April 22, 2006
Saturday

To the Editor:

When Mother died twelve days before her ninety-eighth birthday, my loss was immeasurable. When Jessie Geyer died when she was seven, Mark and Michelle Geyer's loss was infinitely more devastating.

When I think about Mother, I think of what was. When Mark and Michelle think about Jessie, they think of what could have been, what should have been.

Mother died in God's time. Jessie died in a doctor's time.

Mother died in my brother's home where family and friends stood watch with me. Jessie died in an emergency room where Michelle and Mark stood in the presence of emergency room personnel who did not know their cherished Jessie.

Mother's death was a quiet blessing. Jessie's death was a disruption of order, a betrayal of promise.

Mother was buried in Kentucky in the fullness of time. Jessie was buried in California, too soon gone.

Those of us who have compassion in our hearts must do all that we can to assure that another child does not die as the result of medical malpractice, that other parents do not walk away from a cemetery to mourn for the rest of their lives the loss of a child dear to them beyond words.


Jane Marshall
Dover, TN - USA




About: An advocate for patient's rights, Jane Marshall writes, "If doctors want to restore their once enviable status in society, they should pay the price when they commit malpractice. They should be grateful that price is monetary and does not involve time spent in jail."

 

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