Total bullshit

[kennedy]

mike i can't belive that happend to you if i was you i whould get a secend opince

[JenniferG]

Mike, I'm so very sorry for you. This is just terrible. The time, the money, the anxiety, the disruption...it's unbelievably awful for you. At the very least, you deserve a proper explanation.

[osumike]

Dr. Bridwell just called a little bit ago. Its definitely a lot to take in. He apologized up and down, saying he was irresponsible for the way this played out. With the other health problems I have(or dont have) he should have stopped this whole thing weeks or months ago. That he did the wrong thing by waiting until less than 24 hours before surgery to cancel. He was trying so hard to come up with a surgical plan for me, and went over it again and again and again. That the risk to reward ratio just isnt where he wants it. Hes sorry that I(we) had to totally adjust our lives in preparation for this. The money. The time. The mental and emotional ups and downs.

Well theres alot more that was said, he talked for 15 minutes straight without me really saying a word. I need to collect my thoughts and I'll post more on here after a while.

Oh yea, he also said that he would be happy to help me with whatever, maybe see me every 2 years, totally free of charge.

Am I wrong for thinking all this time and money I've invested in this for the last 8 months should be written off either by Bridwell himself or the hospital?

[Vali]

I have been sitting here reading and re-reading this post over and over and to be honest, i don't know what to say! One word does come to mind, but i wont post this on the forum. I am so sorry this happened to you.....

[debbei]

OMG Mike, how devastating. Although, I have to say, if he, the Dr., had any doubts about his ability to handle your surgery becaue of your special medical situations, it's best for him to change his mind now, rather than when you were opened up on the table. YOu're right though--he should have told you months, and thousands of dollars ago. And for him to say it was because YOU were not in it 100%--that's just cruel.

((Hugs))

[naptown78]

Dr. Bridwell just called a little bit ago. Its definitely a lot to take in. He apologized up and down, saying he was irresponsible for the way this played out. With the other health problems I have(or dont have) he should have stopped this whole thing weeks or months ago. That he did the wrong thing by waiting until less than 24 hours before surgery to cancel. He was trying so hard to come up with a surgical plan for me, and went over it again and again and again. That the risk to reward ratio just isnt where he wants it. Hes sorry that I(we) had to totally adjust our lives in preparation for this. The money. The time. The mental and emotional ups and downs.

Well theres alot more that was said, he talked for 15 minutes straight without me really saying a word. I need to collect my thoughts and I'll post more on here after a while.

Oh yea, he also said that he would be happy to help me with whatever, maybe see me every 2 years, totally free of charge.

Am I wrong for thinking all this time and money I've invested in this for the last 8 months should be written off either by Bridwell himself or the hospital?

Mike,
I am sorry this has happened to you. I agree Dr. B was irresponsible to wait until the last minute but he also acted professionally. A good surgeon does not knowingly perform a surgery that he knows will be unsuccessful. Consider yourself lucky that he recognized this before the surgery rather than after. This is definitely a tough time for you and I hope you will be able to find a surgeon to fit your needs.

[titaniumed]

I agree. His intentions were good, and was debating this in his mind for all this time. Yes, he should have called it quits months ago, but he was probably trying to figure out a way to make it work. Sometimes this happens, thinking too hard concentrating on the prize. He was trying to solve the puzzle.

I don’t think that you will have any problems getting some money back from him. If he is un-willing to continue, maybe he can help you find another surgeon by talking to other surgeons.

If all the diagnostic work has been completed, maybe Linda could have the surgeons take a look at UCSF....

UCSF is probably the best orthopedic hospital in the world....
Ed

[LindaRacine]

Hi Mike...

I can sort of imagine how devastating it must be. What other medical issues are involved (if you don't mind posting that).

Sometimes these things happen for a reason.

--Linda

[Back-out]

Mike,

After reading your thread yesterday, I was so upset I didn't know what to say and found I was worrying about it all day myself (have appointment immediately pending with same doc.) I can't imagine what I'd do if I had a surgery canceled like that at the last minute if only because of financial and social (family help) considerations.

As I reread the comments today, I understand there are (non-specified) medical considerations which seem to have been paramount in Dr. Bridwell's thinking. That is hard to comment on except to wonder why, if so, he was moved to back out right "at the altar". Also, I find it inexcusable that he blamed YOU for the change. Maybe it's my family background but I am very sensitive to "blame the victim" approaches to such hurtful changes.

Evidently, you have good family support. One sign of that is that you were emotionally healthy enough to respond with anger to this reversal. I would undoubtedly have been beset by overwhelming self-doubt and self recrimination! (And no wonder. I have reasons for supposing that if such a thing happened to me, my "family" would have found a reason to side with the doctor - or whomever else the adversary was! )

To return to the groom no-show analogy, it may be worth considering that according to all courts I can think of, such a cancellation is cause for breach of contract, with damages awarded to the non-showing party, both for actual expenses and distress.

That's true regardless of how justified the decision was to cancel the wedding/surgery (and, indeed, it's hard to argue that it was NOT well founded when the party backing out has the power to determine whether or not the marriage/surgery succeeds or fails!).

It's nice that he apologized in the end, but sometimes an apology is not enough. It's an improvement - and indeed one could hardly fault him for reaching such a decision, however late. Nonetheless, there is material and emotional cost attached to the late re-thinking. (If it were me, the real cost would be almost beyond reckoning). He needs to be held accountable. I think you do indeed need to talk to a lawyer, and meanwhile you might want to make some calculations about what you've actually lost in concrete terms.

As a layperson, you have a right to depend on a doctor's judgment on the basis of which, you entrust not only your life but a major investment of emotional and real capital . You AND your family. It is not hard to imagine how a surgeon - more to the point, his lawyer - would value the doctor's time and energy, if a patient cost him a like investment!

Dr. Bridwell must be held accountable for his poor judgment, with mitigation for his having had the maturity and courage to reverse his bad decision at the eleventh hour. (After all, he might not have done so, putting such penalties including "appearances", ahead of your welfare).

Shame on him again for reflexively blaming YOU for the late enlightenment! Again, though, he DOES deserve due credit for coming around and apologizing for that too.

Every mature member of our society, should recognize that there are prices attached to error, however - even when accompanied by apologies. He himself should acknowledge that reality, asking you how - $$ cost - he can make good on his default and without being asked.

OTOH you may well have had a narrow escape. His reasons for changing his mind (or more accurately perhaps, belatedly coming to terms with what appear to have been his "gut feelinga" of rightness) - are also worth thinking about as you move forward.

[jrnyc]

hi mike
i questioned the surgery back in August...thought it was a long way to go IF he were to just "pin" you...
but i do not know whether to feel relief for you...or wonder if a few more opinions are in order...
i can not imagine the overwhelming shock the reversal of his decision would cause you...it would take me days to absorb it...after all your mental and physical preparation!
for now, i guess i would concentrate on thinking about what might have happened had Bridwell operated and gotten bad results...

i feel so badly for you...beyond words...and only hope that at some point, another top surgeon can find a way to help you!!

best regards...
jess

[osumike]

Back-out...very interesting reading material there. Im guessing you might be an attorney. And yes, we have already talked about speaking to an attorney about this. I would like to try working it out with Bridwell or the hospital first, but if not, something needs to be done.

The medical issues we're dealing with is that i may or may not have Marfans syndrome. The only real way to properly diagnose this is by having a genetic test done. I gave blood to have sent to Johns Hopkins for the test, but my insurance wont cover it, and I really didnt want to pay the $3000 for it. Also, after my bone density test, it showed I have osteoperosis in my hips, and osteopenia in my lower spine.

I guess what makes this so bad is that Bridwell said he made the mistake of not bringing this to the table weeks or months ago. Even at my last pre-op appointment with him on Monday morning, nothing was said. I mean that was it, I was ready to go. I know he feels bad, but I also think he knows this was a MAJOR error on his part. He's offering his services for free, to see me every couple of years. I don't think so.

And about breach of contract, after the Monday meeting, I signed all of the surgical consent forms.

Another thing he said in the phone conversation was that my spine would begin auto-fusing eventually. I'm no surgeon, but what if my curves contue to progress, which I know they will, and then my spine fuses at like 90 degrees or worse. What about my lungs and heart getting smashed inside me? How is that a responsible thing to say or think about one of his "patients"?

And Jess, I started making phone calls to surgeons around the country before we even left St. Louis yesterday. Im not just going to give up.

So my fiance and I got up this morning and decided we just needed to get away for a few days and clear our minds before we begin to move forward. We're in Columbus now, just to hang out for a long weekend. And maybe try to find some tickets to watch the Buckeyes roll over another opponent.

GO BUCKS!!!!

[Pooka1]

The medical issues we're dealing with is that i may or may not have Marfans syndrome. The only real way to properly diagnose this is by having a genetic test done.

There is about a 10% false negative rate to the genetic test. So the test can never rule out Marfans. Because a negative result would not obviate having to do the echocardiograms for my daughters, we skipped the test.

I can't remember if there is a false positive... I simply don't remember what the metabolic geneticist said on that point but I'm thinking there is not.

I gave blood to have sent to Johns Hopkins for the test, but my insurance wont cover it, and I really didnt want to pay the $3000 for it.

The price of this test was quoted as about $1,000 to me in the summer of 2008. We never got to the issue of insurance that I recall once I knew about the false negative rate and the uselessness of the test if it was negative.

I am sorry about what happened. Maybe Bridwell can ask his buddies if one of them would take your case. If he doesn't have a buddy who will then maybe the risks are too great.

Good luck.

[LindaRacine]

Mike...

As far as I know, none of what you mentioned is anything that would normally keep one from having surgery. There has to be more to it than what you're being told.

--Linda

[LindaRacine]

By the way Mike, I meant to ask you about the xray you've posted. I cannot figure out what is behind your neck.

[jrnyc]

i think it is a great idea to get away for a few days!

i hope you can get some financial satisfaction from Bridwell/hospital...but i would bet that they get away with it, by having an attorney say the surgeon made a decision in the best interest of your health...how they will explain away making that decision at the last second, don't know...but i am sure there is lawyer double speak for that! it just stinks that doctors can get away with all kinds of stuff!

i think it is very wise for you to seek another surgeon...a top surgeon, who will take your case and figure out a way to not only stop the progression, but give you relief!

i have osteopenia...and my surgeon said it was not a reason to not have the operation...

i know it is hard to travel when in pain. let alone travel for surgery...but...Ohio is closer to NYC than to CA...i just wonder what Dr Boachie would think of your medical needs...
and...perhaps there is another test you can have to check for Marfans...one that your insurance will either cover, or that will not cost so much!

best of luck...get some R&R!
jess