By the time he landed in our emergency department, Albert was having, by his own account, his 11th episode of gastrointestinal bleeding. He’d developed crampy abdominal pain and passed a large volume of bright-red blood. He felt weak and lightheaded, and on more than one occasion he fainted. Albert, who was in his late 50s, had been to several hospitals and clinics in the area. A slew of internists, gastroenterologists and surgeons couldn’t diagnose the problem. CT scans and end…