dental blunder

boyd had oral surgery yesterday afternoon.  the dentist removed a bone growth from the roof of his mouth and in the process he knicked two arteries.  boyd bled from 1pm to, well - last i checked was 1030pm. the bleeding had slowed quite a bit by then - and i went to bed.  the doctor carterized the arteries, but they bled anyway and the doctor simply told us to apply pressure till it stops.  boyd is in alot of pain with this one.  it should give him more room in his mouth, but i think there will be pain for more than the expected couple of weeks. 

the doctor had the technology to see precisely what he was doing, when he was doing it - yet he still cut the arteries.  he has been a dentist specializing in implants and oral surgery for a long time.  he did my implants 10 years ago.  he is my age, and i remember reading his diploma the first time i met him - he graduated the same time i would have, had i persued that much education.  pisses me off!  what was he thinking about that he could not do his job correctly?  why would someone be preoccupied during a surgery on another human being?  that is why they make the big bucks - because they give up such a large part of their lives and devote it to the people who pay them for their expertise.  we want to be able to trust them.  and we can't.  not really.

everyone makes mistakes.

i still feel that doctors are required to live at a higher standard of excellence than most.  that responsibility is why they earn so much money.  many people could do the mechanics of their jobs.  give a person a book, the right tools, and there could be more doctors.  but it is the trust, the responsibility, the finesse that we look for in doctors.  we expect it.  we should be able to expect it. 

boyd is still resting.  he sat up the majority of the night watching movies...keeping his mouth elevated above his heart so the bleeding would be controlled. 

argh.