Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 6, Volume 6 | Page 16

LIFE STORIES (CONT’D.)

Four years ago I was a dead man, and even I am amazed at the almost full recovery I have made since
then. Imagine. I was clinically dead for close to an hour, trying to reach a final destination, but my guardian
angel would not let me go.!
Coming back wasn’t easy. I didn’t just wake up like I might have in a TV show and say, “Okay, folks, I’m
back,” get up from the bed and go on my way. After years of therapy and mental ups and downs, I am that
as close to my old self as I will ever be. Although some things and memories will never come back, I am so
thrilled to be able to be here and tell my story. I have been back at work in my beloved profession as an
oncology nurse, and maybe that is part of the reason I was saved. There was still too much for me to do. I
am honored to have been named Nurse of the Year-New York, 2015.
The misdiagnosis cost me and my family a lot. You might think it was a clear malpractice case. So did
we.
EVEN THOUGH MALPRACTICE WAS PROVEN, I LOST MY CASE

After 3 years, I finally got my day in court and was well prepared to testify against the cardiologist who I
feel killed me. As crazy as this sounds, I was still testifying when the doctor got up and walked out of the
courtroom! I had waited three years to look this doctor in the eye to let him know that I know he made a
terrible mistake in not doing anything except to once again reassure me that it wasn't my heart during the
last emergency visit. Hard to believe, but he had even laughed it off, literally, telling me I worried too much.
I'd waited for the satisfaction of seeing him listen to me say he'd given me the wrong medical advice and
considered it his fault that I went through what I did. But, by walking out, he even took that away from me.
Then, in an astonishing verdict, the six person jury found him not liable despite all of the evidence
pointing to malpractice. At that moment, I vowed I would go through the pain of reliving my story by telling
it in print, on the air and anywhere I can. If you don’t have confidence that a doctor is making the right
diagnosis, PLEASE seek a second opinion. This never should have happened according to the surgeon who
saved my life.

2012 HOVERING BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2016

2015 WITH MY WIFE CHERYL

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WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE