Before I tell you about my experience with Marc Ehrich, M.D., please let me put it into context by telling you what led up to it. This was an experience that felt horrible and traumatic to me and that I'm afraid will haunt me for the rest of my life.
When my family member was a patient in the hospital for a respiratory infection, I repeatedly begged hospital staff to suction his mucous and monitor his airway. They didn't listen. The on-call physician (substituting for his excellent primary doctor) didn't make sure the patient got the level of care he needed to keep his airway clear. So a mucous plug formed and caused respiratory arrest and then cardiopulmonary arrest.
My family and I personally watched in horror as hospital staff performed CPR on my loved one. It was terrifying and traumatic beyond words. Only after the arrest did they finally transfer him to the ICU.
While my family and I stood outside the ICU praying, Dr. Ehrich arrived as the cardiology consultant. He seemed to me to be angry and annoyed as he walked down the hall and into the ICU. I didn't know him, and he didn't know us.
My family and I vividly remember that after walking out of the ICU, Dr. Ehrich said to me in a tone of voice that I personally perceived to be angry, cold, and arrogant, and that is still etched into my soul, "What you're doing to him is cruel. He's never going to leave the ICU" or very similar words to that effect.
Let me be clear: My loved one had a legally binding advance healthcare directive, which he executed and which demanded aggressive lifesaving care. That's why I was shocked when Dr. Ehrich essentially told me I was cruel because of the aggressive lifesaving care that my loved one was receiving and had specified in his advance healthcare directive. Dr. Ehrich also didn't know that we had just spent many hours trying to prevent the cardiopulmonary arrest, had just watched the staff do CPR, and were already shattered.
I was too stunned and too afraid to argue with Dr. Ehrich at that critical time. I didn't want to escalate the already traumatic situation because I was afraid that it would have given Dr. Ehrich another chance to say more words that I perceived to be angry and cruel. I was also afraid that escalating the situation might have jeopardized my loved one's care. So, to defuse the situation, all I managed to say to Dr. Ehrich was, "Thank you for your opinion."
The next day, I fired Dr. Ehrich and made sure he was never called as a consultant again.
And here is the most important part: Dr. Ehrich's prognosis of my loved one's impending death in the ICU turned out to be completely wrong. My loved one left that ICU, lived for many more years, and shared his love with all of us until the very end.
Although I feel blessed that my loved one proved Dr. Ehrich very wrong by living for many more years, I unfortunately still carry deep within me Dr. Ehrich's unforgettable words that I personally perceived to be cruel and heartless at one of the worst moments of my life. read more
