Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon’s Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table

Product Information

In medicine, life and death are constantly intersecting. Live are fragile. While doctors strive to save every life, there are still times when even their best efforts fall short. It is in times like these that it is so tempting to descend into a maelstrom of despondency. Yet, it is also in times like these that strength must prevail, and one must carry on in spite of regret and failure.

Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon’s Stories of Life [PDF] [EPUB] Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon’s Stories of Life

These cases are fascinating if poignant to read. There is an amount of medical detail included but the language used is accessible. Westaby’s confidence in his abilities and willingness to take risks not only saved many of the lives he held in his hands but also led others in his field to do the same. These world class doctors worked together, sharing techniques and outcomes for the good of their patients as well as furthering their own careers. As a child Westaby watched two of his grandparents die slow painful deaths; his grandfather from heart failure and his grandmother from a cancer which left her to suffocate. This experience has clearly directed his career and his desires to help those who would otherwise be written off. He says you need to be objective as a surgeon, but he never comes across as uncaring. You must provide the right equipment to prevent falls and ensure those using it have the right skills and experience to work safely.. Raw and moving... the writing is thrilling. Fragile Lives is a frank and absorbing memoir by a man who has done about as much good to his fellow human beings as it is possible to do in one lifetime.’– The Times, Book of the Week As a rugby-playing, testosterone-fuelled medical student, aged 18, he illicitly watched from the eaves of the Ether Dome, in the then Charing Cross hospital, as a 26-year-old woman called Beth was operated on for a heart weakened by rheumatic fever. She died. A year later, Christiaan Barnard performed the first human-to-human heart transplant. The patient lived for 18 days.

Teachers can use the National Fragile X Foundation’s Lesson Planning Guide for Fragile X to learn more about the best strategies for teaching children with Fragile X. What Type of Classroom Medication is most effective when paired with therapy designed to teach new coping or behavioral skills. Not every medication helps every child. ALCAPA手术技术有局限，失败率也很高，于是我趁飞行的时间思考别的手术方案。等到飞机巡航到爪哇上空时，我已经设计好了新的方案。我是最后一个上飞机的，到伦敦时又成了第一个下来的。就在我等待飞机连接空桥、打开舱门的时候，客舱服务总监给我递上一瓶香槟，祝我好运。她轻声说：“我姐姐的孩子就是您动的手术。”世界真小。我谢了她。

Fragile Lives by Stephen Westaby | Waterstones

Not everyone with the mutated FMR1 gene has symptoms of Fragile X syndrome, because the body may still be able to make FMRP. A few things affect how much FMRP the body can make:Control: Work on or near fragile surfaces requires a combination of stagings, guard rails, fall restraint, fall arrest and safety nets slung beneath and close to the roof. The cases presented here were fascinating, engrossing, interesting, occasionally heartbreaking and also suspenseful (I occasionally (*cough*fairlyoften*cough*) sped up the narration to finish a tale or two or three before heading into work). Seeing what went on during the operations made me appreciate this profession and the ones who put their patients first.

Fragile Lives by Stephen Westaby | Book Review Fragile Lives by Stephen Westaby | Book Review

b]As I received this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review, the review itself will be written in English as so it is the book. I feel the need to provide an review for its community in the same language it was provided to me. [/b] Westaby often describes the torture of empathy and the need for a surgeon to avoid it so that he can stay focused and keep trying to save lives. But his empathy still shines through in every chapter. No more so than in ‘The Girl with No Name’, when Westaby is working in Saudi Arabia for a few months and he must operate on a baby boy whose Somali-born mother was kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery before escaping and walking countless miles holding her dying child before rescue. Over 10 000 employees suffered a major injury because of a slip or trip at work last year and falls from height remain the most common cause of workplace fatality. This is an incredible compilation. I'm not sure why, but with medicine, despite the fact that you lose more patients than you can save, it's those few survivors that give you the ability to persevere. They make it all matter. It doesn't matter how smart you are, you just need to be smart enough to care more than others, to be more passionate than others. It's tragic that a healthcare system is in the hands of political leaders who usually don't know enough about the preciousness of human life. Its not just the NHS, its a lot of countries' healthcare systems. Its tragic because lives are lost when support was needed. Falls through fragile roofs and fragile roof lights cause death and serious injury. They account for almost a fifth of all the fatal accidents which result from a fall from height in the construction industry.

Westaby was determined to save the child as he understood the torment the young woman felt as she finally relinquished her iron-like grip on her precious bundle of rags. Intent on bringing good news to the mother, he tried a heretical method which proved successful. Unfortunately, immediately after the operation, his attention was diverted to another trauma patient. Within this time, tampering from the inexperienced intensive care team led to a rapid deterioration that left the boy beyond salvation. There was nothing Westaby could do to reverse the damage. The bureaucracy/politics of the medical system baffled me on more than one occasion. I shared Westaby's frustrations with it all and wanted to shake these people till common sense popped in their heads. (As my one friend said before... "This is why some people are frustrated with and/or hate the Health profession") Like Henry Marsh, Westaby has become disgruntled with an NHS bogged down in bureaucracy. It's only briefly mentioned at the end, but you can sense his frustration with the system in some of the cases. Who thinks it makes sense to send senior surgeons on courses to learn CPR? And the death list! Some government idiot decided to name and shame surgeons who have deaths on their operating tables. Seriously ill people will die sometimes. This just deters surgeons from taking risks, risks that could save lives. Most people given a chance of a slow and painful death or a risky surgery, would rather have the surgery. Instead they are filled with drugs and sent home to die. The balance between life and death is so delicate, and the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two. In the operating room there is no time for do... He covers mostly his professional career and gives very little insight into his personal life. The book is written in such an empathic manner that one could rejoice with the author when a patient is saved. A very detailed account of every case but the author mostly focuses on the surgical procedure. I like the author's approach as a surgeon, he was empathic and at the same time with very tough nerves. This book is a little technical and you can get through it if you have a basic idea of the anatomy and physiology of the heart and lungs.