I am caring for a lot of very sick people right now, which isn't typical. Most of my patients have chronic, slowly progressive illnesses, so a lot of the work that I do is just checking in on generally healthy people to make sure that everything is okay. Lately though, things haven't been okay. I have patients going for major procedures, patients in hospital, and patients approaching the end of life.
I know that this isn't about me. The people most affected by this are of course the patients themselves and the people who love them. And yet, this is hard for me too. It is hard to be witness to suffering, particularly when there is nothing in my medical bag of tricks that I can use to change the outcome. I can of course offer comfort and support and symptom control, but dammit, sometimes I just want to fix it. I want life to not be the way it is, with illness and death and all of the other bad things.
So tonight I'm lying low. I've passed on trivia night, and I'm sitting in my sweatpants with a steaming bowl of spaghetti bolognase and a cuddly cat. And I'm grieving all of the things I cannot change.
Just stumbled upon your blog and I had to comment on this post because it resonates with me so much. As another sensitive doc whose patients' have gone through some rough spells... I see you. Thanks for putting in words how I feel on those difficult days.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI started on COPD Herbal treatment from Ultimate Health Home, the treatment worked incredibly for my lungs condition. I used the herbal treatment for almost 4 months, it reversed my COPD. My severe shortness of breath, dry cough, chest tightness gradually disappeared. Reach Ultimate Health Home via their website www.ultimatelifeclinic.com I can breath much better and It feels comfortable!