The Unexpected Patient

Book excerpt: Stories of life, death and unforgettable clinical cases A psychiatrist and a patient with supernatural connections. A plastic surgeon and a Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption survivor. A trauma therapist caught in the aftermath of a violent methamphetamine episode. The Unexpected Patient is a book about patients who impacted their health carers in unforgettable ways: patients who showed stubborn perseverance on the road to recovery, clung to hope in the face of unexpected trauma, and tested the indomitable depths of the human spirit. This book is also about what leads us to bad health outcomes, from the seeds that are set before we are born and the personal choices we make, to the shortcomings of society and the health sector. Yet, ultimately, The Unexpected Patient is about human relationships and the bonds forged between two people: a medic and that one unforgettable patient.