Anyone mistaken for drunk yet?

[Raydean]

Would you believe not by police, but by a Doctor, orthopedic surgeon.  As I've stated before 6 weeks prior to the discovery of my tumor i was in an accident in which my left ankle was broken, requiring surgery
to repair.  During one of the exams the Doctor asked me  "how much I drank'.  I replied, maybe a couple of drinks around the holidays.  I thought he had dropped it and moved on to other things.  Nope, he took my wife aside and ask her "how much I drank"  She again stated a few drinks around the holidays. He actually stated " you can tell me the truth"   We both knew what he was suggesting, based on balanced issues and the fact that I worked within the construction field (lumberyard manager) known to work hard and play hard.  Anyway fastforward  3 or so weeks later when we had to go in for the cast to be removed early in order for me to the surgery.  There was a lengthy silence, then he apologized.  Stated he felt terrible,------.

I've often wondered the cost of not checking into what he was seeing, and what he was believing base on his personal bias.  It certainly would of bought me a little time to research, and choose a medical team based on experience rather then being treated on an emergency basis.

My wife was upset with him (rightly so) and didn't want to hear his apologies.  She did tell him to
find a way to turn the negative into a positive good.  A few months later we received a phone call asking our permission to collect the films.  Evidently he belong to a medical discussion group and planned on presenting my case as it unfolded based on symptoms having each doctor guess what he thought the medical problem was.  We're hopeful that others learned from his mistake.

Best to all
Chet

[Patti]

weeks before my surgery i was dropping my daughter off at a school dance.  i heard another parent comment about my being drunk.  patti

[Battyp]

I've been called a drunk since my surgery...hmm....wonder if anyone thought it before

Funny Chet I broke both my feet the summer before my an was diagnosed.  No one thought much of it but both times I sorta fell off my feet as I lost my balance.  HMMM  connection?

Tom (onebadass350bird) said he found out about his 4CM AN after a DUI arrest and he wasn't drunk.  What a hassle!!

[onebadass350bird]

YUP, DUI arrest on Aug 15th last year, spent 9 hours in the hole.  I did have a few drinks, so they smelled that and really had probable cause, after failing the roadside miserably they took me in and I blew well under the legal limit.  Then they were thinking I was on drugs since they won't show up in a BA test, and my BA was signifigantly lower then what my balance and nystagmus showed.  Anyway, after that, I went to the ENT about my hearing loss to try and get medical evidence for court, and he sent me down for an MRI which revealed the AN.  Anway, went to jail on Aug 15th, took the MRI on Sept 9th, surgery on Oct 19th, DUI case was finally dropped in Dec due to overwhelming evidence that my balance and eye problem (nystagmus) was not known by me at the time nor did it affect my ability to drive.

NOW, I usually make it a point to take my cane with me just so people don't assume that I'm drunk, without it, I really do look like it, and I don't want people thinkin' I'm tanked everywhere I go, lol

Tom

[Battyp]

Just what you needed on top of everything else.  Wonder without it if you'd have gotten the medical help you needed any sooner?

[onebadass350bird]

Just what you needed on top of everything else.  Wonder without it if you'd have gotten the medical help you needed any sooner?

Probably not, and when I tell people the story, people usually call it a blessing in disguise.  Then I usually just grumble a little bit and say "I suppose" lol

Tom

[justafactoflife]

I got a speeding ticket but evidently passed as sober.  Not to my credit, I do have problems driving.  My grandchildren are forbidden to ride in my car when I drive by my children and I don't blame them.  I have driven over the line several times and had a recent near miss with a Semi-truck.  I have driven off the right shoulder in and out of the ditch.  For the same reasons as the above comments.  I wish this would all go away, but I know it won't.  You just have to do the best you can and really focus, focus, focus.

[Captain Deb]

I don't EVER take passengers at any time if I can help it.  My daughter -in-law does the driving if my grandkids are in the car. I used to do a lot of the driving on road trips with Dr. Love, but no mo!
Capt Deb

[ppearl214]

ask CB how I did with balance and driving this past weekend.... let me hide first before he answers!

[Kilroy1976]

Strangely enough, I'm still the best driver in town. Probably in the whole State of Florida.

[Battyp]

Kilroy since I live in Fl and I drive and I know how I am...you HAVE to be a better driver  LOL

I really need to die my hair blue!

[Mark H]

It's not AN related (I'm still not sure I have 'em, gotta wait 'till next year's MRI to see if whatever they are have grown enough to identify what they are) Up until a couple years ago I was active in Search and Rescue. Several years ago the Jeep I was riding in went off the road on a mission. About 45 feet down an embankment. Neither of us was hurt too bad but we did have to go to the hospital to get checked out. The driver stayed and waited 'till a tow truck got there to pull his Jeep out and haul it to town, and another team member drove me to the hospital. The hospital was notified that I was on the way in and the Undersheriff, shift Captain and shift Sargent from the Sheriff's Office were there to make sure I was OK and to handle all the paperwork. At the same time, a drunk driver who had hurt himself was also expeted. They got me into the treatment area and started digging the window glass out of my arm and head. (My face wnt through the passenger window durring one of the rolls.) I think  I had 5 nurses in the room working on me when I first got there. 3 of them knew I'd been hurt on a SAR mission and 2 thought I was the drunk driver. The 3 who knew who I was were real friendly, laughing and joking with me, and the 2 who thought I was the drunk, while they were completely professional, stuck exactly to the business at hand. I don't blame them, I don't like drunk drivers either. It was interesting to see the attitude change when they found out I was the hurt searcher, not the drunk. The smiles really came out.  Like I said, they had been very professional, not exactly cold, but purely business. It was a neat transformation to watch. I came out of it with a few stitches, some butterfly bandages, a great concussion and a headache ya wouldn't believe. The Jeep didn't make it. It was a brand new Grand Cherokee limited with 3900 miles on it. But it did hold together enough to save our lives.   
Mark

[themis1982]

Ya...funny story. Before I knew I had a brain tumor I was pulled over on the suspision of drunk driving. The officer had me step out of the car and proceded to give me 'the drunk test"-all of the same tests that the doctor used to diagnose my tumor!  I failed miserably.  I swore up and down that I wasn't drunk, but he didn't believe me. I finally talked him into giving me a breathlizer test, obviously I blew a zero. I was so confused...hahaha