This 23-year old man presented to our clinic with 100% paralysis of his right arm. After questioning, he described a vehicular accident 2 years ago, upon which he underwent surgery to attempt to fix a badly damaged right arm. Unfortunately the surgery did not go well, and a major nerve was severed and not reattached, leaving this otherwise healthy young man without use of his right arm. Wishing to find a solution, a cure, a glimmer of hope he traveled miles to our clinic. This is one of the many examples I have seen over this mission of local surgery gone wrong. Risks not explained, procedures lacking expertise, and very few patient rights describe what I have witnessed. Bac Si Ha, with the proper environment and time said he could attempt to correct the previous surgery, but that will have to wait until another time.
With nothing to do for this young man, I watched his glimmer of hope fade to a gloomy sadness. Feeling so terrible that we could not help him, I hesitated to even take his photo. His story meant so much to me that I actually removed myself from the clinic and literally ran down the hallway to the street where I found this dejected young man ready to walk miles home. I respectfully asked if I could document his case, which he agreed. Then I touched his shouklder, shook his hand, looked him in the eyes and said Xin Loi Ban Toi! (Im sorry my friend!)
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