Some years ago, an old friend needed surgery. I couldn’t move her up the waitlist(等候名单), but I did introduce her to a surgeon. Unfortunately, a year later she told me that the surgery had left her in excruciating(极度痛苦的) pain. I urged her to return to the surgeon. After all(毕竟), which doctor would not be sympathetic?
几年前，一位老朋友需要做手术。我没能帮她提前排上手术，但我确实给她介绍了一位外科医生。不幸的是，一年后她告诉我，那次手术让她陷入了极度的疼痛。我劝她回去找那位外科医生。毕竟，哪个医生会不同情呢？
But over dinner, her halting(断断续续的) account of the appointment was devastating(令人心碎的) to hear. She had felt dismissed(被轻视) and ridiculed(被嘲笑), made to feel as if it were her fault. I asked if she would allow me to approach him. In my experience, most doctors want to know when they have caused distress or harm and welcome the opportunity to make amends(弥补、赔罪).
但在晚餐时，她断断续续地讲述那次就诊经历，听起来令人心碎。她感到自己被轻视、被嘲笑，甚至被弄得好像错在她自己。我问她是否允许我去找那位医生谈谈。根据我的经验，大多数医生都想知道自己何时给患者带来了痛苦或伤害，并欢迎有机会去弥补。
The easy bit was convincing my friend. The hard bit was calling the surgeon. I rehearsed(排练、预演) what to say and wondered if I was out of line(越界、出格). But having been the subject of a few complaints myself, I felt sure that he would want to know.
说服朋友是容易的部分。难的是给那位外科医生打电话。我反复排练要说的话，还担心自己是不是越界了。但因为我本人也被人投诉过几次，我确信他会想知道这件事。