johnhenrehan's Blog

I felt a little dopey doing it, but, just before I went in the hospital for surgery on my left knee, I took out a band-aid, and with a magic marker, wrote, WRONG KNEE.  I affixed that band-aid to my right knee.

When I got to the surgical prep area, I felt a little sheepish, because the whiteboard had "Henrehan -- left knee" written on it.  And the surgical nurse wrote her initials on my left thigh.

I thought, "Boy, they're gonna think I'm a moron, when they see that band-aid." 

Then my surgeon came in.  After consulting his notes, the first words out of his mouth were, "So, we're operating on that torn ACL and meniscus damage on your right knee, today."

I thought he was kidding.  He wasn't.  I said, "No, it's my left knee that  I damaged at volleyball."  "Left?" he replied, "No, I have it here in my notes as the right knee."  He showed me his typewritten notes.  Twice those notes indicated the injury was to the right knee.  His notes were completely wrong!

I assured my doctor that I recalled the injury happening to my left knee.  I recalled the x-rays and MRI's were taken of the left knee, and I recalled his earlier diagnosis and treatment of the injury.  To my LEFT knee. 

He  scratched out the word "right" in his notes, and hand-wrote "left."  He proceeded to perform a competent operation on my left knee.

The MORAL of this true story:  forget the band-aid.  Next time I have to face surgery, I'm taking the sharpie and writing write on my own skin:  WRONG KNEE!

John Henrehan

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