butterflies.....again!

 

i had another dose of butterflies some weeks back.....

 

this was a middle-aged man with a tumour that secretes a hormone which raises the blood pressure. never in my 28 years in medical practice have i seen anyone with a blood pressure of 307/111 (!!!) until that day.

 

 

but there's always a 1st time for everything, yes?

 

a sudden surge in BP is never good, particularly for the brain or heart & a stroke or a heart attack is a very real threat.

 

to cut a long story short, the body is a wonderful machine which can withstand  multiple insults & assaults & still come through largely intact.

 

the tumour was successfully removed after a 6-hour surgery. while the patient will probably live longer now, i fear, ironically, that my life just got cut short by at least 3 months.