Physician removed forcibly from United flight after overbooking--UPDATED

[Ms. Toad]

316. Wow. You are obviously extremely lucky with your health.

My daughter has a rare disease, which people travel thousands of miles to have treated by specific physicians who are the only ones who have expertise in this disease and the comorbid diseases. Within months after diagnosis she traveled to Boston (550 miles away) several times a year to participate in a drug trial. The trial was open to her becuase it had been an ongoing trial for 2 years - attempting (and failing) to find the 15 local trial participants it needed. It ultimately terminated with 9 patients - including my daughter.

A friend of ours, who is on staff at the Cleveland Clinic, has the same disease and has been waiting more than a month with a very aggressive comorbid cancer because the only potentially life-saving treatment available is at the Mayo Clinic.

And that's just my daughter and her disase.

I was left under anesthesia for hours while I waited for my doctor, who was called in to fix up the job another could nto finish, because the surgery is delicate enough that most people develop life-long nerve complications. (Fortunately, because no one tried to tell me that my doctor was fungible, I have no complications.)

So no, doctors are not fungible.