.D. had no intention of surgery. His suggestion was a locked mental ward. It was, in fact, his first suggestion, instead of, say, sedation.

Darren, a diminutive and pudgy young man, was easily bullied by the tall and well-built Eurasian physician. Doc W. upbraided him for his moral failure at sobriety. “This is the second time I’ve seen you in here this week! What’s wrong with you?” It would seem this was a question the good healer himself should be considering.

W. went on in this vein for some time before he called security. While no threat from the patient seemed evident, it appeared that the doctor had missed the meeting of the AMA where it was determined that alcoholism was a disease, considered much like diabetes or, say, psoriasis. To W., it was a moral failure, such as pederasty or kleptomania.

Sponsored
Sponsored

A beefy, pleasant security man was posted next to Darren while the patient went on over the phone to his mother about how the staff was trying to murder him. At no time did Darren pose any physical threat. Still, two other security guards stood over him for some 45 minutes. Meanwhile the nurses tittered a little about the absurdity of calling 911 from a hospital room but were mostly far more sympathetic to Darren than his doctor-on-call.

The nurses said that your narrator’s blood tests had come back indicating a badly functioning thyroid. This, they said, would account for much lethargy and depression — if, in fact, I were experiencing any such thing. It was agreed that this was the deal.

Not to dwell on my case, but I too received a ration of much the same kind of thing as Darren from Doc W. “Why do you suppose you’re depressed? Hmm? You haven’t taken your L-Thyroxine, have you? What did you expect?”

“L what?”

“Hah!” was his only response, his head thrown back in contempt.

“So. You get depressed and you drink. Is that right?”

“Well, yeah. Not always, but, you know...”

“That doesn’t help, does it.” It wasn’t a question.

“Well, at first, a little, but then, you know. I guess I take it too far.”

“I guess you do.” And then he repeated himself in a contemptuous tone, “I guess you do.”

The doctor also suggested a mental ward for me. A locked facility to prevent any further folly on my part. The bedside manner of a pissed-off tarantula was a phrase that occurred to me.

Darren spent much time on the phone to relatives, declaring the homicidal intent of his caregivers. Beyond this he did nothing threatening except express a will to leave. Nurses, security, and Dr. W. all stayed him with warnings about leaving, which Darren took to be some sort of legal charge. His message to relatives then became “I’m being held against my will!”

A nurse I had not seen before (of the Nurse Ratched type) appeared at my bedside and accused me of smoking in my room, threatened me with discharge, and calling security. I had done no such thing, though I wished I could have. I had nothing to smoke anyway.

Spending much time in hospitals might lead one to think that the subject enjoys the experience. Angiograms? Stress tests where one is forced to remain conscious but unmoving for six hours? Quadruple bypasses? Pacemaker implants and replacements? Hour-long attempts at IV implants and blood samples when one is a hopeless “stick,” as they say? The only enjoyment involved may be watching the television show House, which sometimes airs on Fridays — or used to.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.