Friday, February 1, 2013

Season 9, Episode 13: Bad Blood

"We've all heard the buzz words, streamline, optimize integrate, adapt. Everyday someone comes up with a new strategy or tool or technology to increase our efficiency. The idea is to make our lives easier but the question is, does it?"

"To really be efficient, you have to eliminate what doesn’t work. You have to figure out what is important and hold on tight to the things that matter most."

Season 9, Episode 12: Walking on a Dream

"Patients who undergo an amputation often feel a sensation where the missing limb was as if it's still there. The syndrome is called phantom limb. It's as if the body can't accept that a terrible trauma has occurred. The mind is trying to make the body complete again. Patients who experience phantom limb report many different sensations but by far the most common is pain."

"The body can be stubborn when it comes to accepting change. The mind holds out hope that the body can be whole again and the mind will always fight for hope, tooth and nail. Until it finds a way of understanding its new reality and accepts that what is gone is gone forever."

Season 9, Episode 11: The End Is the Beginning Is the End

"The big day is here. The day you're gonna hear the news, the test result. Is the biopsy malignant or benign? Am I gonna live or die? You just want to know even if the news is scary because then you can move on. Whatever that means."

"They say ignorance is bliss because once you know about the tumor or the prognosis, you can’t go back. Will you be strong or will you fall apart? It's hard to predict so don’t worry about it. Enjoy the time you have before the news comes. Yep, ignorance is bliss."

Season 9, Episode 10: Things We Said Today

“In order to properly treat a problem, a surgeon needs as much information as she can get. So we ask questions. Things like when did the pain begin? Have you experienced these symptoms before? Do you have a family history? Are you currently sexually active? Have you recently undergone surgery? If you're unwilling or unable to answer these and other questions, we’re forced to rely on tests for insight. Until those test results come back, there’s nothing we can do but wait."

"The next time you're in your doctors office, remember she's not asking all those questions for her health. She's asking them for yours. Tell her everything. The small details aren't trivial. They actually make the story. There's no rush, take all the time you need, start at the beginning.”