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...

Read More

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....

Read More

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...

Read More