Outside, it was a scorcher-another 100-plus degree day in Dallas-a little hotter than the preceding 24 hours and a record-buster. It was the same day three nurses and a pharmacist at the grand old hospital read the doctor's orders for Sharron's chemotherapy treatment with the tired eyes that come about around 3 p.m. on a long, busy Friday in the big city.
The infusion nurse, who looked harried and overworked, started to give Sharron the wrong chemotherapy drug as her spouse worked happily on the laptop checking for e-mails that would never come.
Luckily for both nurse and the husband, Sharron opened her eyes after coming out of a light doze and saw with stunned surprise that this treatment did not look like the one she had expected. Instead of the drip, drip via the IV bag, she was getting an injection.
Nurse and husband were embarrassed. He had fallen down on the job. The infusion nurse had goofed and so had the other nurses who were part of the control team. This is not supposed to happen in the grand old hospital, they all knew. But it does.
Explanations flew out of concerned minds and mouths. The famous doctor was called to hear what she had to say about the mix up. Not a problem, she said. “Give the other half of the dose in a week. It will be all right.” Easy for her to say; she doesn't have cancer.
The head nurse manning the infusion desk was dutifully contrite. This was not good, her eyes said. We goofed, she said later, more or less. The doctor's scribbles had confused them all.
This is what happens on a busy Friday when the doctor is going on vacation and nurses are mapping out their weekend.
What a cruel reminder it had been for Sharron and her bewildered husband, who believed that doctors were gods and hospitals could not make mistakes. With this incident, his eyes were awakened by a splash of cold reality water.
Mistakes are bound to happen even at the best hospitals. The only one who really cares about what happens to the patient is the patient, of course, Sharron knew. Even when it means you have to stay awake to watch them, she would always have to make sure the pros did their jobs right. Nobody could be trusted.
Her final battle with death would depend on it.
