Medical Misadventures is a glimpse behind the curtain, exposing the torments of a doctor when things don't go as expected. The consequences are often humorous, sometimes embarassing, and occasionally downright humiliating. I have experienced them all!

But sometimes fortune smiles, the stars align and our prayers are answered. Those are the miraculous events that medical science cannot explain. They remind us that the art of medicine is still important and that hope is never extinguished.

Today I said good-bye to my genie. "We have been inseparable for over fifty years," I said, "but the time has come to part ways. You have bedevilled my life for too long. Granted, at times you have exposed my flaws and I have benefitted. And it is true that you have also shown me wonders that I thought impossible. But you have embarrassed and humiliated me too often. I have retired from medicine and I no longer need you. You must leave me and torment someone else."

"Not so!" he retorted, "my mission is not over; you will never be rid of me; I will plague you in your dreams and in your pensive moments. I have much yet to teach you and you have no choice but to listen."

So my genie lives on, perched on my shoulder, waiting for my unguarded moments. He invades my dreams, deflates my pride, reminds me of events I would prefer to forget.