When Pride Becomes a Matter of Life and Death: The Shocking Truth Behind Embarrassment
We both decided, at the time, that the worst possibility was an infection. We can correct plumbing malfunctions, but when a pathogen is involved, we need pharmaceuticals. And they are unreliable; you cannot count on them unless you have a very common—and lucrative—disease.
But we did agree that an infection would, at the very least, give me a “fun” story to tell.
Competing Diagnoses
All stories or explanations would have to be put on hold, however, because it was time for an echocardiogram. The technician who performed the procedure was at her mannequin best: she was only slightly more disinterested in giving me an opinion than she was in performing the test. But it might have been the best test that I have ever had. With a clinically uncaring manner, she left me disheveled. Caroline moved quickly to correct the technician’s carelessness and, in doing so, noticed what had been missed by so many health-care professionals who had complete access to my body: a Lyme disease bullseye rash.
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