Nine Days
Mike Clement M.D. (not his real name) of the Mayo Clinic was off on a sudden,indefinite leave. I knew this because we have a shared patient and his staff had told me when I called them. Since I am a bit of a chronic worrier, I spent a couple of minutes worrying about him. Whatever it was it had to be pretty serious. I assumed that it was a family matter most likely illness, since the staff didn't know when he'd be back.
I didn't know Dr. Clement and had never spoken to him. I had been dealing with his staff for a year or so. They were kind, through and got back to me in a timely fashion whenever I had a question, so I assumed that he shared the attitude of his staff. On the whole a pleasure to deal with and well liked by our mutual patient.
A few days ago the patient's husband brought in a new prescription. There was a note on the bottom in red ink. The first line said, "Dr. Mike Clement passed away."
My jaw almost hit the counter. I looked up at the man who brought it in. He must have seen the confusion in my eyes.
"Pancreatic cancer," he said,"he lived for nine days after he was diagnosed." I stood there in stunned silence. He continued, "They closed down the whole department so they could go to his funeral. We were there just the other day. They are still in shock."
Small wonder. I was in shock and I never really knew the man.
The man at the counter shook his head. "We saw him a few months ago and he looked fine. He was 59 and looking forward to retirement." He paused, "You just never know...."
I collected myself and took the prescription back to my work station. I went on with the rest of my day, but couldn't get Dr. Clement completely out of my head.
It seems odd that a doctor, especially at Mayo, a clinic with an international reputation, could have gone undiagnosed with something so serious. Weren't there any signs? Any symptoms at all?
It seems pancreatic cancer doesn't have much in the way of signs until the disease is advanced. Unlike many cancers, pancreatic has a very low survival rate. I went to Wikipedia and counted seven pancreatic survivors and over 400 that didn't. Some of the names may be familiar to you, Michael Landon, Patrick Swayze,Count Basie and Jack Benny.
Nine days. That was all Dr. Clement had. That's not much time. Less than two weeks.
What one would do when confronted with a short time to live is something I think about once in awhile. I stated thinking about it ever since I read the Erma Bombeck column, "If I Had My Life to Live Over" Essentially it lists things she would have done. Invited friends over even if the house wasn't immaculate, let her kids kiss her whenever they wanted, listened to her grandfather more. In other words not worrying about the small stuff and realising that we only get one shot here. After I read that I decided to live my life so I would never look back and say that I wished I had done it differently.
Nine days isn't much time to come to terms with a terminal illness. I wonder how he spent those nine days. Was he well enough to enjoy them? Did he spend them tying up loose ends? Did he even know that that was all the time he would get?
I found his obituary online. He died on 28 December, which means that he was diagnosed on 19 December. Did he make plans to start treatment or did he enjoy the holiday? Did he know there was a chance he would not see the new year? Did he know how much time he had left?
Maybe it's a little strange to contemplate these questions, especially for someone who is a stranger to me. Still,I think it is important to think about these things once in awhile as a sort of check. It makes you think about some of the things you are doing. It makes you re-examine your priorities.
As I read Dr. Clement's obituary, I noticed that he shared his gifts with many as a teacher,as a Scout Master and as a cardiac physician. He influenced many people that he knew.
And one that he didn't......
I didn't know Dr. Clement and had never spoken to him. I had been dealing with his staff for a year or so. They were kind, through and got back to me in a timely fashion whenever I had a question, so I assumed that he shared the attitude of his staff. On the whole a pleasure to deal with and well liked by our mutual patient.
A few days ago the patient's husband brought in a new prescription. There was a note on the bottom in red ink. The first line said, "Dr. Mike Clement passed away."
My jaw almost hit the counter. I looked up at the man who brought it in. He must have seen the confusion in my eyes.
"Pancreatic cancer," he said,"he lived for nine days after he was diagnosed." I stood there in stunned silence. He continued, "They closed down the whole department so they could go to his funeral. We were there just the other day. They are still in shock."
Small wonder. I was in shock and I never really knew the man.
The man at the counter shook his head. "We saw him a few months ago and he looked fine. He was 59 and looking forward to retirement." He paused, "You just never know...."
I collected myself and took the prescription back to my work station. I went on with the rest of my day, but couldn't get Dr. Clement completely out of my head.
It seems odd that a doctor, especially at Mayo, a clinic with an international reputation, could have gone undiagnosed with something so serious. Weren't there any signs? Any symptoms at all?
It seems pancreatic cancer doesn't have much in the way of signs until the disease is advanced. Unlike many cancers, pancreatic has a very low survival rate. I went to Wikipedia and counted seven pancreatic survivors and over 400 that didn't. Some of the names may be familiar to you, Michael Landon, Patrick Swayze,Count Basie and Jack Benny.
Nine days. That was all Dr. Clement had. That's not much time. Less than two weeks.
What one would do when confronted with a short time to live is something I think about once in awhile. I stated thinking about it ever since I read the Erma Bombeck column, "If I Had My Life to Live Over" Essentially it lists things she would have done. Invited friends over even if the house wasn't immaculate, let her kids kiss her whenever they wanted, listened to her grandfather more. In other words not worrying about the small stuff and realising that we only get one shot here. After I read that I decided to live my life so I would never look back and say that I wished I had done it differently.
Nine days isn't much time to come to terms with a terminal illness. I wonder how he spent those nine days. Was he well enough to enjoy them? Did he spend them tying up loose ends? Did he even know that that was all the time he would get?
I found his obituary online. He died on 28 December, which means that he was diagnosed on 19 December. Did he make plans to start treatment or did he enjoy the holiday? Did he know there was a chance he would not see the new year? Did he know how much time he had left?
Maybe it's a little strange to contemplate these questions, especially for someone who is a stranger to me. Still,I think it is important to think about these things once in awhile as a sort of check. It makes you think about some of the things you are doing. It makes you re-examine your priorities.
As I read Dr. Clement's obituary, I noticed that he shared his gifts with many as a teacher,as a Scout Master and as a cardiac physician. He influenced many people that he knew.
And one that he didn't......
In memory of M.J.C. 1952-2011
Thank you.
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