Before Steve was discharged from the hospital, he was read a list of numbers he could call for medical assistance. I found myself having to resist the urge to snatch the paper and start dialing the phone. Is this really the face of a man that's well enough to go home (as they referred to it)?
The reason I went as early as I did was to speak to his doctor, the doctor who never showed up; the same doctor who didn't return my phone call yesterday. I wanted to ask him if he felt anything, letting this man leave the hospital. I wanted to know if he was sorry that the rules are what they are. I wanted to know if he ever thinks of breaking those rules simply because they are immoral and unjust. I wondered if he understood that this patient of his planned to spend the night, passed out on a concrete floor (which is, so far as I know now) exactly what happened. When I finally left him, he'd been offered that same floor (there's a blind assumption that he'll stay there) for the next three days only, then it's anyone's guess.
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