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HeroicStories #804: The Amazing Doctor
Reaching more than 37,000 subscribers in 118 countries, this is...
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HeroicStories #804: 23 June 2010 www.HeroicStories.com
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The Amazing Doctor Story Editor:
by A. Dawn McConkey Pat Fletcher
Ohio, USA
The day our son was born turned out to be quite a nightmare.
We had no idea that he had a serious heart defect and a plethora of
other problems. The medical staff also wasn't prepared. There were no
specialists on hand, so no one was ready when the little guy turned blue
and stopped crying.
Later, a man I'd never seen before entered my room with my husband in
tow. Standing at the foot of my bed, Dr. Sushant explained that
Children's Hospital had sent a mobile ICU to transport Jacob to a
better-equipped hospital. He explained dreadful things about my child,
speaking softly but in a positive and upbeat manner with a smile on his
lips.
From some doctors, this behavior may have seemed condescending at such a
dark hour, but from Dr. Sushant, his sincere faith that my little boy
would be fine was highly contagious. When he said something, I just
believed it.
I developed a staph infection the next day and was further devastated
because I was unable to be released to join my son. Dr. Sushant was by
my side when I woke up. His face was worried, but he still had that
smile. He said, "We almost lost you, now you get better because Jacob
needs you."
I later learned that Dr. Sushant had been the hospital's on-call
pediatrician when Jacob was born. It was because of him that my son
survived. Then he spent the day at the hospital out of concern for a
mother who was being separated from her very sick infant.
He visited me twice a day because he was calling Jacob's hospital up to
four times a day, and he wanted to come and tell me in person what the
doctors were telling him. He drew pictures of Jacob's heart to explain
what was going on and how it would be corrected. The nurses said he
loved our family and he didn't want me to be scared.
These days, it's rare to find a doctor who remembers a face from one
visit to the next. For months Dr. Sushant saw Jacob every two weeks. He
kept in constant contact with Jacob's other doctors. He came to Jacob's
parties, even showing off Jacob to his sweet wife.
His billing office was instructed to write off any amount that wasn't
paid by insurance. He once went so far as to offer to put us up in his
home when we were worried about losing our home to medical bills. He was
laughing at the time, but I don't think he was kidding. Dr. Sushant is a
wonderful person, one whose every move is fueled by love.
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Please take a look at today's ad, because our advertisers help fund
HeroicStories, and most of them are small entrepreneurs. Our former
HeroicStories editor Clayton Bennett spotted this wonderful business,
and brought them to our attention. We think it's a great idea.
Our last story, "The Better Gift" (#803), brought smiles to a few
readers' faces. Our author described giving $4.00 to a homeless man
after she saw him changing his socks for a new pair. He then wrote her a
thank you note, and suggested she could also give socks to the homeless.
Lauri in Oklahoma wrote: "This was a wonderful story and gave me an idea
for helping the homeless of OKC! We have a small group of homeless
veterans that, for whatever reason, would rather sleep in the tunnels of
downtown OKC than go to a shelter. They appear to be harmless -- I've
spoken to one or two and passed out bottled water a few times as I walk
from my office to parking lot. They don't beg, but they are always
grateful. I love, love, love the socks idea!"
Allison in Washington adds: "A church near where I live runs a 'clothing
bank' in its basement with a reader board advertisement for it. They
work really hard to run this service for the homeless and others, even
having industrial sized washers installed. For years I've given them
socks every couple months. I get the giant packs at Costco, and ask that
they break them down into smaller amounts. Thus I spend about $5.00 a
month."
Tim in New York commented on "Wisdom in Seventeen Words" (#802). "I note
that Muhammed Ali perceived that the author might feel guilt about his
job, and the son might feel resentment, and came up with a way to put it
in perspective that might help them both feel better about their lives.
Understanding someone else's life and responding in an appropriate way
like that is often really difficult, and requires careful attention and
effort. For a big star with a tough medical condition to pay that much
attention and effort to another is pretty heroic." (The full story is on
our archives: http://heroicstories.com/archives.html .)
Every once in a while we get a comment that further verifies that our
stories are indeed true! Gary (location unknown) wrote: "Somehow I must
have missed reading #802, but followed up after seeing the reference to
Bill Lifesey [the author]. I met Bill last November when he was the
'Block Leader' at the 2009 Carter Habitat for Humanity Build in Chiang
Mai, Thailand."
Tom in Wisconsin sent another comment in the continuing reader
conversation about thanking people in service jobs. "I like the idea of
a note of thanks to the individual -- but for real impact, try a note or
comment to the owner or supervisor. It has a real impact on the worker
who provided the good service, when the boss tells them about it, and a
copy often goes into their HR file. I'll never forget the look on a
store manager's face when I told him how pleased I was with the service
from one of his employees. He thanked me profusely -- and said I had
'made his day'."
Chris in Australia adds: "I thank the driver as I disembark a bus, and
I've noticed that quite a few other people pause for a cheery 'Thank
you!' as they exit. A few years ago, I don't remember it being quite so
prevalent, and it's probably coincidence, but perhaps my thank-yous have
encouraged others to do the same! In any case, whatever service someone
has done for you, and whatever you've paid them to do it, they've
merited your thanks. It costs a moment but lasts indefinitely."
Joyce Schowalter, Networker in Chief
Co-Conspirator to Make the World a Better Place
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