It’s normal for patients to return for a check-up, and there are patients who come back for check-ups every day. Today’s patient has been re-examined for 16 years, has not been examined for more than 15 years, so I no longer remember him. Records for patients in the clinic do not include his name. After the patient left, I found his medical record in the file of special severe cases when I was working at Cho Ruong hospital.
16 years ago, the patient became weak and quadriplegic, went to many doctors and found no disease. When it was difficult to breathe, the son told his friends. A cousin of mine who is a friend of the patient’s son introduced his uncle, asking for his help, showing him where to treat, not knowing that his uncle worked in that specialty.
The patient had a herniated disc in the cervical spine, progressive infarction and myelofibrosis, complete paralysis, and began to show signs of respiratory failure. At this stage, doctors are afraid to touch the patient. No doctor wants to be the last drop of a full glass of water.
If surgery, the possibility of recovery is very low, luckily, you also have to use a cane or a wheelchair. At the same time, just an impact that seems to mean nothing to other cases, or a very small negligence, the patient will go away, which means torment and many other annoyances. But without surgery, the patient will die.
The patient was luckier than expected, recovering spectacularly after surgery. A few months ago, when the patient saw an increase in numbness in his hand, he went to find me, I stayed at Cho Ruong hospital, and my grandson left the country. The patient went to another hospital, the doctor gave me the phone number and address for the patient to come see me.
The patient came in to see me as normal as someone who wasn’t sick, grabbed and squeezed my hand tightly, overjoyed. The patient has an additional hernia mass above the place I operated on, but currently there is no indication for surgery. Leaving, the patient shook my hand, squeezed my hand again.
At that time, I did not feel the full value of the patient’s steps, shaking hands, and squeezing hands because I did not know the patient’s previous condition. It was not after the patient left, sitting and reopening the special serious illness records that I kept since I was working at Cho Riong, that I understood that it was a miracle.
During the days when I was reeling from lawsuits and malicious articles, one of my patients sent me her previously published article. The article is about her case, suffering from a tumor in the occipital region of the neck, which is very compressed. She was operated on when she could no longer breathe on her own. Then there was a life-and-death struggle for a few months, and then she recovered, almost a normal person.
That girl came back for a follow-up visit, right at the time when I was reeling. The tumor recurred but was not large enough to cause compression symptoms. I don’t know if she really came to me for a follow-up check-up or just wanted to encourage me in difficult moments. But no matter what the purpose of her follow-up visit, it was a very valuable encouragement to me.
I am not sure what patients think about the doctor, about the people who have treated them. Recent evidence shows that many patients come to doctors with a pre-existing prejudice that doctors do not pay attention to cure but only seek to make money. I know many patients who, after recovering from illness, think they are cured because of the envelope, because of their artificially sweet art for doctors. People who are less “silver” think that because they have received blessings from above, or because they have accumulated blessings in a certain life.
But I’m sure of one thing, the recovery of all patients, especially those who have overcome the disease like a miracle, are invaluable words of encouragement to doctors, a motivation for doctors to walk. continued on his path filled with pain and asceticism.
BS. Vo Xuan Son
