There were endless trips to the hospital when my mother-in-law was diagnosed with a terminal disease. Aware that there was no cure, all that we were trying to do was to delay the inevitable. In her last days we would often break down.
It was then that one of the local doctors and a family friend stepped in. He would come on his own, check on her and give us the required counselling.
He advised us against putting her on ventilator. “Let her die peacefully amidst all her near and dear ones,” he said.
We had never had the chance to see the humane side of a senior doctor like him before. Thanks to his discourses on life and death, we were able to bear the tough phase.
The Hippocratic Oath, taken by doctors, is one of the most widely known of the Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear by a number of healing gods to uphold specific ethical standards of the doctors.
For instance, it says, “I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.”
{{/usCountry}}For instance, it says, “I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.”
{{/usCountry}}In our case it was definitely understanding of the situation and sympathy with both the afflicted as well as the affected that made the doctor provide us the much-required support not just for our ruffled bodies but also for our spirits.
On the occasion of Doctors Day today let’s renew our faith on the healing power of doctors.
It’s time we paid a tribute to the entire medical fraternity for striving to bring comfort and happiness in our lives.
(Inner Voice comprises contributions from our readers. The views expressed are personal.)