Life on the Other End of the Pager by Kris Math

It was nearly midnight when the phone finally rang. Though my husband, Thomas, had paged the oncologist only 5 minutes earlier, it felt like we had waited much longer for him to call us back. As I sat on the sofa listening to Thomas describe my symptoms, I couldn’t help but wonder what was happening in the oncologist’s house that night. Was his wife sitting next to him annoyed that another patient had interrupted a perfectly good evening? Were they watching a good movie or lying in bed sleeping?...

Time. When it comes right down to it, the medical relationship is all about time. At first it’s the kind of time that seems like it will never end. Medical school (don’t forget almost interminable route of MD/PhD chosen by some), intern year, residency — hey — why not tack on a few research years and we might as well do a fellowship while we’re here. God forbid someone chooses to change a specialty along the way. Best-case scenario you’re looking at 7 years (after college). Worst-case...

I’m sure she didn’t expect more than antibiotics when she went to the ER last month. It was her second visit. At her first a few weeks earlier, she had been diagnosed with a UTI. Now, she had lower abdominal pain that wouldn’t go away. This time, they pulled out the big guns – she got a CT and the worst news of her young life. In the next few weeks, she would have surgery, receive two types of chemotherapy and travel in and out of the ICU. At the month’s end, she was dead at 25....

This weekend, my husband and I went out for a rare dinner alone. As luck would have it, we ran into one of his patients while waiting to be seated. “Your husband walks on water”, the woman declared to me. “You must be very special for him to have picked you”. I let the comment sink in. To say that I was amused is an understatement. It took every ounce of self-control that I have not to laugh out loud. Yes, I thought sarcastically, how lucky I am that he….chose me. My husband, of cour...