Health – Patient perspective

“Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way.”  Simple but beautiful words by John Keating, portrayed by the late Robin Williams.  I recently watched the movie Dead Poets Society and this particular line stood out to me the most.

One month ago I fell whilst at a playground with my daughter. I fractured my left upper arm and the two bones in my right thumb. Up until then, I’ve been very lucky with my health. Apart from the odd ailment which may affect most 30-somethings, I’ve never had to spend an extended time in hospital – I stayed for two nights when my daughter was born and one night when I had my tonsils out at the age of 12.

I’ve been seeing patients with fractures and sprains for over 10 years but my experiences over the last month have certainly given me a different perspective: the patient perspective.

As doctors, we assess and manage a patient for 15 minutes, they leave our office, and the next patient arrives. What we sometimes fail to appreciate is what happens when the patient leaves – and yes, I have certainly been guilty of this over the years.

At present, I am sporting an impressive sling on my left arm and a rigid splint on my right hand. I’ve certainly never really appreciated how difficult life can be when you can’t fully use your arms. Simple things like making a cup of tea, turning a key in a lock and typing on a keyboard become cumbersome and slow. I am unable to pick up my daughter; I cannot cook (which I do miss terribly). I am not allowed to drive.

In the first week I had a full cast on my right arm. I’ve probably arranged for thousands of casts to be put onto patients but never before have I appreciated just how heavy and itchy these are.

With the help of colleagues at work and ACC taxis, within two weeks I was back at the clinic seeing patients. I was adamant that I wanted to go back to work as soon as I could. The idea of being at home for weeks on end was quite daunting. There’s still a lot I cannot do, but I’ve been trying to focus on what I can do.

Our bodies are amazing and able to adapt well. I will be finding out whether surgery is needed later this month. In the meantime I am grateful to have a supportive team at work, an exceptional husband, a great bunch of friends and neighbours and a sympathetic family.

So back to John Keating – I indeed have been able to look at things in another way.