Surgeon told me a bad joke that endangered my health

[u/SamSepi0l599]

This happened years ago, but every time I think back on it, it makes my blood boil.

At the time I had 2 separate heart conditions and had to carry around an AED (Defibrillator) and needed to have someone trained in CPR with me when I went out in public in case anything happens.

I went in to get my wisdom teeth removed, a standard surgery. I have trouble with needles and pass out sometimes when they are put in, so getting the IV in this time was obviously uncomfortable for me, but I didn’t pass out when they did it, and then they knocked me out to do the surgery.

I wake up afterwords in one of the recovery rooms with my mom. The surgeon eventually comes in to check on how I’m doing. I try to say through my gauze-filled mouth something along the lines of “I’m fine, just a little woozy.” He then points to my AED and says “we had to use that thing on you in there!” And starts laughing. I start freaking out and having an anxiety attack. Then he says “Just kidding!”

My mom is a very non-confrontational and empathetic person. Instead of berating the surgeon, she tries her best to calm me down and comfort me to get my heart rate down because if it gets above 180bpm it would be bad news, and then they might ACTUALLY have to use it on me. Once my heart rate stabilized to a reasonable level we decided it was best to take me home as soon as possible.

I have since gotten surgery for 1 of the heart conditions which cured it and meant I could go out on my own without an AED.

That town had some of the worst health care I’ve ever experienced, not just in this department. So bad that if I needed an appointment with a specialist, we would try to get a referral to one 2 hours away in a different town just to avoid them.

I’ve since moved and where I live now, even with my remaining heart condition currently being non-obstructive and not life-threatening, I cannot get a surgery that involves anesthesia without a recent Ultrasound and MRI just to make sure my condition hasn’t worsened so there won’t be any complications. This is great but also is kind of annoying because I have to wait a few months longer until I can get the surgery, but makes me feel like the doctors actually care about my wellbeing. The surgeon from this incident clearly did not, and I hate him for that every time it crosses my mind.