DEAR ABBY: Thank you for printing the letter from the reader who suffered great injuries and was charged with DUI without the use of alcohol. A copy of that letter has been laminated and now hangs in our department. It will be shown to patients who give us the excuse, "I am OK to drive."
Also, please tell your readers not to drive after having medical procedures that involve sedation or anesthesia. As a nurse who works in an endoscopy unit, I encounter patients almost daily who insist they are "safe to drive" and that they have "done it many times before."
Patients who are to receive any type of anesthesia or sedation are instructed by the physicians to have a responsible driver to take them home. Please, Abby, through the power of your column, remind your readers to follow these important pre-procedure instructions. The medical staff who will prevent you from driving home are not trying to give you a difficult time; we are trying to prevent injury or death to our patients, or God forbid, an innocent bystander. -- DIANA PASINI-WOJNISZ, WILMINGTON, DEL.
DEAR DIANA: Thank YOU for a letter that's well worth space in this column. I hope that anyone who is having a medical procedure performed that requires sedation or anesthesia will take your letter to heart, and not attempt to get behind the wheel of a car until the medication is completely out of his or her system.