Time flies, and I’ve moved on from Medical Oncology to its sister department, Palliative Medicine. The Bible reading from my previous post came to mind after seeing a referral to Palliative Medicine today.
XYZ is a middle aged lady, unfortunately afflicted with cancer, which had spread to the vertebrae resulting in nerve compression and weakness in both her legs. She came in for weakness, of course, and was advised for an operation to stabilize the spine and relieve the compression on her nerves. Definitely not a low risk surgery, but without the surgery, she would soon lose power in her legs, and her urine and bowel function would be affected eventually.
XYZ is a staunch Christian. She firmly believed that God will save her and restore power to her legs if she just prayed hard enough. Not that I doubted her faith and fervor – we have all heard or seen patients with recoveries and improvements which are unexplainable in today’s Medical world. But at the same time it was painful seeing her progress pass the days with gradual worsening power, yet the window fur surgery closing at the same time. The Orthopaedics doctors came by daily to explain to her, the Palliative team took pains to explain to her to try to convince her, but she stuck fast to her beliefs and ideals.
Just when we were all out of ideas and options, XYZ finally agreed to go for the surgery. She’s now recovering in a general ward. Whether her power will return to her legs – only time (and God) will tell.
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I remember another story from a nun, who shared this story during The Lourdes Experience at the National Indoor Stadium on 6th December. She had knee pains, and was advised to go for surgery for replacement. She was in two minds over the decision for surgery, and went finally went to Lourdes for her healing waters. As she stepped out of the waters, she felt a sense of peace and confidence – and went for the surgery after she returned to Singapore. The operation went smoothly, and her knee has not being giving her too much trouble ever since then.
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I do believe in the power of God. He has His own plans for us, which we’ll never fully fathom. But at the same time, I do believe that there is also a role for Medicine and Religion to work together to help our patients. We all want the best for our patients, but it is always important for us to recognize that every patient is a different individual, with different social, cultural and religious backgrounds. And in our line of duty, we have to negotiate these factors, and work in tandem with them for the good of our patient. To ignore them, will only be detrimental.
For we all share a common goal: the well-being of our patients.
Dr’s Blog is a feature of the CMG web site that aims to encourage interaction between Guild members. We hope to foster a spirit of community through the sharing of thoughts and personal experirences. The opinions expressed in these blogs are entirely those of the contributors and not of the Catholic Medical Guild of Singapore.
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2 Comments
Its very helpful article!
God bless all the patients in Singapore.