Op-Ed: The pandemic, Hurricane Ian and me — a doctor whose friends say I have PTSD
I was a doctor for 27 years. The last four of those, I worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. My time as a physician at UTH was my golden era. As the editor of this newspaper, I have access to the medical records and stories of the doctors who have cared for the Texas children who have been the victims of Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath.
During the hurricane, it was the best of my life. I felt I was truly working with my hands. I sat on the front line of health care like no one else, and it was my honor to be there.
I still feel that way, but I’m not the only one.
As a doctor — a doctor who has a heart rate of 170 — I have been told I have PTSD.
Now, as we head into a new medical crisis, I’m reminded of what a precious gift health care is.
Some doctors don’t want to hear it. But every one of them I’ve met has said I’ve touched their lives in a way that they couldn’t have imagined when they came to me as a patient.
They say I’m a good listener and my answers are always thoughtful.
They say my kindness means more than I can say.
They say I’m someone they could turn to after they’re in pain or exhausted from a busy day.
They say, “I don’t have anyone to talk to like you.”
They say I understand things they don’t.
They say I know so much, but I don’t know how to say it.
They say they don’t know how to write their stories.
They say they don’t have time or the tools.
I don’t need a list of things they don’t know how to do.
All I need to be is a good doctor.
I’m a good doctor.
I have always been a good doctor.
I practiced medicine at UTH until recently. When I left Texas to become