Patient Joyful for “Surviving” Foot Surgery

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I recently had a patient tell me I was her favorite doctor and she showered me with gifts and a card for the holidays.  I have been treating her for 2 years post operative for midfoot arthritis fusion to both feet.  She obviously had done very well but her card made me do a double take.  “I survived foot surgery” is obviously a funny response and even more so on a Christmas card but in reality it showed me her fears of surgery and the horrors that can come from the unknown.  She originally picked me out from a Google search and she was putting a lot at risk.  Although I wish all my patients could have outcomes like her, it has not been the case and will certainly not be the case in the future.

As 2019 comes and goes, I’ll have done more surgeries and introduce more fear into people’s lives.  All I can do is continue to survive with them and promise to never leave their side.