Dr. Rafiq provided amazing care to my father during a recent stay on NTCU. Dad is 91, has a history of TIA and CVA and presented with TIA-like symptoms. He ended up getting swabbed for influenza and was positive — a likely cause for his change in mentation. But Dr. Rafiq wasn't comfortable just letting it go. He calculated Dad's stroke risk factors, then his bleeding risk. He talked me though both and we agreed the stroke risk outweighed the bleeding risk. With dad off of Coumadin due to the "lifestyle" limitations it imposed (frequent blood draws, dietary limitations), Dr. Rafiq consulted with not just cardiology, but neurology to see what new anti-coag they might recommend. He then took those meds and consulted with pharmacy to determine which one(s) would interact least with his daily meds. He then asked about reversibility and narrowed it down to two.
Not done yet, he asked which one(s) we carry the reversal agent for here 24/7 and determined the final best fit. I have told this story to several friends in the health care community. They all said the same thing: "Who does all that for someone who was diagnosed with the flu? That's impressive!" I agree. Dad emerged better “managed” than when he went in. I can’t thank him enough for that. After a stay in our truly amazing Inpatient Rehab unit, dad is home, independently caring for himself, and for that I am eternally grateful! Everyone who cared for dad from the ED to NTCU to IPR was beyond excellent. Dr. Rafiq put in the extra mile for an elderly man with the flu who he would only treat for a couple of days. That stood out above the rest for me.