Arrigg-ance

I remained a patient at Joslin Center’s Eye Clinic for multiple visits from early Summer 2010 to late summer 2011.
Dr. Paul Arrigg saw ne on the afternoon of my first visit after I had been abandon by Dr. Deborah Schlossman ’s urgency to leave for the day without a full address to the concerns of a patient with serious multiple problems.
Arrigg made me feel listened to. On that first day, he gave careful examination to the left eye, which Schlossman had not.
I also learned some private emphasis on the value of second opinions. He did not agree with all of the assessments that Schlossman had recorded but had not discussed with me, including lifting restrictions.
Here’s the catch: while Arrigg listened, he did not necessarily communicate. He went over issues with the left eye, but he did not want to explore options he thought were necessary or might become necessary. Simple truth here: eye doctors do not like doing risky procedures on patients who have only one functioning eye, because of the surgery just doesn’t work, they can be held responsible. I understand that. I just want all the information up front so I can make an informed decision. If the procedure were to go wrong, O wouldn’t complain or sue unless the doctor had been drunk or grossly incompetent. My complaints about O’Brien and Negrey at Koch lie entirely that I was not told of the risks, and I feel that they withheld information for the sake of their company’s profits.
Arrigg’s approach could not satisfy or placate me over time. I have an almost psychic ability to sense lies or holes in a story. I’m also smarter than I ever found particularly useful and am very good at filling in the blanks with considerable (but not perfect) accuracy with minimal information.
The important thing to me is to be receiving accurate information. This has always been a quirk of mine in professional contact, relationships familial, romantic and just casually personal, and any other aspect. You don’t have to be nice, just be honest and forthright.
Arrigg fir more of the pattern of the great listener who tells you what they think you want to hear rather than what you need to hear. He would, among other things, continue conversations about my medical state with other doctors after they had walked away from me.
He outlined an overall plan that may have been Schlossman’s original but uncommunicated intention: he wanted to do cataract surgery and retina reattachment on the right eye and then so r4etina reattachment on the left eye. We moved in that direction including with Sonograms of the eyes that were massive overcharges in comparison to the other two facilities where I had the same procedure done. I was eager to proceed with anything that might give me some restoration and prevent further deterioration in the left eye.
Dr, Arrigg was not so gung ho about it. Maybe grin prognosis, unguaranteeable results and cost to this out of pocket patient for something with a potentially negative risk benefit analysis. He’d hinted during prior visits, but finally said in Summer 2011 that he absolutely did not want to do any surgery and said I would be better off staying closer to home for my treatment.
On my own again.