Where were you or what were you guys
doing when you heard the news of global stars’ untimely demise? There seems to have always been unexpected and sad news of
celebrities’ sudden death. Each time the
tragic news hit the world, I wonder WHAT took the lives of these well-known
figures without batting an eye?!!! The worldly famous mega stars in the Tinseltown or music industries seem to
have everything that normal people dream of: Money, fame, beautiful spouse or
friends, steadfast love from fans from all over the world. Yes, they belong to
the so-called favored class in our society that could obtain EVERYTHING they
put their mind to. Sadly, one of the most dangerous things easily available in
their lives is drugs. The drugs could either be legal or illegal. Recently, the
super recording artists such as Michael Jackson and Prince passed away due to
the overdose of drugs prescribed by their own doctors.
According
to the American psychiatrist and bioethicist named Robert Klitzman, these
musical icons could have been saved if they had not been suffering from what we
call “V.I.P. Syndrome”. He says the concept of VIP syndrome was first
introduced in 1964, by a psychiatrist, Walter Weintraub. It is happening when
medical doctors treat an "important" patient as "special,"
making exceptions to standard procedures. In other words, these doctors wish to
be deeply and closely involved in the lives of these well-heeled and well-known
patients. Thus, they oftentimes forego
appropriate tests and safety measures because the VIP patients might find these
necessary procedures very inconvenient. Since quite a few celebrities put their
privacy on top of their priority list and never wish to be treated as ordinary
people, their doctors tend to cater to their VIP patients’ dangerous demand.
As pointed out by Dr. Robert
Klitzman in his column, celebrities are not the only group of special people
that are afflicted by V.I.P. syndrome. He says “professional colleagues -- such
as physicians getting treatment where they work, and wealthy people who,
hospitals believe, may donate money -- can end up with it, too.” To these
medical doctors, their patient's best interests are not the only motivation
factor. They already have other concerns going on in their mind: “money, glamor,
friendship, social hierarchy, prestige.”
If Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad
Murray had not been all ears to his super rich-and-famous patient’s constant
asking for “MORE MILK” (meaning the powerful anesthetic Propofol) every hour throughout the night, we could have still been
hoping for MJ’s next concert tour around the world. Things were pretty much the
same with Prince’s death. If his doctor
had eschewed the VIP syndrome with this rock star patient by informing him how
critical and deadly the prescribed pain killer (called Fentanyl) can get, the
Purple Rain singer’s Piano and a Microphone concert would have still been going
on.
As an ardent fan of MJ and
Prince(still reeling from the shock
of their deaths), I do hope and pray there will be a lot more genuinely doughty medical doctors out there for
patients who can say “NO” to drug abuse no matter how influential or wealthy
their V.I.P. patients might be.
Expressions
demise: (noun) a person’s death or an end
of institute/ enterprise
without
batting an eye: (adverbial
phrase) showing no emotion, acting as though nothing were unusual
Tinseltown: (noun) nickname of Hollywood
V.I.P.
syndrome: (noun) a “condition” caused when a very
important person–V.I.P. by virtue of fame, position or claim on public
interest–disrupts the normal course of Pt care in a hospital
to
forego something: (verb)
to choose to give up something
Propofol: (noun) proper name for a very
strong anesthetic solution that is supposed to be administered under a strict
supervision in hospitals
to
reel from (some kind of shock/ tragic incidents) : (verb) to feel extremely
devastated, shocked, and confused because of …..
doughty: (adjective) valiant/ brave
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