Notes from a Doctor's Pocket

Lesslie Robert D.

Description

These Notes from a Doctor's Pocket come from the decades of ER experience of bestselling author Dr. Robert Lesslie, whose routine faced him with times of grief or pain, relief or delight, life or death. Such everyday happenings and encounters gave rise to these vignettes--in which readers will meet up with the characters, coincidences, and complications common to the emergency room: characters like Freddy, who literally shoots himself in the foot coincidences like finally having the chance to hear what patients say to each other when doctors and nurses aren't in the room complications such as dealing with parents who buy lottery tickets and alcohol instead of medicine for their little boy These heart-tugging, heart-lifting slices of life will prompt readers to search for opportunities to give the comfort of a touch, the grace of a kind word, or a prayer that brings hope and healing.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736954815
• Langue: English

Extrait

Endorsements
What people are saying about Robert Lesslie s previous books

Angels on the Night Shift
Excellent book. I read it in one evening. I had a fellow ER nurse borrow it as soon as I finished Thank you for sharing this book with us.
Ginger
Fast-paced, fascinating, well-written, and absorbing I thoroughly enjoyed this and will certainly be looking out for any other books written by this medical author.
TheGardenWindow.blogspot.com
I love your books! Always wondering who will burst through those doors next! Some of the stories are heartbreaking, some are encouraging, but all of them motivate me to become the best nurse possible. I can t wait for the next one!
Ruth
Angels and Heroes
Just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your books as educational as well as inspirational respites from the day-to-day responsibilities of life May God bless and keep you.
Kim
I am not one who likes to read, but when I started I could not put this book down It made me realize that there are still good people on earth. I am a full-time police officer and a volunteer firefighter/EMS. I can t wait to pass this book on to others in my field.
Gary
What stories are held in this book-people who just go the whole way to be a help and sacrifice their lives! I am not much of a reader of nonfiction like this but I fell in love with this book.
GiveawayGal.blogspot.com
Angels on Call
Thank you for the amazingly awesome books you have written. As a Christian pursuing a career in medicine, I find them really inspiring. I had tears in my eyes many times, especially in Angels on Call . I love, love, love these books!
Alina
As an assistant principal I have reflected on my own life s work with adolescent students as I read each account I am writing to share how very much I enjoyed your book, especially the inspiring scriptural references accompanying each story.
Don
The book was an inspiration during a difficult time in our lives Your humility and humanity jumped out at me. I truly believe God works through us and that there are angels among us.
Chuck
Angels in the ER
The most inspiring and relatable book I have read throughout my college career in nursing school I often feel that my small contributions of extra time with patients or a simple smile have no impact on anyone s life. I was inspired by your book and appreciated the Bible verses throughout.
Katie
I am a busy working mother but managed to read the entire book in less than three days. The way you described the people and the situations was brilliant You see things in a very special way and have made me see thank you.
Jamie
Having spent ten years as a coordinator for our emergency department, I was very intrigued to read your stories You have a very eloquent way of relating things that most people will never experience, but probably should Your kindness, care, and compassion shine through.
Alicia
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Cover by Left Coast Design, Portland, Oregon
Cover photo Yuri Arcurs / Shutterstock
All the incidents described in this book are true. Where individuals may be identifiable, they have granted the author and the publisher the right to use their names, stories, and/or facts of their lives in all manners, including composite or altered representations. In all other cases, names, circumstances, descriptions, and details have been changed to render individuals unidentifiable.
NOTES FROM A DOCTOR S POCKET
Copyright 2013 by Robert D. Lesslie, MD
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lesslie, Robert D.
[Notes. Selections]
Notes from a doctor s pocket / Robert D. Lesslie, MD.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-7369-5480-8 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5481-5 (eBook)
1. Physicians-Anecdotes. 2. Medicine-Anecdotes. I. Title.
R705.L47 2013
610.92-dc23
2013006903
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a non-transferable, non-exclusive, and non-commercial right to access and view this electronic publication and agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
This collection of reflections is dedicated to the memory of my father, Thomas Ellis Lesslie, who taught me the importance of observation and to not take myself too seriously.
Acknowledgments
I would espcially like to thank my friends at Harvest House for continuing to believe in my writing; and Barbara, my wife of forty years-the love of my life and my best and worst critic.
Contents
Endorsements
Acknowledgments
Layout of the ER
Here, Take a Look at This
1. The Fount of Every Blessing
2. A Child s Courage
3. Wolves in Sheep s Clothing
4. A Doubled Grief
5. Never Enough
6. Devil on My Shoulder
7. Are You Standing Your Ground or Turning Around?
8. The Stranger
9. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (or So Some Say)
10. One Less Mystery
11. Always a Pony
12. Some Sweet Refrain
13. Merry Christmas to All
14. Tempus Fugit
15. To Disentangle Peace from Pain
16. The Choices We Make
17. Freddy, Say It Ain t So
18. An Unsung Hero
19. Redeemed
20. Not So Tuff
21. Hidden Treasure
22. A Little Help from My Friends
23. Davey
24. The Other Side of the Coin
25. Sam s
26. Make Me an Instrument
27. Coach D
28. 180-and a New Direction
29. A Light in the Darkness
30. Tick-Tock
31. A Gathering of Vultures
32. Cornered
33. Footsteps in the Sand
34. Maybe This Time
35. By the Book
36. Say What?
37. Under His Wings
38. Mandy
39. No Warranties
40. The Days Before Penicillin
41. Spoiler Alert
42. Something Special
43. The Real Heroes Among Us
44. No Regrets
45. Apples and Oranges
46. His Best Friend
47. Hark!
48. Dan Quigley
49. Charlie White
50. Emma
Notes
About the Author
Also by Robert Lesslie, MD
L AYOUT OF THE ER
H ERE , T AKE A L OOK AT T HIS
M y wife handed me a tattered piece of paper, smooth from years of wear. Carefully, I unfolded it and began to read the faded note, written long ago in pencil with a halting but elegant hand.
It s from my grandmother-my daddy s mother, she said. I found it in Daddy s Bible, just like I bet he found it in hers. Tell me what you think.
She sat down beside me and looked down at the treasure I held in my hands.
Even tho the night be dark in the valley,
just beyond is shining one eternal light.
I had never met this woman, but knew she was a lady of great faith, one who truly walked with the Lord and loved him mightily. This must have been written in her later years, when her health was fading, and when the night in the valley was becoming dark.
This is special, I told Barbara, gingerly handing the yellowed note back to her. We need to keep it in a safe place.
We need to keep it where we can read it, she gently corrected me.
I began to think about that note and about the small bits of paper I had collected over the years. Each had been scribbled and crammed into one or another of my pockets, a way of reminding me of something or someone who was important-something that had struck me as worth remembering. They found their way into a folder somewhere, or an envelope-or tucked into my Bible, just like this one.
This started my search for these slips of paper, for the hastily written word or phrase that had meant a lot to me at some point. And then I began to ask my friends and family if they did the same thing. Thankfully, they did. And before very long, I had a stack of multicolored slips of paper, church bulletins with sermon titles underlined, even high-school graduation programs with quotations scrawled across the top. I had dozens and dozens of pieces of wisdom, treasured and personal thoughts-rare glimpses into the hearts of the people I know and love best.
In these pages are some of those notes and the stories that go with them. In them, I hope you will find encouragement, insight, and peace.
We read to know we are not alone.
C.S. L EWIS
1
T HE F OUNT OF E VERY B LESSING
M ildred Flanders was still in the cardiac room. We were waiting for someone from the ICU to come down and take her upstairs.
We had done all we could, which was precious little for this ninety-two-year-old woman. She had suffered a major stroke sometime during the night and had been found unresponsive by the nursing home staff. It was just going to be a matter of time.
Call her Millie, one of her attendants had told us. She never wanted to be called Mildred.
I think I had met Millie years ago, but didn t really know her. However, one of our nurses, Lori Davidson, knew her well. Millie Flanders had taught her in third grade and had been her Sunday-school teacher all through high school.
That woman knew her Bible, Lori told us. And she expected us to know it too. And boy could she pray. It was as if the Lord was sitting in the room right beside her and she