A quick update on Mike: A medical scare and a false alarm

By Stinkbomb, deputy editor of Anglican Watch

With Eric having skipped town until Monday, I’ve fielded quite a few questions about Mike. So here’s the latest.

Mike recently underwent his three-year post-heart-transplant evaluation. Initially, everything looked fine. Then a radiologist reported what he interpreted as serious, potentially life-threatening abnormalities in Mike’s heart.

Not exactly the news anyone wants to hear.

There was, however, one rather glaring problem: The radiologist apparently failed to interpret Mike’s imaging in the context of his transplant history and previous studies.

Mike is both a heart and kidney transplant recipient. A transplanted heart can have postoperative anatomical features that differ from those of a native heart. Findings that might be concerning in someone who has never undergone a transplant may be entirely expected in someone who has.

And here’s the kicker: Mike’s latest imaging showed no clinically meaningful changes compared with his previous studies. The features the radiologist flagged as potentially catastrophic were already present on earlier scans and were consistent with Mike’s established post-transplant anatomy.

In other words, the supposed abnormalities weren’t new. They were longstanding features of Mike’s transplanted heart, and the information needed to recognize that was already in his medical record.

Indeed, many of Mike’s other test results are now better than ever, thanks in no small part to his functioning kidney transplant.

And Eric, being Eric, immediately spotted the problems and started asking questions. Lots of questions. The sort of questions that tend to make institutions uncomfortable when they haven’t done their homework.

I love Mike and Eric dearly, but I wouldn’t want to meet Eric in a dark alley. Especially if I just screwed up Mike’s medical care.

Unfortunately, it took the hospital three days to answer questions Eric raised almost immediately. Three days of profound anxiety before the hospital reviewed the findings and acknowledged that the supposed abnormalities did not represent meaningful changes in Mike’s heart.

Three days we’d all prefer not to repeat.

And let’s be clear: This wasn’t simply a matter of poor communication. The radiologist reported potentially life-threatening findings without adequately accounting for Mike’s surgical history and the stability of those findings on earlier imaging. The resulting alarm was avoidable, as was the prolonged uncertainty that followed.

Meanwhile, I’m holding down the fort at Anglican Watch until Eric returns Monday, which is normally my Sabbath. Yes, even Stinkbomb occasionally takes a day off.

If everything works out, I’m hoping to fly out and spend a couple of days with Mike and Eric. Perhaps we’ll even head over to my alma mater, Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), and terrorize the locals in time for Christmas. Consider yourselves warned.

Finally, thank you to everyone who reached out. Your kindness and concern have meant a great deal. I’ve tried to respond personally to as many people as possible, but I’m sure I’ve missed some. If you haven’t heard back, please don’t take it personally. I’ve simply been overwhelmed.

And perhaps, just perhaps, someone might remind the medical profession that interpreting an imaging study requires more than identifying what looks abnormal. It requires knowing the patient’s history, reviewing prior studies, and distinguishing established postoperative findings from actual disease.

With gratitude,

Stinkbomb
Deputy editor, Anglican Watch
Valedictorian, Walmart Medical School
(Where reading the patient’s chart is apparently part of the curriculum.)

Related stories

• Update: Mike and Eric — kidney transplant — Eric donates a kidney to Mike.
• Update: Mike and Eric — recovery — An update following Mike’s kidney transplant.
• Personal News — Mike almost died — Earlier complications following Mike’s heart transplant.