Craig Troop M.D.

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FAQ

Greetings to all book readers and audiobook listeners:
 
   Let me share a little insight into why I wrote the book. My primary intent in writing an account of my 45 years in clinical practice was to create a sort of love letter to my one and only 5-year-old grandson. I am currently 74 years old. By the time my grandson comes ‘of age’, I will be a distant memory. If he is interested, reading about my medical adventures will provide a window into the type of person his granddad was.  The title of the book is an actual case (as are all of the short stories). My one and only daughter insisted the story of the woman who arrived at my ER with the entrance complaint of a bomb in her vagina had to be the title of the book. The truth is that there was no bomb only a woman having a psychotic break with reality. However, the woman managed to convince everyone, (the ambulance EMS personnel & her daughters) that her gynecologist wanted to terminate her!
   
   The book was published in September 2025. Promoting the book is turning out to be both costly and time-consuming (much more so than writing the book).  A ‘home run’ for me would be to simply recoup my publishing and advertising costs.
 
Best to Everyone

One thing many people don’t realize is that humor is essential in the medical field. Working in high-pressure environments, such as emergency rooms and operating theaters, can be exhausting, both physically and emotionally. Laughter often becomes a survival mechanism. Over the years, I have encountered cases so absurd that they left everyone in the room shaking their heads and laughing, even in the midst of serious situations.

For instance, some patients arrive with conditions that sound unbelievable, yet are entirely real. Other scenarios involve perfect storms of coincidence, miscommunication and timing, turning tense situations into unexpectedly humorous ones. Sharing these stories allows readers to see the craziest things doctors have seen in context, highlighting not only the unpredictability of medicine but also the resilience and humanity of those who practice it.

What Emergency Memoirs Can Show That Charts Cannot

A medical chart records events with brutal efficiency. It may say a patient arrived short of breath, received treatment, improved, and was admitted. Every word can be accurate. None of it tells you how the patient gripped the rail, how his wife kept asking whether she should call the grandchildren, or how the nurse recognized trouble before anyone had said it aloud.

Medicine runs on facts. People survive and suffer in the space around those facts.

       My goal is simply to document and share my actual medical case adventures. Most of these stories are humorous and are meant to entertain.  A lifetime in medicine teaches a physician that skill matters enormously but it also teaches humility. The body does not always follow the script, and neither do families. 

       The best firsthand medical stories do not pretend otherwise. They do not manufacture heroes who always know what to do or patients who exist merely to teach a lesson. The doctor may be tired, rattled, amused, frustrated, or profoundly moved. The patient may be brave one moment and impossible the next. Both can be true and usually, both are.

In my book, “There Is a BOMB in My VAGINA

I recount some of the craziest things doctors have seen, drawn from decades of real patient encounters. These stories aren’t just about shock value; they offer insight into the human condition, the complexities of medical care and the humor that can emerge even in the most stressful situations.

The Reality behind the ER and OR Doors

When people think of emergency rooms, they picture controlled chaos: doctors and nurses moving efficiently, life-saving interventions performed flawlessly and tension building dramatically. In reality, the ER is much more unpredictable. Patients arrive with a spectrum of conditions, from routine injuries to life-threatening emergencies. Each day brings new challenges, surprises and lessons to learn.

The craziest things doctors have seen often happen in the blink of an eye. A seemingly normal case can escalate into a bizarre or high-stakes scenario. In my experience, it is these moments that define a career in medicine, shaping not only clinical skills but also empathy, problem-solving and resilience.

Humor and Humanity in the ER and OR

One thing many people don’t realize is that humor is essential in the medical field. Working in high-pressure environments, such as emergency rooms and operating theaters, can be exhausting, both physically and emotionally. Laughter often becomes a survival mechanism. Over the years, I have encountered cases so absurd that they left everyone in the room shaking their heads and laughing, even in the midst of serious situations.

For instance, some patients arrive with conditions that sound unbelievable, yet are entirely real. Other scenarios involve perfect storms of coincidence, miscommunication and timing, turning tense situations into unexpectedly humorous ones. Sharing these stories allows readers to see the craziest things doctors have seen in context, highlighting not only the unpredictability of medicine but also the resilience and humanity of those who practice it.