And the doctor says.....

   I don't know what to think when I hear about these doctors who predict how long a person has to live, what the outcome of surgery will be, and what procedures their patients should definitely follow.  It may just be me, but I've rarely if ever known a doctor to be definite about anything.  I'm familiar with, "This may be of benefit,"  "You'll most likely be better off afterwards,"  or "We can try this,"  "There are no guarantees,"  and "It's up to you."   Emergency visits may be the exception, especially when children are the patients, at least when the issue is to stop the bleeding.  Otherwise, even in the face of mortal suffering, I've heard only "Maybe it's time to...,You might want to..., You could have only....It will probably.....".    So I can't help but be skeptical when, for example, parents say the doctors told them not to take their baby home but to institutionalize it, or when it's related that the doctors said the patient would never walk again, especially now when even amputees are able to regain mobility.  I'm not complaining; I never thought that doctors are omniscient, or ever wanted someone to dictate what my future might be.  I tend to think that the media fashions its own stories, with interviews as told to reporters much in the fashion of ghostwriters.