If you were here for part one, it opened with: "his only chance at survival is a miracle clinical trial drug". Desperation drives us all to be magical thinkers

If you were here for part one, it opened with: "his only chance at survival is a miracle clinical trial drug". Desperation drives us all to be magical thinkers, even someone with a medical degree, and it's a natural error for hope to intensify into belief that somewhere out there is a magic potion that will solve all the health problems of the loved one they feel otherwise powerless to help. Cue a billion words on substack. The harsh part: just because you or someone you adore is (to use a medical term) circling the drain, doesn't make you/them more entitled to something. We are all already entitled (certainly morally, in many jurisdictions legally, and sometimes even financially) to the current standard of care, and sympathy besides, for any suffering or condition we are currently undergoing. We're all dying. Sorry. Some people carry the horrible knowledge that for them it will be soon, and from something specific. And at any given moment, that's actually quite a lot of people. Again, we can share a moment's sorrow. The quiet part: if poor admission protocol fucks up the science for something that could extend or improve life for millions of others in future by advancing the standard of care, then it was the gatekeepers for that process that are culpable. Not even the hardest of hearts would seek to blame a patient, or their advocate, for trying something, anything. But they are nonetheless expected to default to a closed door.