Looking in the Mirror

I was deeply touched by Helen’s story regarding the death of her son, Lewis Blackman, not only on a cognitive level of understanding but as if I had traveled back to 2010, when my family lost my maternal grandmother to patient safety errors. My grandmother lived with me and cared for me from the moment I was born until her dying day. She helped raise me, as both of my parents were busy physicians early in their medical careers when I was born. I was fascinated by Helen’s words in, “The Faces of Medical Errors… From Tears to Transparency, The Story of Lewis Blackman,” and I jotted down quotes of hers that were eerily similar to those of my mother regarding my grandmother’s case. Helen characterized the hospital as a “system that’s operating for its own benefit,” much as my mother had wondered aloud why everyone seems to be going… Continue reading →