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My dad could still be alive, but he's not

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Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#111

Post by Magi604 »

fsckboy wrote: post #94
Magi604 wrote: post #66

This is a very tragic story and my heart goes out to the family. It's one I've seen a few times now and hear about on a very regular basis from my coworkers. I am a Canadian Paramedic (EMR soon to be PCP in a few months, roughly equivalent to EMT and AEMT respectively). Some things strike out at me: - Here in BC our calltakers can advise patients on some treatments. I'm sure if that were to happen here, they would ha…

> Fire crews here in BC are dispatched to severe medical incidents (like heart attacks) and most of the time can even beat ambulance crews to a scene according to the blog post, the father was talking (said "be careful" about a left hand turn) and apparently ambulatory (collapsed on his way into the hospital), so perhaps it wasn't yet considered a severe medical incident yet. in the post she was told by her mother th…

So I don't know exactly how Toronto operates their ambulance service, but unless the family gave some bad details, the calltaker should have gleaned that they were likely dealing with a case of cardiac-related chest pain, and that's right at the top of the list of severe emergencies, regardless of how far along it has progressed, at least over here anyways.

I should add I feel a little queasy about dissecting this blog post for details. It seems more like a cathartic exercise for the author rather than some breakdown review of how the incident went, so it seems like some details were left out on purpose.

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#113

Post by laszlojamf »

prmph wrote: post #37
captainkrtek wrote: post #16

My condolences, very sorry for your loss. I work as an EMT (911) and resourcing is certainly a problem. In my small city, our response time is around 5 minutes, and if we need to upgrade to get paramedics, that’s maybe another 5-10. However, if we are out on a call, out of service, or the neighboring city is on a call, now the next closest unit is 15+ minutes away.. sometimes there can just be bad luck in that nearby…

Is it recommended to take or give aspirin ASAP before the EMTs arrive? If so, I wonder if the dad took it.

Apparently it's no longer recommended, since it could also be an aortic rupture, and aspirin would make it worse. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/should-i-take-an...

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#114

Post by scorpioxy »

gobins wrote: post #60
pugio wrote: post #48

I can speak to this. I recently joined a community first responder association (I've always wanted to know what to do in case of a medical emergency) and was shocked to hear the members' horror stories of how long it can take an ambulance to arrive. Like the author, I grew up with the narrative "in trouble, call the ambulance, they'll scream through the streets to get to you in moments". That might still be true wher…

Wow melbourne is getting that bad! Does your org have a name?

Oh yes. Quite bad and I don't know if things are getting slightly better than "bad" or the media is tired of reporting about it.

Up until a year or so ago, an appointment at a GP would take weeks of waiting. Specialist appointments were 1+ years waiting time. This is somewhat better now with the establishment of critical-care clinics operating after hours. This is from personal experience.

The emergency rooms often had waiting time of 12+ hours(or more). I know someone who has been waiting on a procedure at the public hospital for 6+ years. Another has a child waiting for an appointment with an estimated wait time of 3+ years. All non-urgent but a wait list in the years is no longer a wait list to me, it's a system that is not fit for purpose.

Initially all of this was attributed to the pandemic and the harsh lockdowns in Victoria. But a few years out, it seems difficult to still do that. When asked, our government just re-states that they've invested in this and that and then deflect. Recently, due to the horrible state finances, the healthcare system was being downsized with services cut and the bloodshed continues. This is without talking about the systemic issues and incompetence I've seen.

The funny thing is that outsiders think that public health care means free. It's really not. We pay for it on top of our income tax(1-2% on top, more if you're above a certain threshold) and it is not cheap. It wouldn't be so bad if it was working like you'd expect but paying for a non-functional system is....I don't know what to say.

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#115

Post by pabs3 »

pugio wrote: post #48

I can speak to this. I recently joined a community first responder association (I've always wanted to know what to do in case of a medical emergency) and was shocked to hear the members' horror stories of how long it can take an ambulance to arrive. Like the author, I grew up with the narrative "in trouble, call the ambulance, they'll scream through the streets to get to you in moments". That might still be true wher…

The emergency service number should be calling the closest first responders, not the other way around...

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#116

Post by blobbers »

bonsai_spool wrote: post #50
photon_lines wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is 100% true, especially in Canada. I've had multiple encounters with doctors who were not fit for their positions and should not have been working as doctors. One of them nearly killed my mom, and another one was suspended due to malpractice and performing research fraud, but was given her license back and is back to work at the moment. Yes she is fully licensed and back to working as a regular MD in Canada: ht…

> One of them nearly killed my mom, and another one was suspended due to malpractice and performing research fraud, but was given her license back How does alleged research fraud affect someone’s ability to be a caregiver?

It would appear fairly clear: she tried to claim a therapy would help someone when it clearly would not and when confronted with this fact, actively tried to hide it. How on earth would you trust such a person to be your caregiver?

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#117

Post by lhh »

Very sad, for more reasons than one. For pretty much everyone, heart disease is totally preventable now. If you’re over 30, get your ApoB checked (non HDL cholesterol is a proxy), and if it’s high, get a calcium scan on your heart. If you score above zero, get your ApoB down as low as possible (which will probably require drugs - diet barely moves the needle on this for most people). Low ApoB -> no heart disease.

Source: Peter Attia

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#118

Post by photon_lines »

bonsai_spool wrote: post #104
photon_lines wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She blamed the research fraud on her assistant when she was initially accused of it and denied all liabilities. She only admitted to it after they had her cornered. I had her as my endocrinologist for a while and I would not recommend her. Edit: if you want to have a care-taker who doesn't mind lying or is a psychopath, you do you but it's a no go for me.

> if you want to have a care-taker who doesn't mind lying or is a psychopath, you do you but it's a no go for me. We've gone from accused of research fraud to psychopath. My original point is that I don't see how the effort to produce new knowledge has any bearing on the appropriate management of diabetes/thyroid hormone.

So if your endocrinologist was found to have ran a concentration camp in the past, it would have no effect on your decision on whether you wanted to use them as your doctor? Running a concentration camp also has no bearing on a doctor's performance.

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#119

Post by tredre3 »

captainkrtek wrote: post #69
prmph wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it recommended to take or give aspirin ASAP before the EMTs arrive? If so, I wonder if the dad took it.

Yes you could (assuming no allergies or gi bleeds) and just inform the incoming EMTs

How can one preemptively test if they have an allergy? Is there a dosage that is known to trigger detectable allergy symptoms without going full anaphylaxis?

I'm getting up there in age and that is presumably something that I should learn about myself...

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#120

Post by heylook »

bonsai_spool wrote: post #50
photon_lines wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is 100% true, especially in Canada. I've had multiple encounters with doctors who were not fit for their positions and should not have been working as doctors. One of them nearly killed my mom, and another one was suspended due to malpractice and performing research fraud, but was given her license back and is back to work at the moment. Yes she is fully licensed and back to working as a regular MD in Canada: ht…

> One of them nearly killed my mom, and another one was suspended due to malpractice and performing research fraud, but was given her license back How does alleged research fraud affect someone’s ability to be a caregiver?

This is the laziest, most egregious "WeLl AkShUaLlY!!!" comment I've seen in a little while. Like, really embarrassing.

> According to the regulator for Ontario doctors, Jamal initially tried to place all the blame on her innocent research associate, almost ruining her career. She then tried to discredit her colleagues, claiming they had ulterior motives for questioning her results.

> When that didn’t work, they found Jamal tried to cover up her fraud: She illegally accessed patient records to destroy and change files, disposed of an old computer so investigators couldn’t examine it and even went into the Canadian Blood Services facility and changed freezer temperatures to damage blood and urine samples to mask her deception.

> And in March 2018, after admitting her misconduct before a disciplinary committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Jamal was stripped of her medical license.

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/mandel-despite-commit...

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