A Trauma Surgeon's Experience With AIDS

The book deals with a Trauma Surgeon, Dr. Stone, who sustains a 5cm, deep laceration of his right palm while helping a Surgical Resident open the chest of a dying patient with a gunshot wound to the heart. Dr. Stone's injured hand is submerged in the patient's blood for nearly 30minutes while he waits to be relieved by another Trauma Surgeon. The patient dies 30min later and Dr. Stone discovers that the patient was dying of AIDS. Six weeks later, Dr. Stone discovers that he has AIDS. Subsequently, his wife divorces him; she cleans him out financially; he loses his job; he is forced to file bankruptcy; his home undergoes foreclosure; rumors of him being a "closet gay" circulate around the hospital; several attorneys file lawsuits against him; and the State Medical Board investigates him while Dr. Stone waits to die a hideous, painful death in less than 2 years. The exposes the psychological, personal, marital, financial, professional and familial challenges that confront Dr. Stone while he is waiting to die.