Today, the Grass is a Little Greener. The Sky a Little Bluer.

We physicians are healers. We take care of those who are sick.

What happens when we get sick? What happens when our loved ones get sick?

We’ll all eventually be patients. As will our loved ones.

My son, Josh, has severe autism and medication-resistant epilepsy. He had craniotomies years ago to treat seizures. He can understand spoken language, but he does not speak. His underlying challenges are anything but trivial. Josh lives with my wife and me. That’s been our plan. That will be our plan for years to come.

My son sleeps with an Embrace Alert. It’s a wristwatch that detects if he’s having a seizure. That watch will call and text me. That watch will also call and text my wife. Even though we’re in the same house, it’s our belt and suspenders approach.

I also sleep with a bedside monitor with a video/audio feed to see if Josh is having a seizure while he sleeps. Not all positive signals are true positives. The baby monitor guides me to see if the call/text truly represents a seizure.

On Christmas morning, I awoke at 4 AM.

Josh had been coughing all night. He had not slept a wink. Still, his breathing sounded labored. I checked in on him.

His temperature was 103. His respiratory rate was 45 or so. I placed a pulse oximeter on his finger, and it read 80% saturation with heart rate of 140. I assumed the pulse oximeter was not functioning properly. So, I used a second one. Same results.

This seemed ominous.

My wife and I took Josh to the ER immediately. To my surprise, the ER was empty, and Josh was checked in rapidly. It took high-flow oxygen to get his sats over 90%. When I write high-flow, it was 70 liters a minute. That’s not a misprint.

Chest X-ray showed pneumonia (caused by influenza). He also had aspiration pneumonia and pleural effusions.

Josh was admitted to the ICU and stayed there for 5 days. He was started on IV antibiotics for the aspiration pneumonia. Tamiflu for the influenza.

And he was weaned from the oxygen over the week. One night in the step-down unit and we brought him home.

He looked pretty beat up. Like he was kicked by a horse.

But he loved getting back into his own bed.

I loved getting back into my own bed.

How anyone gets any rest in an ICU is beyond me. (I spent every night with Josh in the hospital. My wife covered the day shift.)

That was a close call.

What if I had not checked on him at 4 AM? It was Christmas Day. Everyone was planning on sleeping in.

Anyway, he’s better.

Today, the grass is a little greener. The sky a little bluer.

Hug your kids. Tell your parents you love them. Be kind to your spouse. Spend time with your friends.

The time we have on this planet is limited and precious. Don’t take it for granted.

Josh’s “before” pic:

At home after discharge. Needing a shower and a haircut.

Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Medical Justice, is a board-certified neurosurgeon. Dr. Segal is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; the American College of Legal Medicine; and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the North American Spine Society. In the process of conceiving, funding, developing, and growing Medical Justice, Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice issues, counterclaims, and internet-based assaults on reputation.

Dr. Segal was a practicing neurosurgeon for approximately ten years, during which time he also played an active role as a participant on various state-sanctioned medical review panels designed to decrease the incidence of meritless medical malpractice cases.

Dr. Segal holds a M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, where he also completed a neurosurgical residency. Dr. Segal served as a Spinal Surgery Fellow at The University of South Florida Medical School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the AOA Medical Honor Society. Dr. Segal received his B.A. from the University of Texas and graduated with a J.D. from Concord Law School with highest honors.

In 2000, he co-founded and served as CEO of DarPharma, Inc, a biotechnology company in Chapel Hill, NC, focused on the discovery and development of first-of-class pharmaceuticals for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Dr. Segal is also a partner at Byrd Adatto, a national business and health care law firm. Byrd Adatto was selected as a Best Law Firm in the 2023 edition of the “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. With over 50 combined years of experience in serving doctors, dentists, and other providers, Byrd Adatto has a national pedigree to address most legal issues that arise in the business and practice of medicine.