Allan Lohaus, M.D. Reviews

Added June 11, 2006

Mayday!

A Physician as Patient

Author: Allan Lohaus, M.D
Publisher: Synergy Books
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: February 2006
Genre: Nonfiction: Biography/Autobiography/Medical
Format: Hardcover
Price: $18.95
ISBN: 0-9755922-9-7
Author Email/Website: www.maydaybook.com/
Reviewer: Joyce Hanzo
Rating: 8 Gargoyles

Mayday! is a remarkable tale of one man's medical misfortune. Dr. Allan Lohaus became a patient after a relatively routine surgery goes awry, leaving him with serious complications and an uncertain future. These pages are his recorded thoughts as he endured hours of misery and endless days in the hospital. His story is emotionally charged with feelings of depression, fear and even the faint glimmers of hope. Readers will quietly cheer him on, but wonder how it will all end.

Written in a journal style and reflecting the author's limited understanding of some of these events, the book is a true page-turner. Each entry is like the gasp of a sinking swimmer, desperate to find a place of safety. Dr. Lohaus combines his medical knowledge with the innocence of a patient, as certain situations become indefinable to him because his mind is altered from pain and medication. His frustration and fear are evident, as is an underlying layer of optimism. The frantic pace of the earlier pages, which are filled with surgeries and close calls, tapers off to the more tedious activities of rehabilitation. Each stage of his journey has its own milestones, and readers will anxiously watch him encounter new obstacles and problems.

Without a doubt, this perspective from a doctor-turned-patient is interesting and informative. Yet, this book is more than just that. Readers will see Dr. Lohaus not so much as a physician, but as a person in great pain and agony. This recognition causes a strong emotional bond with readers as they realize it could be anyone in that hospital bed. Doctors are not immune to medical complications, and although they have more knowledge about certain procedures, they experience the same basic emotions as the rest of us.

Dr. Lohaus offers this story to highlight a patient's emotional turmoil and to stimulate a renewed commitment of compassion among medical personnel. As these pages prove, viewing recovery from a hospital bed is a universally humbling experience.

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