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Sayed Tabatabai, MD

@TheRealDoctorT

27 Apr

Trust is a delicate thing.

Those first crucial moments of trying to establish it.

Sifting through the words and the veneers, trying to find a person’s character, to find their heart.

Trust is where it all begins

-and ends.

There are two rooms down the hallway... 1/

The first room is dark, blinds drawn.

My very first interaction with the patient begins with me introducing myself, and him saying two words:

“Go away.”

I’m young. I’m filled with optimism.

I want to help.

I’m going to use all my empathy skills, to-

“Just. Go. Away.” 2/

Well, step one of empathy is listening. My presence is obviously not wanted here.

I’ll come back later, after I finish rounding on the rest of my list.

I close the door quietly, and move on.

I said there were two rooms down the hallway, right?

On to the next one. 3/

Read 17 tweets

Sayed Tabatabai, MD

@TheRealDoctorT

12 Apr

As I write this it’s about 3:17AM, and I can’t sleep.

Something is on my mind, and so I’ll do what I’ve always done in moments like these.

I’ll write.

I’m thinking of someone, and I’m thinking about statistics and what they mean.

How the word “numb” is inside “number.” 1/

My only uncle on my dad’s side of the family is his youngest brother. He is a kind and gentle soul. He joined the army at a young age, and eventually chose to become a teacher.

A person finding his way in life.

He always treats me with infinite patience, and kindness. 2/

My father is the older brother, bigger, stronger, more athletic, eager to talk sports or tell a good joke.

My uncle is smaller, soft-spoken, wanting to discuss books, to show me the nuance in drawing a rose (“petals layer in this way”).

I’ve never heard him raise his voice. 3/

Read 11 tweets

Sayed Tabatabai, MD

@TheRealDoctorT

31 Mar

The first thing you notice is the darkness. It’s morning, but it feels like nightfall.

There’s a charge in the air, electricity beginning to crackle in the clouds overhead.

When the rain starts there’s no buildup.

Just the deluge.

An old-fashioned Texas thunderstorm. 1/

I’m standing in one of the deserted COVID ICUs. It has been “de-commissioned” temporarily as our COVID numbers have gone down.

Room after room behind plastic sheets and barriers, the beds neatly made, empty.

A sign on the wall still says “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.” 2/

Why am I here?

In truth I came here by mistake. I thought a patient of mine was down here, not realizing they’d been transferred out. Not realizing the unit was closed.

The silence is stark.

I remember the sounds of this place, the muffled voices behind PAPR helmets. 3/

Read 9 tweets

Sayed Tabatabai, MD

@TheRealDoctorT

22 Mar

Some dreams can be powerful; foundational, ironclad, unshakeable.

Pulling you with them into a new future.

Some dreams can be fragile; ethereal, delicate, flickering.

Whispered into existence, and just as easily turned to dust. 1/

It’s the 1990s in Upstate NY.

I’m a high school student, volunteering at a hospital.

I’m told it makes me a better candidate for college, but the truth is I just want to see what it’s really like in a hospital ward.

I wear a bright red jacket that says “VOLUNTEER.” 2/

The floor is a general medical unit, and it’s a hive of activity. Dozens of nurses and patient care techs are constantly in motion.

I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing, other than standing out like a bright red sore thumb.

My sweaty hands are clasped together. 3/

Read 24 tweets

Sayed Tabatabai, MD

@TheRealDoctorT

11 Mar

“When I was a kid, I used to go to the movies and watch a double-feature. The movie ticket was 14 cents, the popcorn was a dime, and I’d have exactly one cent left over.”

He holds up a penny, and smiles.

“Takes me back every time.”

The hidden magic in everyday things... 1/

“My mother always told me to recycle soda cans. I never did. Didn’t think it mattered. But it mattered to her. We haven’t talked in years. Don’t know why, but I started recycling last year...”

She smiles, wistfully, and tosses the crumpled can in the recycling bin. 2/

“Penmanship. That used to be a thing. Nowadays y’all just type, or text, or whatever the hell. You don’t feel the satisfaction of handwriting. Something about it makes me feel good. Like I’m holding on to something, somehow.”

He taps the fountain pen in his chest pocket. 3/

Read 7 tweets

Sayed Tabatabai, MD

@TheRealDoctorT

4 Mar

They always said the future was going to be what we made it.

I just never imagined ... this is where we were headed.

It’s 2076.

I am ninety-five years old, and living in the Allied Territories of Greater America.

The States stopped being “United” long ago.

Long ago. 1/

Today is a special day.

One of those rare times I get a visitor. The pandemics of the 2020s and 2030s scaled back our social lives.

“Social media” is a meaningless phrase now, because society is media.

It’s a doctor’s visit. A house call.

He sits across from me. 2/

Medicine has come full circle, in a strange way. Most medicine is now delivered via house calls.

Of course, they aren’t real human doctors. They’re “synthos” or Synthetic Organisms. Artificial Intelligences, robots, cyborgs, whatever you want to call them.

Mine is “Dan.” 3/

Read 20 tweets

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