Avoid the Pain

     When my firstborn had a potential orthopedic condition, Dr. Grattan, pediatrician and most respected of all doctors, referred her to an orthopedist, Dr. Paish.  He seemed a little edgy in a way, but I went by the recommendation and all turned out well.
    A few years later, the father of this child twisted his knee in the driveway while playing hide and seek with the kids around the parked car on a snowy day.  He had to crawl back into the house, unable to bend his leg to any degree at all.   Since he was almost totally unfamiliar with medical procedures of any kind, he wanted to see a chiropractor, probably recommended by someone he worked with.  I remember driving through wintry weather to some place in Albany to see a Dr. Harbinger. He left the office quickly, as the chiropractor couldn't bend the leg even slightly.
   So we consulted Dr. Paish, who diagnosed a torn meniscus, and advised immediate surgery.  He scheduled the surgery for early morning the next day; in those days you had to spend the night before in the hospital.  That evening was very snowy, and slippery, so Don offered to drive us there, accompanied by Barbara, as I recall.  We entered the waiting room, the four of us, and just as he was preparing to sign in, Dave had a change of heart.  He wanted to get another opinion, or wait for it to get better.  I can't quite recollect all his reasoning, or non-reasoning.  So home we drove, through the cold and darkness, ice and falling snow.
   Early the next day, Dr. Paish called, looking for his would-be surgical patient. In essence, the conversation was "Where the Hell are you?  And if you don't reschedule before 24 hours are up, I won't operate.  And you'll have ruined any chances of saving the use of your knee."
   The surgery was scheduled for a Monday, the first medical visits for any of us except for pediatric issues.  It was a tough surgery in those days, and recovery even tougher. When Dr. Paish made his post-surgical visit on that Monday, I can still hear his words.  "I'll stop in to see you on Wednesday.   Not tomorrow; tomorrow you'll be in a lot of pain and I don't like to see my patients in pain.  See you Wednesday."
                                   And so it goes.