Misuse or Abuse?

Mary asked how to transcribe this: The patient said she "told my mother I was suicidal."

(See quotes.html for the correction of this)

        Using the same verbiage the doctor used but with different punctuation, how about:

The patient said, "She told my mother I was suicidal." If the patient said that she'd told her mother she was suicidal, then how about: The patient said that she told her mother,"I was suicidal." It's difficult to tell who said what based on the dictation. Is "she" referring to the patient, or is "she" referring to someone else whom the patient is speaking about?

From Bill's friend David: Here's the way I see it: The patient is a friend of the doctor's mother, and she (the patient) told the doctor's mother that her son (the doctor) is suicidal! The doctor's own words were transcribed, "The patient said she told my mother I was suicidal." Since this is the doctor speaking, when he said "my mother" he is actually referring to his own mother, and the "I" in "I was suicidal" is referring to himself!

        The patient probably said something like..."Ya know Ira, I was having lunch with your mom the other day and I told her that you were suicidal." The doctor then dictated this statement as, "The patient said she told my mother I was suicidal." It's clear to me that you have a suicidal doctor here --- one of his patients knows it --- and she told his mother!