seat next to her, so Richard and Rebecca entered the room.
“Hello, Tasha, I am Doctor Milian. I will be performing your surgery this afternoon. There are a few things I would like to discuss with you, and I have a few forms that need to be signed.”
Richard stepped forward and took the forms from the doctor to look over.
“Well, your procedure is one of the most common ones that we do here at Brigham and Woman’s. We are a state-of-the-art facility with the top of the line equipment. You have two options to consider. The first is abdominal surgery in which we make an incision across the abdomen that would run from six to twelve inches. The surgery takes several hours, and the recuperation time is quite extensive. We offer a new technique in our facility now. It is called the “Da Vinci Robotic System.” What that means is that we have two interactive mechanical arms, a camera arm, a 3D image processing system, and a remote control unit. The motions of the Doctor are then translated to the robotic arm. Each robotic arm consists of multiple appendages connected by joints. The hand of the robot holds interchangeable surgical instruments that can be moved in a manner similar to the human wrist. The advantages are that we make several one to two centimeter incisions instead of one long one. So it will have less scarring. Your recovery time will be cut in half to a week or two, allowing you to return to your daily activities faster. There is also less blood loss and fewer complications.”
Richard cut him off.
“So you are saying that no human hands would be touching her? You expect us to believe that a remote controlled robotic arm is going to do what the human hand can do? What is the failure rate of something like that?”
The doctor turned to Richard and nodded his head.
“I understand your hesitation, of course, like any surgery, there are always risks. So far, the Robotic system has less of a failure rate than traditional abdominal surgery. It allows the surgeon to sit comfortably and the robotic arm remains steady at all times. There will be a doctor standing by the mechanism, supervising, available to take over at any second.”
Tasha perked up.
“Well I don’t need to think about it, I want that.”
“Now, Tasha, wait,” Richard called out.
“Richard, this is my life we’re talking about. I get to make the decisions now. This is the way to go.”
Dr. Milian interrupted.
“We are the only facility in the Northeast that utilizes this machine. Our success rate is one hundred percent so far.”
“So far…Did you hear that Tasha? So far,” Richard threw in.
“Just give me the forms to sign. I choose this option.” Tasha reached out for the forms.
Ashlee didn’t budge from her mother’s side, and Rebecca sat in a nearby chair taking in everything that she was hearing.
Dr. Milian then pulled out another form.
“Well now, on to the bigger issue at hand,” he began.
Richard let out a sigh.
“Your blood tests show that it would be in your best interest to begin radiation before and after your surgery. I am recommending external radiation therapy. It is a machine similar to that of an x-ray machine, which beams radiation onto the body where the cancer is located. It doesn’t take long, and if we begin now, we may stand a better chance of killing all the cells.”
“So you want me to start now?” Tasha asked.
“I think it would be the wisest decision,” Dr. Milian responded.
Tasha looked from Richard to Rebecca.
“This is all real?” She put her arm around her daughter and pulled her to her. “I love you guys. If anything should happen to me…”
“No, Mom, you don’t get to say that. You are going to be fine. People get cancer every day and live to tell about it. You are going to be fine.”
“You have a very smart daughter there; you should really listen to her,” The doctor told her. “I am going to send an orderly in to wheel you down to the radiation room.”
The
“Hello, Tasha, I am Doctor Milian. I will be performing your surgery this afternoon. There are a few things I would like to discuss with you, and I have a few forms that need to be signed.”
Richard stepped forward and took the forms from the doctor to look over.
“Well, your procedure is one of the most common ones that we do here at Brigham and Woman’s. We are a state-of-the-art facility with the top of the line equipment. You have two options to consider. The first is abdominal surgery in which we make an incision across the abdomen that would run from six to twelve inches. The surgery takes several hours, and the recuperation time is quite extensive. We offer a new technique in our facility now. It is called the “Da Vinci Robotic System.” What that means is that we have two interactive mechanical arms, a camera arm, a 3D image processing system, and a remote control unit. The motions of the Doctor are then translated to the robotic arm. Each robotic arm consists of multiple appendages connected by joints. The hand of the robot holds interchangeable surgical instruments that can be moved in a manner similar to the human wrist. The advantages are that we make several one to two centimeter incisions instead of one long one. So it will have less scarring. Your recovery time will be cut in half to a week or two, allowing you to return to your daily activities faster. There is also less blood loss and fewer complications.”
Richard cut him off.
“So you are saying that no human hands would be touching her? You expect us to believe that a remote controlled robotic arm is going to do what the human hand can do? What is the failure rate of something like that?”
The doctor turned to Richard and nodded his head.
“I understand your hesitation, of course, like any surgery, there are always risks. So far, the Robotic system has less of a failure rate than traditional abdominal surgery. It allows the surgeon to sit comfortably and the robotic arm remains steady at all times. There will be a doctor standing by the mechanism, supervising, available to take over at any second.”
Tasha perked up.
“Well I don’t need to think about it, I want that.”
“Now, Tasha, wait,” Richard called out.
“Richard, this is my life we’re talking about. I get to make the decisions now. This is the way to go.”
Dr. Milian interrupted.
“We are the only facility in the Northeast that utilizes this machine. Our success rate is one hundred percent so far.”
“So far…Did you hear that Tasha? So far,” Richard threw in.
“Just give me the forms to sign. I choose this option.” Tasha reached out for the forms.
Ashlee didn’t budge from her mother’s side, and Rebecca sat in a nearby chair taking in everything that she was hearing.
Dr. Milian then pulled out another form.
“Well now, on to the bigger issue at hand,” he began.
Richard let out a sigh.
“Your blood tests show that it would be in your best interest to begin radiation before and after your surgery. I am recommending external radiation therapy. It is a machine similar to that of an x-ray machine, which beams radiation onto the body where the cancer is located. It doesn’t take long, and if we begin now, we may stand a better chance of killing all the cells.”
“So you want me to start now?” Tasha asked.
“I think it would be the wisest decision,” Dr. Milian responded.
Tasha looked from Richard to Rebecca.
“This is all real?” She put her arm around her daughter and pulled her to her. “I love you guys. If anything should happen to me…”
“No, Mom, you don’t get to say that. You are going to be fine. People get cancer every day and live to tell about it. You are going to be fine.”
“You have a very smart daughter there; you should really listen to her,” The doctor told her. “I am going to send an orderly in to wheel you down to the radiation room.”
The
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