It isn't often that I set my alarm for 3:45 AM. I'm nobody's sweetheart at that time of morning and would wake up the dead if they happened up on me brushing my teeth. In any event, this morning I bounced out of the bed at the motel room after a very short night and gently as possible told my hubby it was time for him to take his shower and get ready to go. He was scheduled for out patient surgery at 7:30 AM and we had to be in the hospital by 5:00 for all the hoopla to start the ball rolling. We arrived right on time.
Physicians, as a rule, don't seem to have much time or patience for small talk and trivial matters. I understand that. They're busy folks. They have schedules and it's important to stay focused and keep up with all the details. I don't expect them to remember personal stuff. On the other hand, being compassionate is another whole ballgame. Sometimes you just need a nod of approval, a hand on your shoulder, or a gentle smile to make things a little better.
Today, as the team was assembling to prepare my husband for surgery, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist conferred. It was a pretty sobering moment when the anesthesiologist obviously was not comfortable about the sedation process because of my husbands other health issues. The surgeon laid it on the line and told of the risks involved in putting him to sleep. He then told of the alternative risks of not doing the surgery. Both options we already had been told, but hearing them again at that moment in time in that room just 15 minutes prior to surgery definitely hit home. My eyes filled with tears. My husband said "Go ahead with the surgery".
In lay terms, the anesthesiologist decided to try to use a conservative approach first without putting a breathing tube down his throat, and if he ran into a problem with pain, then he would do that, but would try the other first so that was his plan. The surgeon was good with that. He would work fast! Hope for no problems! He then turned to me and reached down and gave me a big bear hug. Oh how I needed that hug! He smiled and said he would come out and find me when the surgery was over. And he did! Everything went well! God is good! We're going home!
Unfortunately, so few students are going into the medical field today that worrying about compassion seems to be the least of our worries. But that's another subject for another day.......
