□ Tough Love □ A Saving Grace Sometimes [if not most times] thats what this profession requires .... heartlessly and unfeelingly pushing someone to make an impossible life altering radical decision. And doing so without any emotions or sympathy .... so long as it gets d job done and saves a life, a truck load of sympathy can come later! Imagine pushing unrelentlessly for an otherwise healthy man to accept for his leg to be amputated ....! It is a dirty job no Doctor looks forward to ...but when the chips are down, a life is hanging on a beam with a knife edge as the balance and the only option is amputation .... you get dirty, bury your emotions and put on an indifferent mien to get the dirty job done. He is a 46 year old Diabetic with forefoot gangrene[ DFU, wagner IV] who has been counselled and re counselled on the need for amputation but has declined consent for the umpteenth time; dude aint ready to part with his dear legs yet. But fact is with gangrene and all the possible risks looming[including sepsis, hyperglycemic crises of varying types and Multi Organs Failure], the only option left is amputation ....it is a non negotiable fact. We had one such patient that died.... and that made me take this one personal, counselling b.d [2 times daily] tryna make him see reason .... to the extent that whenever he sees me he starts hyperventilating in anxiety [onye mbeji ukwu a abiakwana ozo ooo, must be going through his mind!]. One day he said with a croaky tear-ladden voice: why are u so EAGER to cut my leg ...! Eager ...yea thats the word he used! And I froze:so am now a sadistic psychopath who derives joy from butchering people ! So I soft pedalled. Then he became septic, and was on a downward spiral to God-knows where...and that was the wake up call I needed to put back my psycho - butchering mask on. Good news is that he has now given consent .... yea, he is going to loose part of his leg but it will get him his life back! And I think thats a good deal .... one worth celebrating. Ironical inint ...?????
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 05:01:23 +0000
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