When a Doctor Turns Evil

I have a friend, Jen, who has a multitude of health issues, one of which is magnesium depletion.

Her general practitioner referred her to a specialist, a Dr. X, to look into this issue. The first thing Dr. X did was have a med-port inserted into Jen's chest, so that the bi-weekly infusions could be done without tearing up the veins in Jen's arms.

Normal mag levels are 1.5 to 2.5. Below 1.0 is critical.

After the first infusions and subsequent testing, it was determined that Jen would need weekly, rather than bi-weekly, infusions.

So one day a week, Jen would go in to have her levels measured, and then the next day she would go in for 2 to 4 hours of infusing.

After a while, Jen wondered if they were just going to keep giving her infusions or find out what was causing the depletion. Dr. X told her that he doesn't do research; that's her GP's job.

But that's why the GP referred her to Dr. X! Dr. X is supposed to be the specialist. So she gets referred to him to find out what the problem is; he just puts a port into her chest requiring a traumatic (and dangerous; they snipped a vein in the process, requiring cauterization, causing a significant amount of blood loss) operation, doesn't bother to pursue what the cause of the problem is, and then without warning or, I believe, justification, does the following.

What Jen didn't know, and what Dr. X's office didn't tell her, is that if she missed (or even rescheduled prior to the appointment!) three appointments for any reason, she would get "fired" as a patient of his.

Once, her son had a conflicting appointment with his doctor in Fort Worth, 3 hours away. She rescheduled her appointment to keep his. Strike one.

Another time, her GP insisted she come in to see him at the same time as one of her infusion appointments. Being a good patient, she rescheduled her infusion to obey her GP. Strike two.

A third time, her son again had a conflicting appointment with his doctor in Fort Worth, so she again rescheduled. Strike three.

But it's okay for them to miss appointments with Jen, without warning, and without rescheduling in a timely manner. She went in on one of her days to get her levels measured, to find that the office was closed that day, even though she had the appointment card they had given her in her hand. It was nearly another week (for a total of two weeks without a treatment) before she could get in again.

Because of her three strikes, she got fired.

Dr. X's office sent her a certified letter saying they were severing ties with her, that they would provide service to her for 30 days, and that they would help her find another doctor, suggesting at one point that it might require Jen to drive to Fort Worth or Lubbuck (both 3 hours away) twice a week. This is without any warning whatsoever. None.

They did not help her find another doctor. Her husband found one for her, and made an appointment for her for the next week. In the meantime, she had an appointment with Dr. X in the present week. She went in to have her levels checked; they were now at 0.7, sub-critical. But when she called to check on her infusion appointment the next day, Dr. X's office told her that since she now had a new doctor, they were completely severing their relationship and would not honor her appointment.

She has a level of 0.7, heart-attack levels, and has 7 days to go before her appointment with her new doctor, and Dr. X once again, without justification in my view, refused treatment to her.

I have no word for Dr. X's actions except "evil". I believe he has committed sin against Jen, numerous times. I'm reminded of several Biblical injunctions against such evil, such as:

^{HCSB Isa 5:20} Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion
and clever in their own sight.
²² Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are fearless at mixing beer,
²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe
and deprive the innocent of justice.

and

^{HCSB James 4:17} So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.

and

^{HCSB Micah 1} Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans on their beds!
At morning light they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.
² They covet fields and seize them;
they also take houses.
They deprive a man of his home,
a person of his inheritance.
...
⁹ You force the women of My people
out of their comfortable homes,
and you take My blessing
from their children forever.
...
Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?
^3:2 You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin
and strip their flesh from their bones.
³ You eat the flesh of my people
after you strip their skin from them
and break their bones.
You chop them up
like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
...
 ⁵ This is what the LORD says
concerning [those]
who lead my people astray,
who proclaim peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
⁶ Therefore, it will be night for you—
...
you ...
who abhor justice
and pervert everything that is right....

I believe Dr. X has abhorred justice, chopping Jen up like flesh for the cooking pot, while he sits back and proclaims peace.

Evil.