Hi guys. It's been quite a while since I posted a blog entry.
This could be considered an update on my blog enty entitled "Time of death".
I was on clinic duty today. Seeing patients in my consult, nothing as stressful as an ER shift. Suddenly, in between patients, a man knocks on the door.
"Hello doctor... Can I have a minute of your time?"
I have seen the man's face somewhere. I can't recall where... Where have I seen this bloke?
"Doc... I don't know if you remember me, but I certainly do remember you. You attended my mother in her final moments, and gave your all for her. I couldn't do this back then, emotions take you somewhere else when this happens to you... But now that time has washed away some of the pain, I gathered the courage to come here and give you this..."
He hands me an envelope and stretches his hand.
"Thank you, sir... For everything."
And walked away, closing the door behind him.
I was flabbergasted. Nobody had done that to me before. I was at a loss of words and thought, embargoe'd in the emotion of the moment.
My secretary then knocked on the door to tell me a scheduled patient had arrived. I continued my clinic duty with a rather blank mind...
I waited until I got home to open the envelope. It contained a piece of paper, with a hand written poem, which translated, says something like this:
You, who heals life And recovers the Soul
Give a new dawn And consoles the sunset
Calm the pain transmitting trust Squeezes my hand giving me hope
Give dreams After so many lost hours of sleep
In your hands you put devotion And give it to your patients Who look for healing
Thank you for all of your years of studying Thank you for the experiences acquired Thank you for healing other people's wounds
Thank you for letting God Guide your hands for you to Cut, mold and transform And solve the mysteries of health
Thanks to you Admirable physician That despite your tiredness Give your patients and their families relief and consolement.
Thanks to you Human, too human The best kind of person A person who gives his life To try and save others Even if it isn't possible Even to the break of sweat in your forehead Or to the pain in your heart for those who you couldn't save.
Then it stuck me. It was the lady's son on the history I told on my previous medical blog, the one linked atop this post.
I'm taking this to a shop to put a frame on it and hang it behind my desk on my consult's wall. ... Gosh, my eyes are all watery. I wonder what this feeling is.
Wow thats really beautiful. Idk maybe its the atheist in me, but aren't you a little bothered that he is still giving God the credit in the part
"Thank you for letting God Guide your hands for you to Cut, mold and transform And solve the mysteries of health"
I guess if you are religious its probably fine, just kinda cheapens the whole thing since the rest of it does truly reflect the crazy amount of work/study you have done for the ability to help others.
On June 26 2013 08:14 skullnite wrote: Wow thats really beautiful. Idk maybe its the atheist in me, but aren't you a little bothered that he is still giving God the credit in the part
"Thank you for letting God Guide your hands for you to Cut, mold and transform And solve the mysteries of health"
I guess if you are religious its probably fine, just kinda cheapens the whole thing since the rest of it does truly reflect the crazy amount of work/study you have done for the ability to help others.
For moments like this, you need to look past little things and see that deep down he is thanking you with all his heart.
Thanks for sharing, OP. This is very motivational and inspiring for my last year of med school.
Almost teared up. You and people like you are amazing. Whenever I read your blogs, I feel moved, and sometimes make me want to be like you. It seems like you have some of the uniquest experiences and I always enjoy when you share them. Thank you.
That patient must've been through some real pain losing his mother. Not that no one else goes through that but for him to actually think of making/going to see you and hand you the gift says a lot.. I think he's finally at peace and I hope he is.
Wow. How many jobs can you say this about. For all the stress you get you do get the ultimate gratitude from people you save or whose relatives you tried to save.
On June 26 2013 08:14 skullnite wrote: Wow thats really beautiful. Idk maybe its the atheist in me, but aren't you a little bothered that he is still giving God the credit in the part
"Thank you for letting God Guide your hands for you to Cut, mold and transform And solve the mysteries of health"
I guess if you are religious its probably fine, just kinda cheapens the whole thing since the rest of it does truly reflect the crazy amount of work/study you have done for the ability to help others.
I'm not religious at all, but I don't care that other people are. If the man who wrote the poem wants to include god in his thanks... let him. The guy believes god helps doctors learn and work, I believe the doctors do it all themselves, why do you need to take offense to such things? All the hate between religious and non-religious people is quite silly. My favorite color is green, yours might be blue, we don't get upset over that, do we?
This post, and the fact that someone would go to such lengths to thank you, speaks very highly of your character. People like you make the world better, day by day.
On June 26 2013 08:14 skullnite wrote: Wow thats really beautiful. Idk maybe its the atheist in me, but aren't you a little bothered that he is still giving God the credit in the part
"Thank you for letting God Guide your hands for you to Cut, mold and transform And solve the mysteries of health"
I guess if you are religious its probably fine, just kinda cheapens the whole thing since the rest of it does truly reflect the crazy amount of work/study you have done for the ability to help others.
why would you ruin a wonderful moment by completely overthinking it and missing the point?
On June 26 2013 08:14 skullnite wrote: Wow thats really beautiful. Idk maybe its the atheist in me, but aren't you a little bothered that he is still giving God the credit in the part
"Thank you for letting God Guide your hands for you to Cut, mold and transform And solve the mysteries of health"
I guess if you are religious its probably fine, just kinda cheapens the whole thing since the rest of it does truly reflect the crazy amount of work/study you have done for the ability to help others.
how friggin insecure do you have to be to be offended by something like that?
On June 26 2013 08:14 skullnite wrote: Wow thats really beautiful. Idk maybe its the atheist in me, but aren't you a little bothered that he is still giving God the credit in the part
"Thank you for letting God Guide your hands for you to Cut, mold and transform And solve the mysteries of health"
I guess if you are religious its probably fine, just kinda cheapens the whole thing since the rest of it does truly reflect the crazy amount of work/study you have done for the ability to help others.
how friggin insecure do you have to be to be offended by something like that?
Seriously....
I'm an athiest as well, and have always been one, but I don't ever remember athiest being as childish and sensative as they have become all of a sudden. It's a beautiful moment and the only thing cheapening it is you.
I also don't think the OP works where he does so that he can get "credit" for being a good or awesome person. People often thank god for what others have done because it is socially easier to understand why god would want to have someone help them, then understand why someone would choose on their own to help in this regard. Humans are inherantly selfish beings, I've been told numerous times about how god has caused me to help others and I usually just let people believe whatever they want.
In poetry and in these types of things, by praising god in the context you're implicitly praising the person who did the work of God, per se. I may be agnostic/atheist, but I'm not particularly bothered by his usage of that language/diction.
EPT
