Feature Article May 29, 2002
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An insider's view of Kingston General Hospital from flat on my back - Part oneby David BrisonThe News has carried a series of five stories on basic changes in primary health care in Ontario. This story will be a departure, in that I will look at the other end of the health care spectrum, hospital care.
The other change is that I will get personal and talk about my own recent weeklong stay in Kingston General Hospital ( KGH ) and some of the experiences that led up to it.
I checked into KGH on May 12 one day before a scheduled operation to remove a growth on the common bile duct which rests on the pancreas. My surgeon, Dr. Diederick Jalink, had intended to not only remove that growth, which we suspected was malignant, but also remove the tip of my pancreas in an operation known as the Whipple named after the surgeon who developed it. I refer to this as being Whippled.
Dr. Jalink looks like a young man -- at least to my 68-year-old eyes. From the medical diplomas hanging on his wall, Id estimate that he is in his early 40s. The Whipple is a very complex surgical procedure, and after he recommended it, I took steps to make certain that he was the person that I wanted to perform it. Success with the Whipple, or any surgical procedure, depends on the skill of the physician. Luckily, I found that he had done a whole slew of Whipples while at Kingston, and that his reputation in Kingston medical circles was excellent.
There were two other factors which sold me on Dr. Jalink, one important, and the other not as much so or at any rate, not as logical. First, the logical one: I believe that patients should be actively involved in their own treatment. What I wanted was a second opinion on whether I should be Whippled, as well as on the diagnosis that lead him to recommend that procedure. I also wanted as much information as possible. He unfailingly provided this information, referring me to websites for research on the Whipple and answering all my questions, as well as encouraging other physicians to do so. Dr. Jalink has a personal mannerism that could lead you to believe that he isnt listening when hes asked a question he tilts his head as if you are just getting his attention and then looks at you quizzically as if to say, What do you mean by that? I found that it means nothing he was always listening and gave good answers to my questions.
The not-so-logical factor which contributed to my decision to use Dr. Jalink was based on his hands he has long thin sensitive-looking fingers. I could easily picture those fingers playing the piano, and it wasnt much of a leap to imagine them delicately tying knots and removing tissue. I know that there are good surgeons who, like me, have short stubby fingers, but his hands were nevertheless reassuring.
In all of my encounters with Dr. Jalink, as well as with the whole range of other personnel (receptionists, secretaries, nurses, nursing students, residents, physiotherapists, nursing aides), I found that there existed a quiet but obvious pride in the jobs they were performing. There were some exceptions to which I reacted negatively, of course, but in general I was impressed, as I have been in my contacts with everyone at the Sharbot Lake Medical Centre.
Ill describe some more of my experiences while in the hospital in the second part of this story next week. I found, for example, that I dont like to be called Hon by nurses if you want you can read about that and more.
However, Ill end by saying that Dr. Jalink couldnt Whipple me. He found when he opened me up that there were very small cancerous spots on my liver. He was very disappointed - every surgeon wants to do something that will either cure or radically extend the life of his patient.
Stephen Jay Gould, an evolutionary biologist and prolific popular science writer, died this week at age 60. He had been diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer 20 years ago, when he was given eight months to live. He found from his own analysis of the research on cancer that those patients, with positive attitudes, with a strong will and purpose for living, with commitment to struggle, with an active response to aiding their own treatment and not just passive acceptance of anything doctors say, tend to live longer.
Gould was also told by a medical colleague, a Nobel Prize winner in immunology, that the best prescription for success against cancer was to be cheerful, optimistic and confident. Gould describes himself as naturally that way. My older brother Bill, when asked by my friends what I was like as a young child, is fond of saying, Davey was a happy baby.
I also have a will and purpose for living, and am committed to struggle. As for confidence, I think I will be around for a while.
