I think that most small town doctors will have experienced something like the story related below. However, it got me thinking. We often criticize doctors, and I am guilty as charged, but, do we realize the pressure they are under? Do we understand that many doctors make life and death decisions daily? Do we realize that nobody is perfect and that we all make mistakes? ‘To err is human, to forgive, divine.’
The night was particularly vile in the countryside. The wind howled, wild and heavy rain lashed down from every direction and in the middle of this storm, the Doctor received a panicked call from a farmer in the region. Unable to cope with a sick son, the man implored the doctor to make a house call, and in the manner of doctors of that day and age, he bundled up warmly and took a 20 minute drive to the the farmhouse. The farmer was waiting for him at his front door, holding up a lantern to light the way. He greeted the Doctor with; “I am so grateful to you for coming, Doctor. It is such a vile night that I wouldn’t even let my dog out in this kind of weather!”
