So Many Questions
“As doctors [and medical students], we have to ask the standard questions, “Have you noticed any unexplained changes in weight? Have you felt fatigued or tired lately?…” Sometimes, we have to ask more personal questions, “Have you experienced any changes in your bowel habits? Any problems urinating?” and, as patients, we have to answer the difficult questions “Have you considered amputation?”… “How important is fertility to you?” In medicine, there are many questions, simple yes and no’s, open ended questions, questions that require much thought and consideration to answer and questions that may not have an answer at all… But, what is most important, is to ask questions, both as a physician and as a patient, and to never stop. Because it is through asking questions, that we start to find out the answers…”
This Daily Doodle represents the evening of the Bryan Mudryk Golf Classic Tournament and Fundraising Dinner for the Cross Cancer Institute which was held in Boyle, Alberta.
It was such a wonderful and fun evening, with delicious home-made food, dancing and lots and lots of fundraising. I was one of the recipients of the Bryan Mudryk Scholarships and I am so thankful and honoured to be a recipient. The scholarship has helped me with the expenses associated with having to temporarily move back to Edmonton for treatment at the Cross Cancer Institute and the accumulated costs of egg harvesting. Thank you so much Bryan Mudryk,Terry Mudryk and everyone involved in making this scholarship possible. The Scholarship has helped me out so much, especially during a time when money should be the least of my worries.
During the delicious home-made dinner prepared by the lovely women of Boyle, Alberta, who had volunteered their time to this wonderful event, I thought about what it was like to be both a patient and a medical student. I thought about all the questions that I use to ask as a medical student and now, all the questions I have to answer as a patient. The quote above is my reflection on this evening.
Today I asked a patient the question, “What do you mean when you say that you feel lonely?”
She told me that it was hard for her to answer this fully. I persisted and asked her again, “Try to tell me about your loneliness like you mean it!”
Later on, she started to understand that it was okay for her to tell others about her feelings sooner rather than later — she did not have to always spend time processing her emotions and converting them into some intellectual equation. She could simply tell it like it is.
I am a family doc and am interested in art, music, etc. I read about your story in the medical post. I also encourage my patients to either write poetry or do drawings, etc. (even in the middle of a medical consultation).
If you are interested in reading poetry…go to http://www.wattpad.com and go to my handle: grieferic and then click on a poem to read. If you wish to do some art work that captures the spirit of my poems, that would be great.
You may have to sign up on wattpad but that is easy and painless.
Eric Grief (egrief@aol.com)