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| Sunday, 5 February 2006 |
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Short story : Healing with feeling (Based on a true story) Life is full of unimaginable incidents at times. Certain incidents cause chaos. They sometimes disturb life as a whole. They come to us without burning. Death is one such instance. But there are happenings in life which are equally dreadful.
Money, power, name, fame and position are very minor things in comparison with illness. Even a severe headache cannot be faced, inspire of having all the assets. In fact if health is lost, everything is lost. After a successful completion of a Nursing Diploma in India, my native country, I was sent to serve at a Hospital, in Colombo, Sri Lanka for two years. My short stay there, was full of experiences and much pleasure. I was appointed to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit in which patients in a critical condition fight for their lives and we as medical staff members have to be very very careful. Even a trivial mistake may kill a patient. Therefore, duty at the S.I.C.U. is a great responsibility. I have experienced how people die, suffer yet more than get cured of illness. Dengue June 2002, was a month full of Dengue casualties. Some patients were rushed to our hospital at the eleventh hour and couldn't be saved. There, was one little girl who died of Dengue as her parents had kept her in a government hospital at the initial stages and the doctors had not been able to diagnose the illness and had also not paid much attention the patient. I can still remember the parents screaming at the death bed of their baby. That baby's blood count was thirty thousand when she died of haemorrhage. According to medical teaching, a patient with a blood count of thirty thousand is in a critical condition. Before this mental agony could ease news of another arrived. Critical It was around 3.30 p.m. on June 25th Tuesday. The telephone of the S.I.C.U. rang and I ran to the phone because usually the telephone announces a critical case. 'Please send a nurse and an attendant with a trolley. Arrange a bed for a serious dengue patient.' It was a nurse from ward 4. I reacted at once and hurried to the ward as instructed. The patient was a young man in his early twenties. His strength had failed before the dengue virus could be arrested. While he was accompanied to the S.I.C.U. I spoke to a gentleman who was a very faithful friend of the patient and was his main stay. His tired face told me how he, too had struggled with the patient but his spirit was still young and fresh. The young boy had remarkable strength for a patient and gave strength to us too. No sooner was he transferred to the S.I.C.U., he was on saline and on E.C.G. monitor and the patient's friend was informed that blood at least from five people was urgently needed we knew quite well it was an impossible task to find so much blood at once but that gentleman spoke to the nursing sister with a lot of confidence. Blood "Please do your best and we will do the rest. I some how will find blood for him. He should be cured. Until the blood donors are accompanied tomorrow, can't you borrow from the lab?" "We are very sorry. We usually do not supply blood unless a doctor mediates." Even though the sister explained the usual procedure, he was not disheartened. He was quite positive and ran up to the lab. A little later the lab staff inquired about the patient's need and supplied the required platelet immediately. It was a very rare thing that they took such a risk to supply blood or platelet without a doctor's mediating or without the registration of donors. "How did you manage to convince the lab staff to get the work done?" We questioned him as we certainly were inquisitive to know. "Was there a known person or a friend in the lab?" "No. I don't know anyone in the lab but when you talk to the hearts of others and if your words are full of feeling, then you can definitely open their hearts. And I promised that the required blood donors would be sent to the lab tomorrow as early as possible." The positive attitudes of a person can win the hearts of others. It is the key to open others hearts. A nurse is assigned to each patient. Responsibility towards the patient is her priority. I was quite alert. He was on E.C.G. monitor and to save his life he was provided with blood products (platelet). All of a sudden the patient started shivering. He shouted for help due to the cold and immediately he was wrapped with blankets. Slowly but steadily we could maintain his body temperature. It was a struggle between life and death. John Donne has challenged death in his famous poem "Death be not proud" but when I witnessed how patients struggle with fate and death, I sometimes feel what Donne has said is not true. However, powerful you are, you become helpless before death. If not for divine intervention people can't defeat the enemy death. Security and love For patients' mental satisfaction, security and love are equally important as medicine. If a patient is mentally down and that mentality directly affects his health condition. This particular patient's faith and spirit were powerfully embodied in him. The scapular, a symbol of christian faith, he was wearing and the rosary under his pillow told me about his strong faith. He was encouraged to fight against the deadly virus. I was very careful because I thought the patient would read my dreadful thoughts. If he knew that I was mentally disturbed due to his condition it would have been..... I was also encouraged by his undying spirit and his friend's confidence. "Excuse me, what did the doctor tell you?" My anxiety questioned him." He was disturbed and said that the patient was in danger. He said that he had done everything possible. God only could save him. True enough. I know prayer can do wonders. Don't worry, he will be alright." It was a wonderful experience and an inspiration as well. Though I am a Hindu, I was also motivated by his words. Team effort As a result of team effort and dedication of the medical staff, we were able to see a ray of hope. Everyone including the physician marvelled at it. Many of us said that it was a miracle because of the very low blood count he had. He said that he was touched upon by God. Before he was transferred to a general ward I did not forget to talk about the history of his illness with his friend. He unfolded the story. Is it because of faith or destiny? Is it God's wish that the girl should die and this young man should live? Are patients cured only by medical wisdom or by something else? Isn't it true that the doctors do their best but within limits and the rest is in the hands of God? If this is so, is this patient's recovery also a result of medical wisdom and God's inspiration? Or is it continuous prayers which brought him back to life? I for one, still can't understand which is which. by Ajith Perera, Wennappuwa |
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