Boston Med: The Patient-Doctor Connection

July 22, 2010 — -- Doctors and health care providers may be used to treating life-threatening illnesses, but that doesn't mean they grow immune to the emotions that emerge in caring for patients.

When Dr. Kimberly Parks, a transplant cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, was first introduced to her patient, Marvin Pollet, she felt an instant connection. "He was the kind of person that you immediately liked. He was very polite, very enthusiastic and he was grateful. He was so excited to come here," Parks said.

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In November 2008, Pollet, a 55-year-old private investigator from Louisiana, was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a disorder in which the body produces an excess amount of abnormal proteins that attack multiple vital organs. When amyloidosis involves the heart, it can result in cardiac failure.

"His cardiologist told me they did not expect him to make it through the night," recalled his wife, Jeannette. "He went to work that day, began a new medicine and passed out. His blood pressure plummeted, and his kidneys and liver started shutting down. That was the night of our 25th anniversary."

With his health worsening by the day, Pollet, along with his wife, flew to Boston where he was admitted to Mass General under the care of Parks and a team of specialists. "I didn't want anyone to stamp me with a time and a date saying 'this is as long as you could live,'" Pollet said. "It's almost like a threat to me."

His only real chance at life was a heart transplant. "Marvin came to Mass General looking for hope and we gave him that," Parks said. "Regardless of what the outcome was going to be, he was grateful. He had so much love for his family, he had so much love for life."