Matters of Historical Importance, Part - 6

That is why WE are what WE are!

Working in Cardiology since my graduation has made me familiar with most of our clients. “Once a Heart Patient, always a Heart Patient!" is what we believe and propagate. We advise people to stick to their diet, moderate exercise and medication, come rain or shine.

But it is equally true that there are millions alive without following any of these "Commandments". But we can do only those things that we know and have to stick to what we believe are Science or "Evidence Based".

We had a long standing client, a retired Bank Clerk. He was a very regular client and stuck to advise most of the times. One day, he came to the ICCU with a severe chest discomfort and heart failure. We had great difficulty in resuscitating him and he was stabilized after 3 days. Then on the fourth day, he confessed to have defaulted on treatment. When I asked what was the reason for the default, he told, "Doctor, there is a 'Traditional Healer' at our village. He claimed to me that he can CURE my Diabetes and Heart Disease completely with a 6 months course of treatment that costs rupees five thousand. So I went for that. I was fine for 2 weeks and then I developed this problem"

Now I had a reason to condemn him. So went like this, "Do you know there are Nobel Prizes for the taking for anyone who finds lasting Cure for Diabetes, Hypertension and Heart Disease? If your Healer is so good, why does he sit and practice from a village home? People as eminent as the President of America would be waiting to be treated by him. How foolish could you be?"

Well... I had just finished when the gentleman politely told me, "Doctor, that is exactly why YOU are the Doctor, and I am the Patient. If I were to know all these things and were as wise as you, I would've been a Doctor too!"
I have never tried to be Judgmental, Dogmatic or Authoritative with people after this.