Deflection of a Diagnosis

He sits there, a skeletal silhouette, his body reminiscent of a Holocaust victim, his eyes closed halfway to death.

“What did they tell you in the hospital, Jim?”

“Nothin'. They told me nothin', Doc.”

Patients often lament that doctors fail to explain their diagnosis, illness, medications, or treatment—and sometimes that's true; sometimes disease constructs a mental embargo on the inflow of information, particularly when the news is unsettling.

“So you don't know what's going on?”

It's an honest question. Many patients have an innate sense of what is occurring and are just waiting to hear the grim revelation from their doctor.

“Nope, sure don't, Doc.”

I want to tell him everything is okay, everything will be fine—but it isn't, and it won't be, at least not in the mortal confines of his earthly body. He's …