IN SHORT It all started not so long ago. In
fact, though I can't be completely sure about it, I think it was only five
months ago. My name is Jeff Washburn and I am a surgeon. Not that
long ago my life under went a huge change. Unfortunately a huge
misfortune had to take place first. Not that long ago, I had a terrible thing
happen to me. A misfortune led to my being expelled from the hospital
and my medical license being revoked. Two patients died on me. I might
have gotten away with only one but the board of directors are good at
finding patterns. Don't get me wrong, I want these people to die. I just
happened to be drunk at the time. Now I drink even more just to soften
the constant hangover. The hearing were probably the worst part of whole
ordeal. Three weeks of being put in the spotlight. Every inch of my life
was put under a big magnifying glass. Every mistake I made in the last
fourteen years was read bunch of know-nothings who sit and pretend to
run a hospital. The mistakes weren't very frequent, at least, not until I
started to drink. I suppose you want to know the reason I started to
drink. Well, I mess up bigtime during a triple bypass and killed a patient.
That's when the drinking started and thedrinking lead to the death of
another patient. Now I drink even more and remember evenless which
means its working. About a month ago I left England, which is where I
worked, and moved here to asmall fishing island off the coast of France.
There is no doctor on the island so they welcomed me, sort of. I scare
them I suppose. They're afraid they might catch me when I'm to drunk to
work properly. But now things are different. About three weeks ago I
had a big wake-up call.I was sitting in my normal Sunday drunken stupor
when a man was brought in to my office. This man had been seriously
injured by gun shot wounds. Apparently he had be found in the ocean by
a group of fishermen. I knew that I could not perform the necessary
surgery in my present condition. I bandaged him up and stooped the
major bleeding. Then I took two hours and did all I could to dry out. With
my condition a little better I performed the most delicate surgery of my
life. For another hour I scrubbed at the wound in his head. Cleaning it as
best I could. One wrong stroke and it would be all over. Any evidence of
intoxication still left in me disappeared at that point more out of fear then
need. Once his head was cleaned I made a small incision and attempted
to remove the bullet that was lodged inside. I then closed up the wound.
From there it was touch and go. He had a fifty percent chance of living.
For the next two weeks I tried my best to stay sober. When I couldn't stay
sober I at least cut down the amount I drunk. Then one day he woke
up. We started a small conversation in which I asked him his name.
Amnesia. He had amnesia. I tried to help him remember anything I could
about his old life. And in some respects we made some progress. I
thought it was finally time for him to leave. I gave him whatever money I
could muster up and he went off in search of his life. It wasn't till after he
left that I realized I had not taken one drink since he woke up. And ever
since I have been sober. It stuck me then that some people can have a
verybig effect on other people. Since he left I was rehired by the hospital.
I am doing pretty good for my self and I just hope my former patient is
finding what he was searching for.
. when the drinking started and thedrinking lead to the death of
another patient. Now I drink even more and remember evenless which
means its working. About. hearing were probably the worst part of whole
ordeal. Three weeks of being put in the spotlight. Every inch of my life
was put under a big magnifying glass.