One case is one too many

I have been attending the annual meetings of the American Society of Anesthesiologists since 2004.  These are huge meetings with hundreds of individual sessions, necessitating some hard choices about which sessions to attend out of so many choices.

I was lucky to be accompanied by long-time friend and fellow choir singer, Anne Black.  She was invaluable in helping me get around, figure where to go, and graciously serve as constant companion.  So many people help me accomplish the work of this Campaign!

This year I was privileged and humbled to be a Refresher Course lecturer.  I spoke for 24 minutes of a 2-hour panel on Sunday afternoon, October 18.  The panel was titled Best Practices:  It’s Not Just Science, and my speech was titled Be Aware:  The

Role of Patient Advocates. The session was opened and moderated by Dr. Dan Cole; and other speakers included Dr. Jeffrey Apfelbaum (past president of the ASA) and Dr. Karen Domino (head of all of ASA’s registries, including the awareness registry).  The session, held in a double room, was very well attended. Both the moderator and Dr. Apfelbaum said they had searched the records of ASA meetings, and this was the first time “a patient has addressed the Society.”  Being unable to see any of the audience, I had no visual feedback as I spoke, and while being repositioned after my speech, was unaware of what I am told was sincere and sustained applause.  The panel did not have time to accept the hoped-for 30 minutes of Q&A.

We had some terrific meals with various friends and organizations.

Relationships were renewed, established, and strengthened during these evenings.  It seems to be assumed that there is much free time at ASA meetings, but in reality, I had exactly 2 hours of “tourist” time before we caught our plane home after 6 very busy days!  The convention hall was just short of a mile (according to hall officials) and many were the times we had one meeting at one end (which Anne named Florida) and the next at the other end (a.k.a. Texas!).

I spoke at a book signing of a friend, Dr. Fred Ernst, on Tuesday night.

A special experience was being the “subject” of two Problem-Based Learning Discussions moderated  by Dr. Don Mathews.  These are small groups (about 12) where the discussion is interactive.  At one of the sessions there was another awareness victim/anesthesiologist and also an anesthesiologist who had had a known awareness victim (both international attendees); at the other there were two anesthesiologists with known awareness victims, besides myself.

There was a tremendous number of sessions having something to do with awareness or consciousness in some form or other.

Thinking back to 2004, when a guard tried to deny me admission to a meeting, and most meeting moderators reminded their audience that there were “non-anesthesiologists in the audience,” this year’s meeting showed amazing progress.  In those early meetings, my website was often projected on the lecture screens with disdain and ridicule; this year the Campaign was on many screens as a significant force in a positive manner.

The last 11-1/2 years have not been easy for me or for the ASA to accept.  The last 3 years have been ones of great progress, trust, and collaboration.  The 2009 meeting was historic and humbling.  Those who heard me speak listened politely and intently, and in my opinion, many of them “got it!”

I’m happy that I see my work as a God-given mission.  It certainly hasn’t been easy, and my heart breaks each time a new victim calls.  I’m not at my goal yet:  that of being obsolete.  We’re not at the goal of “One case is one too many.”  We all are certainly moving toward home base.  Never, ever give up!

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