remembering E.T.

........ may you rest in Peace!!!


So I'm half way through my rotation in Emergency Medicine...... And I have to say,I'm loving it.Admittedly so, it doesn't share the same pyrotechnic drama as E.R. exudes,but I can say it comes pretty damn close, sometimes.Just when I thought that the rate of my learning curve was at its peak,2 months in Accident&Emergency has propelled it into overdrive. Every day,I leave with a mark on me,kindly bestowed upon by patients.This mark I mention is not one of a physical nature,but one of a mental and sometimes emotional mark. Yes there are those who are culpable of contributing towards a brewing misanthropy that sometimes inevitably gets the better of me.... but just I'm about to succumb to the "This is just a job." philosophy,some comes along and saves you.... and lets face it every so often, we all could do with a little be of saving!

Recently,I was fortunate to meet such an individual.He was a young chap,my age,with a rare terminal illness.He was brought in by ambulance,unconscious.We resuscitated and stabilized him, as best as possible, and he was subsequently admitted to the wards.Many said that this was it,he had decompensated and his time was precious.8 hours later,I stopped by his room,his mum was by his side,hand on his lifeless ankle at the foot of the bed.I said hello, and asked he had woken up at all.A feeble "No" trembled out of her.In situations like these, there really is nothing one can say.... words of comfort and consolation fall on deaf ears, because no matter how sincerely you mean to say that "Everything will be ok", at the time, all parties concerned know that everything kinda sucks and isn't going to be okay. So really why say anything?
I said goodnight and that I'd try and stop by again tomorrow.

36-ish hours later,a nurse comes over and tells me that he is sitting up and eating.Amazing.I will never be able to fully articulate the relief and joy I felt when I heard that.... and then when I walked into his room to see him wolfing down strawberries.... It really is quite a high-not because I had anything to do with him waking up.. I DIDN'T!It was the mere fact that he was awake.

I remember thinking when I was initially attending to him in A&E, and hearing his parents and relatives talk about him.... that I wished I could've spoken to the guy.... even if it was just a couple of syllables... I wished that I could've looked him in the face, and said "Nice to meet you!!"
Turned out I did get to that just that.. and a little more. He told me of his plans to travel once he got out of the hospital.He told me of his obsession with Garlic Naans and Dosas.

I wished E.T. well. He thanked me,gave me a high five and smiled!
I will never forget that smile.

He passed away a month later

Every so often,I find myself questioning why the hell I chose Medicine as a path to walk, and sadly I often fail to divine an answer.I don't regret it but I do wonder why.
And then you meet the likes of E.T., and they are the answers.