Care from across the pond

Just under two years ago, I got a call from my mother. She was on her way to the ER in Taos, 30 miles away from my parents home.

She had been having stomach pains for a few weeks, had lost weight and was generally miserable. Several hours later, after an outpatient procedure in the ER for what they thought was a simple but rare issue near her colon, she went home. We spent a long time talking and decided that everything was alright, and that I wasn’t going to catch a flight from the United Kingdom, some 8,000 miles away — not with the risk from novel coronavirus, which, at the time, was severe.

Two days later, the UK closed its borders. No one in or out.

Exactly a week after her first trip to the ER, she was back, and going into emergency surgery the next morning.

I spent hours on the phone with her while she was in the hospital, alone, and while I was on the call, Dr. William Dougherty came in, and he took my mother’s phone and spoke to me. I explained that I lived in another country, that I hadn’t been able to come home, that now I couldn’t. He, in turn, explained to me what they had found and what procedure he would be doing. He reassured me and was well-aware of my mother’s other health conditions and listened to both of us when we spoke about previous issues surrounding surgeries, and worries of postsurgery complications. He also gave me his personal cell phone number and told me I could call him any time if I needed reassurance. I spoke to him about my mother’s condition and asked if it was possibly something that could be carried down, and if I needed to monitor for any health risks later in life.

The next day, I waited. I called the hospital a couple of times to check on her surgery, and was told it was all going well. Finally, when my mother was out of recovery and able to message me a bit, she told me to call Dr. Dougherty, so I did.

He explained everything that had happened during her surgery, told me she did great, that there were no unforeseen complications, and that they would be sending the mass they removed for lab tests.

Three weeks later the tests came back positive for cancer.

Two months after that, after a high contrast CT scan, there was no trace of cancer at all.

My mother never had to have chemo and every test since has been clear. She was able to return to life almost as normal, even though she lost half her colon during the surgery. She is healthy and well — thanks to Dr. Dougherty.

I have still not seen my mother.

I have not been home (thanks to Covid) because I won’t risk carrying it to her with her other health worries. I fully intend, when I finally returned to New Mexico, to go to Dr. Dougherty’s office, shake his hand and thank him personally.

I am now unable to do this, and I think the person, or persons, who thought Holy Cross would be better off without a man who goes above and beyond, who wants to bring this tiny hospital in this small town into the modern age, who cares for his patients the way a doctor should, is the most colossal fool in the world, and shouldn’t have any right to take such great care away from the people who need it.