When Medicine is not hard and cold
I used to want to just deal with sickness with IV fluids and antibiotics, or if the heart stopped, I would zap it back to life and move on to the next patient. Even talking to the family members become quite robotic. No matter how much I wanted to show empathy, there was a limit. Because I needed to move on pretty quickly and I didn't think I would remember these patients later on anyway.
And then I moved to this small town, so small I bump into patients everytime when I do my grocery. It gets quite uncomfortable. But the other side is, I really enjoy the relationships that I build. I believe it becomes therapeutic when the emotional side of a sick person is addressed.
This 90 year old granny who still bowled. She fell and got sick, not that she broke any bones but that one fall she sustained saw her declining in her function. No magic drugs, just an admission to baby her back to her youthful 90 self, it was greatly satisfying.
And oh Jeff, oh Jeff. How delightful is this 80 year old English man. There must be lots of story behind his mischief, making jokes about everything. I found out that he has no family/ girlfriends, just an old man who is going to make his way back to a small fishing village in England soon. He tries to get it all 'sorted' before he flies back there. Today, he brought a small porcelain elephant and a book for me, and said ''I hope you will not forget me.'' My heart all fluffy, I made a huge excision on his scalp to remove his skin cancer. Oh jeff, oh jeff, I hope you will never lose your cheekiness.
And then I moved to this small town, so small I bump into patients everytime when I do my grocery. It gets quite uncomfortable. But the other side is, I really enjoy the relationships that I build. I believe it becomes therapeutic when the emotional side of a sick person is addressed.
This 90 year old granny who still bowled. She fell and got sick, not that she broke any bones but that one fall she sustained saw her declining in her function. No magic drugs, just an admission to baby her back to her youthful 90 self, it was greatly satisfying.
And oh Jeff, oh Jeff. How delightful is this 80 year old English man. There must be lots of story behind his mischief, making jokes about everything. I found out that he has no family/ girlfriends, just an old man who is going to make his way back to a small fishing village in England soon. He tries to get it all 'sorted' before he flies back there. Today, he brought a small porcelain elephant and a book for me, and said ''I hope you will not forget me.'' My heart all fluffy, I made a huge excision on his scalp to remove his skin cancer. Oh jeff, oh jeff, I hope you will never lose your cheekiness.
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