Letting go is the hardest thing to do

Case: 69 years old lady suffering from breast cancer, with lung and liver metastasis. Her consciousness deteriorated at the end of my on call. She showed signs of gasping, indicating that the end of life is closing in.

The 80+ years old mother was in distress, seeing the unaroused daughter. She tried so hard: shook her, called her, pleaded us to do something, all in hope to hear her daughter’s voice again. Yet, the daughter lay there, weak and unaware of the voice of her beloved mother. It has always been devastating to see an elderly sending off the younger children. Who doesn’t love their child?

Letting go is indeed the hardest thing to do. We have so little time in life, and working in this field of work allowed me to be up close with death. Life is so fragile and impermanent. Medicine can only do so much for the ill, but we can always be there for our loved ones. Don’t wait till it’s too late.

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Remain hopeful

Case: An elderly with liver cirrhosis and occasional coughing was admitted to manage hepatic encephalopathy. She had an episode of vomiting & choking which led to aspiration pneumonia. Hypotension and desaturation ensued. While she is in DNR status, we tried our best to resuscitate her with fluids, performed sputum suction, provided oxygen therapy and started her on antibiotics. Her vitals recovered gradually and stabilized. However, she’s not out of the woods yet.

Just when life is about to come to an end, our path crossed, where I tried a little bit to help, and you tried a little more to live.

May you go though this challenge and live to see another day.

I wish you all the best.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the people around me, who gave me emotional support when I needed it the most.

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Giving just enough

No matter how knowledgeable a person may be, there is a need to gauge how well the message is received by the other party.

Stuff too much, and the recipient suffers from information overload.

Stuff too little, and the recipient enters into boredom.

It comes to a point, the communicator needs constantly check on how well the other person is receiving the message.

When the person seemed clueless, or having a hard time digesting the information, providing more information may not be effective in solving the problem. Instead, try to gauge how much the person has understood, and which part of the key information is still missing that hinders his/her understanding.

The student may be a slow learner, but the teacher/mentor plays an even greater role in getting the information across and helping the slow learner grow.

Well, in short...

I am just another slow learner who is trying hard to keep up the learning pace on this fast-paced society. So please bear with me while I’m still understanding how things work.

If you can’t wait, I don’t mind you leaving me alone and let me learn on my own.

Don’t worry, I’ll find my own way.

When it comes to a day where I am the one sharing the knowledge, I will make sure the other slow learners grow well, because I understand how it feels to be a slow learner.

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