My bff works for a GENIUS ocular surgeon and he has NO bedside manner at all, he's terrible with children but he SAVES lives, sight, and in some cases, reconstructs after terrible accidents. In my area a little two yr old was run over by a ride on lawn mower, lost most of his face but this doc, and many others, got together and saved his face, his sight, his life and he is now five, going to school and living life and the sweetest little boy you'll ever meet so I think these docs who r amazing, r so focused on the logistics of what they do that bedside manner becomes secondary. I'll take skill over personality anyday and just cry all the way home...as long as he can fix my sore ass!! 9 days!

Hi Elphie – you’re absolutely right, when you think about the amazing things surgeons can do to save lives and improve people’s quality of life, bedside manner really is a secondary consideration. That’s what I’ve come around to thinking about my own situation, which is why I haven’t bailed on my CRS. I really have no reason to doubt his skill and actually quite a few reasons to have a lot of confidence in his surgical abilities.

What an amazing story about the little boy. I am so glad the docs were able to do so much for him. What a brave kid too!
Thanks for sharing about the great work surgeons do. I need to be reminded about that, since I hear so many stories about crazy doctors. I shouldn’t rant too unfairly about surgeons. They are notoriously odd people, and probably for good reason, since that job involves a lot of pressure. I’m just a bit sensitive (and possibly over-sensitive) because of bad experiences I’ve known about involving people who are already vulnerable. I remember too well how stigmatization and sexual hang-ups interfered with effective medical management of HIV/AIDs in its initial years, and how this caused so much unnecessary misery for marginalized people especially. The only thing I really care about is that nobody gets stigmatized in a doctor’s office. Otherwise I’m quite fine with doctors being abrupt, odd, and even rude as long as they know what they’re doing! I’m like you – I’m happy to cry after the appointment, just please fix my ass!!!
9 days to go! I’m so excited for you! I’m sure at this point you can’t wait to get the surgery behind you and get down to the business of recovering your health.
I'm crossing the days off on my calendar!

I was ready to dump my doc at first too when my BF pointed this out to me. He is cold, abrupt, makes me feel like it's my fault but at least (I hope) I'm just about done with him. I'm also glad I'll get the busy stuff like Easter and birthdays out of the way before my surgery so after I can just try to recover...I simply can't begin to imagine a normal day without any pain! I hope it happens!