Introduction

In January of 2010, I very nearly died as a result of negligence on the part of the psychiatrist I was seeing at the Amen Clinic in Fairfield, California. I am going to tell the entire story of that experience, in language I will strive to make easy for any lay person to understand.

I will be using my recollections, the "Progress Notes" the doctor kept during (and annotated after) each session with me, written correspondence from him, and emails he and I exchanged. I will also refer (rather extensively, I'm afraid) to medical information available in books, journals and on the Web. Again, I will define the terms I use. If you read something you don't understand, post a comment or send me an email and I will do what it takes to clarify it.

I will not name the psychiatrist publicly, until and unless I bring a medical malpractice action against him and the clinic where he works. I will refer to him by the generic abbreviation I've learned recently on the Web, "pdoc." A pdoc is a doctor of psychiatry. I will call him "my pdoc" and other psychiatrists in general, "pdocs." This usage should become clear as you raed.

The reference information I cite will all be accurate and reflect accepted current medical standards and practices.

I don't say "I nearly died" to be dramatic. This isn't hyerbole. It is, as you will see, a clearly demonstrable and incontrovertible fact.

I'm not sure my case would produce a sufficiently large judgment to make it attractive for a malpractice attorney to take to trial. I haven't explored that possibility yet. What I *do* know is that I have nothing to fear from the pdoc or clinic's lawyers. Just as at trial, in this blog I will be telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I can back up everything I say.