In a personal account shared with the Colorado Medical Society, a rural physician described what he called the most difficult case of his career. The story centers on a young woman, referred to as K, who was nearing the end of her first pregnancy when she stopped feeling fetal movement. Without access to ultrasound at their small hospital, she traveled 90 miles to confirm that her fetus was no longer viable.
Upon returning, K and her husband faced limited options: induce labor locally or travel 140 miles for specialist care. They chose to remain in their community hospital. Labor was induced and progressed quickly, but after delivering a stillborn infant, K suffered severe postpartum hemorrhage that could not be controlled by standard interventions.
The physician recounted the urgency of the situation: “Only by heavily sedating the patient and packing her uterus with sponges was I able to slow the bleeding and buy time for the nurse to frantically call our physician assistant and other available nurses to come start another I.V. and call walking donors to give blood for immediate transfusion (this was before modern blood safety practices).”
After consulting with an obstetrician by phone, it became clear that a hysterectomy was necessary to save K’s life. The doctor performed the surgery without another physician present until a nurse anesthetist arrived by plane mid-procedure. “I had never before felt this alone as a physician,” he wrote.
K survived and recovered well from surgery. Later, she and her husband brought their adopted daughter for care at his clinic—a moment he described as deeply rewarding.
Reflecting on his experience, the physician stated: “Instead, they reinforced the lesson my first physician had given me by his example: sometimes you must first hurt someone to save them. Do it with compassion and they will thank you for it.”
The Colorado Medical Society highlighted this story as part of its ongoing effort to emphasize the importance of strong doctor-patient relationships in providing effective health care decisions. According to recent polling from the American Medical Association (AMA), 84% of national voters believe their physicians value these relationships and help patients make informed decisions about their health; 79% agree that insurance company bureaucracy makes it harder for doctors to provide optimal care; and 83% say doctors enter medicine out of a desire to treat patients’ needs directly.
These findings reflect ongoing concerns among physicians about administrative barriers interfering with patient care (https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/new-ama-survey-shows-voters-overwhelmingly-trust-doctors-not-insurers).
Physicians continue advocating for changes in health care systems so they can spend more time listening to patients—an approach seen as essential for building trust and improving outcomes.
