One Doctor : Close Calls, Cold Cases, and the Mysteries of Medicine

An epic story told by a unique voice in Ameri­can medicine, One Doctor describes life-changing experiences in the career of a distinguished physi­cian. In riveting first-person prose, Dr. Brendan Reilly takes us to the front lines of medicine today. Whipsawed by daily crises and frustra­tions, Reilly must deal with several daunting challenges simultaneously: the extraordinary patients under his care on the teeming wards of a renowned teaching hospital; the life-threatening illnesses of both of his ninety-year-old parents; and the tragic memory of a cold case from long ago that haunts him still. As ReillyâÈçs patients and their families survive close calls, struggle with heartrending decisions, and confront the limits of medicineâÈçs power to cure, One Doctor lays bare a fragmented, depersonal­ized, business-driven health-care system where real caring is hard to find. Every day, Reilly sees patients who fall through the cracks and suffer harm because they lack one doctor who knows them well and relentlessly advocates for their best interests. Filled with fascinating characters in New York City and rural New EnglandâÈ'people with dark secrets, mysterious illnesses, impos­sible dreams, and many kinds of courageâÈ'One Doctor tells their stories with sensitivity and empathy, reminding us of professional values once held dear by all physicians. But medicine has changed enormously during ReillyâÈçs career, for both better and worse, and One Doctor is a cautionary tale about those changes. It is also a hopeful, inspiring account of medicineâÈçs poten­tial to improve peopleâÈçs lives, ReillyâÈçs quest to understand the âÈêtruthâÈë about doctoring, and a moving testament to the difference one doctor can make.

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