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From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

benjamincburns.com

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Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#71

Post by madaxe_again »

debacle wrote: post #55
madaxe_again wrote: post #50

I don't have a brain tumour, but I have had, and am still having, an experience which has made me think seriously about my mortality. I'm 31. About three years ago I started having three/four day long bouts of total delirium, roasting fever, extreme nausea, can't even keep sips of water down when it happens - by day three or four, I'm usually too weak to move, totally dehydrated. Two years on, my GP is still going "c…

Why wouldn't your GP even order an ultrasound? If you're experiencing jaundice, and are otherwise healthy, gallstones are the most likely culprit and can be detected via a simple ultrasound in most cases.

Because my GP is... not cut out for his job, to put it nicely. I need to change, but it's irrelevant right now as I've circumvented him.

I thought his approach was weird and off, and must have been something I'd bought about:

Him: "tell me word by word what you want me to put in your notes"

Me: "uh, what? I don't care. I just want you to at least have a crack at figuring out what's wrong with me."

Him: "'Abdominal pain.', then."

until I learned that he says the same to practically everybody he "treats".

I asked for an ultrasound, as I had suspected gallstones about 18 months into the ongoing nightmare - he said, and I quote: "You're not fat. You're not female. You're not forty. You don't have gallstones. You have hypochondria. I'm not wasting the time it'd take to request one."

I get that he sees dozens or more patients per day, and that it's got to be an incredibly trying job, like tech support but worse, but if you can't take the heat... get out of the kitchen, before you inadvertently kill someone, and go be a lecturer or something.

Compassion fatigue is real and it kills. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion_fatigue

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#72

Post by mcphage »

> Aside from the anger, there’s another feeling I just can’t shake. I’m not sure it has a name... It’s impossible for me to be a witness to this situation and not think “what if it were me?”

Um, you're not the first person to contemplate your own mortality. The usual term for it is memento mori, and has been a major component of culture and art for thousands of years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#73

Post by maerF0x0 »

Filligree wrote: post #44
edw519 wrote: post #41

I am so sorry to hear this and also so glad you posted it here, Ben. Thank you. We all get so busy in our daily details, it's nice to be reminded what's really important. Just some quick, well intentioned feedback from someone who has lost almost every important loved one... Please don't be angry. That may seem like a natural response, but it is wasted output, serving as input into no productive process. Life is not…

I here declare, that I disagree. http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html

tldr?

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#74

Post by BorgHunter »

imranq wrote: post #67

one advice that has stuck with me: In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln

There's no evidence that Lincoln actually said this, although it remains good advice.

http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/07/14/life-years-count/

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#75

Post by japhyr »

AznHisoka wrote: post #57

So I'm somewhat confused by the responses to this post. It seemed to me that his long hours at work contributed to his developing the disease. But ppl seem to be responding as if he had a natural inclination to developing it, and that we should accept it. So there's absolutely nothing to learn here aside from "visit the doctor often"?

His long hours at work probably masked the symptoms. He didn't think "I have cancer", he thought "I'm not getting nearly enough sleep." Everyone around him thought the same thing.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#76

Post by ern »

madaxe_again wrote: post #71
debacle wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wouldn't your GP even order an ultrasound? If you're experiencing jaundice, and are otherwise healthy, gallstones are the most likely culprit and can be detected via a simple ultrasound in most cases.

Because my GP is... not cut out for his job, to put it nicely. I need to change, but it's irrelevant right now as I've circumvented him. I thought his approach was weird and off, and must have been something I'd bought about: Him: "tell me word by word what you want me to put in your notes" Me: "uh, what? I don't care. I just want you to at least have a crack at figuring out what's wrong with me." Him: "'Abdominal pa…

Are you allowed to sue the GP?

Also, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you get a second opinion sooner?

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#77

Post by derekp7 »

madaxe_again wrote: post #50

I don't have a brain tumour, but I have had, and am still having, an experience which has made me think seriously about my mortality. I'm 31. About three years ago I started having three/four day long bouts of total delirium, roasting fever, extreme nausea, can't even keep sips of water down when it happens - by day three or four, I'm usually too weak to move, totally dehydrated. Two years on, my GP is still going "c…

Meanwhile, until you get it removed, did your doctor put you on a strict no-fat diet? Mine did (I wasn't as bad, but had stones in the duct causing pain/damage). And he meant 0 fat (kind of hard to do), or as close as possible to it. I guess fat causes the gallbladder to start contracting (to push an extra dose of bile into the digestive system), so without fat in your diet it will just be the steady ooze of bile from your liver.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#78

Post by vlunkr »

cookiecaper wrote: post #4

As many HN readers don't have children, they may be inclined to see Nicola's pregnancy as a tragedy of some kind. Truly it is sad that this child will live without its father, but it's also a gift to the world -- a bit of Steven, living on. It will be a continuing gift to Steven's loved ones to have a permanent, living piece of Steven, a continuance of himself after he slips into the eons. When you get that kind of g…

This is a great thought. I thought of it as a tragedy at first because having and raising a newborn on your own would be terrifying. But as long as she has people to help her and some way to financially support herself a child will be a great thing to have in her life.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#79

Post by omegaworks »

madaxe_again wrote: post #50

I don't have a brain tumour, but I have had, and am still having, an experience which has made me think seriously about my mortality. I'm 31. About three years ago I started having three/four day long bouts of total delirium, roasting fever, extreme nausea, can't even keep sips of water down when it happens - by day three or four, I'm usually too weak to move, totally dehydrated. Two years on, my GP is still going "c…

I hope you sue the living shit out of your GP.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#80

Post by hox »

If anything, this article points out one thing to me: spend your time doing what you love. If that's work, great. If you love your family or life outside of work more, do whatever you can to spend more time with them. Sacrifice by finding a stable, well-paying yet not "exciting" job that enables you to avoid 12 hour workdays that are normal.

If your significant other says you are spending too much time at work, that means you should make the choice over what is more important. You always have a choice.

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