Page 8 of Mistletoe Dreams
"Our first patient will be Mr. Jones. He's owned a farm in the area for more than fifty years. He bought it from his parents, who also bought it from their parents."
"In other words, his family farm has been in the area for generations."
"Exactly. He's a little crusty, but he's got a good heart. Still, he's not going to do any kind of newfangled medicine. So I've been trying to do a holistic approach while noting that he declines any kind of medication I suggest."
"I see. So that's the way you handle things?" She knew that if there were any kind of lawsuits, meticulous notes needed to be taken that proper care had been offered and suggested and then declined by the patient.
"Yes. I have not told anyone that they cannot continue to come if they don't abide by what the medical standards suggest. I just can't do that. Even though my insurance company has threatened to drop me over and over."
"I see."
Hannah shivered a bit. The idea of not having insurance was scary. Lawsuits could, and often did, run into the millions of dollars. They needed to be covered. Still, she truly believed from the depths of her soul that patients should have the final say in their care. Doctors were not infallible, and they certainly were not God. Theycould give recommendations, but she'd seen doctors give ultimatums and unceremoniously and rather rudely kick patients out of their practice for not doing exactly what they were told. She just didn't feel that was the right way to handle it either.
"The second patient will be my mother. She... she has an issue that no one in the family knows about." Terry looked up, and Hannah met her eyes. They both knew that as doctors, all medical information had to be kept confidential. But Terry was telling her that what would normally be casual conversation could not be.
"She has leukemia, and she has decided not to go with traditional treatment."
"Oh." Hannah didn't know what else to say. Leukemia was usually very easily treated in most cases. But with Marjorie choosing not to do treatment, she was setting herself up for a slow and possibly very painful death.
"How long has she refused treatment?"
"She was diagnosed about nine months ago, I believe. At first she didn't want to do any treatment at all, but I started researching natural treatment options, and... I'm kind of doing that on the side." She seemed a little sheepish about it, and Hannah understood why. Medical doctors did not practice alternative medicine. It could void their license, cause their insurance to cancel, and get them into a world of trouble.
"Because she's your mother?"
"Yes. I know she's not going to sue me, and she's not going to say anything either. But she does come here for blood tests and other things. And you're going to know about it."
"I see."
That was a hard one, but she understood. No one would want to see their mother at least not try to fight the cancer.
"Are the methods working?"
"I suppose. She's not gotten worse. But her recovery has been slow, if you can call it that. She’s also very tired constantly. And... I'm just not sure if it's going to work or not."
Hannah nodded, and Terry seemed to gather herself.
"You might end up talking to her because I have Brenda Bryant scheduled at the same time, and she's already told me that she won't see anyone but me. I wouldn't mind if you have time to pop into the room to say hi. I suppose that will be the best way to ease you into these patients who refuse to broaden their horizons and see a different provider."
"All right. I'll make a note of doing that, and I can definitely see your mom. I met her on the street when I was going grocery shopping, and she's just as wonderful as I remember her." The idea that she had cancer was devastating. But it made sense because she had noticed that the woman seemed tired and worn.
"Yes. I tried to explain to Mom that she needed to take the treatments for the cancer because the town needed her, not just because I selfishly wanted her."
"She's definitely a wonderful woman. Why did she say she didn't want to take the treatments?" Hannah asked this, even though she knew she could look at the chart and the information was most likely there.
"I think she was afraid, honestly. But she also said she was ready to die. And if God wanted to take her, He could."
"So she doesn't believe in traditional medicine?" She thought that was odd, considering that Marjorie had a daughter who was a doctor.
"I don't think that's it necessarily. Although she definitely puts more faith and trust in God than she does in medicine." Terry gave a self-effacing smile, as though she knew it was odd considering that she was a doctor.
"I do too. At least I say I do. Although... I don't know if I had cancer that I would just calmly say I'll trust God to do whatever He wants. That's... that's a crazy amount of trust and faith. Because... she could die." She knew that Terry knew that, but sometimes saying the words out loud just made them more real.
"I know, right? But even if she did the traditional medicine, shecould still die. Or, as she said to me, she could be hit by a car walking down the street. God could take her whenever He wants to. And... somehow she's not really afraid."
"But she's afraid of cancer treatment?"
Even as she asked that question, Hannah knew it was a legitimate fear. Sometimes the treatment was almost worse than the disease, and she knew people could die from the treatment rather than the disease. Or at least die as a consequence of taking the treatments. They could be really nasty and harsh, but they needed to be in order to fight the cancer.
