Mr. Sauber

Residents are often asked to present interesting case reports, and even though I’m not in med school yet, I’ve come across a medical mystery that should be written about.

First case presents itself about two months ago, patient Mr. Sauber – my next door neighbour, actually. I’ve obtained consent from his next-of-kin, my friend Kyle Sauber, to log what I feel is a very interesting case. Mr. Sauber was kind of our Patient 0.

Mr. Sauber is a frequent flier given his diabetic condition and old age. Even if I hadn’t lived next to him for my entire childhood, I’d know by his medical records that he was always teetering on the edge of poor health; generally, our clinic is well-equipped to help him or keep him overnight if need be, but in July he was taken to the hospital out in the city out of concern that his kidneys may be failing.

He was held for three days before being sent back home; according to his file, it had been a false alarm, but Kyle had been raising concerns since the day he got back. Since I do a lot of the appointment booking, I was able to get Mr. Sauber in once a week for check-ups (it would have been twice a week if they could afford so many medical bills).

I observed for myself Mr. Sauber’s steady deterioration. I watched him go from a 230 pound man to a frail skeleton. Towards the end, his skin was a few shades paler and flaking right off; his hair (or, what was left of it) was thin, dry, and fell out; I could see his bones when he moved. We’d given him a walker to use because it seemed like he just didn’t have the will to support himself.

All the while, his bloodwork, his vitals, urine samples – they all came back normal.

Mr. Sauber died one week ago.