Experience

For some reason or other, I thought of writing about experience.

If one has an encounter, does it suffice to be an 'experience'. By definition,yes. But in actuality? Some people give advice based on their 'experience'. Should decision be based on 'notions' or 'experience'?

Strangely, whilst reading a book, and pondering over some matters, two incidents float back into mind, both involving appendicitis.

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During undergraduate days, I had a dull discomfort on the right of the abdomen, and it occured more often after a meal. As I also had gastric problem, I didnt pay much attention to it. The discomfort pulled on for months. I never thought it was appendicitis because I had heard that the pain is acute, excruciating. You cant made a mistake with it. Appendicitis does not show up in x-rays or scans. The only way you can diagnosed it is by good clinial skill (at least in the past).

There was a doctor that I saw regularly at Nus clinic. After one particular visit to the doctor over the same problem, she got worried, and felt she should refer me to hospital for a specialist opinion. Thankfully, because I was under teaching bursary award, all medical would be borne by psc, and because of that, I also got to see a senior specialist, the registrar. He was pretty good. He said to me, its murmuring appendicitis. He said to get warded if the pain is very bad.

There were ALOT of problems at home, so I didnt mention this to anyone.

The pain did get worse sometime later, not excruciating, bearable, but walking after a meal was painful. but I wont know when it was going to be acute. I didnt want to have to depend on anyone at home should things turned bad, so I made appointment to see the specialist again, without telling anyone at home. Since I was just past 21, I could be responsible for myself. It was only when I had to be warded, that the nurse asked where were my parents/family members. It was then that I realised I had to inform them. The ward doctors didnt believe I had appendicits as I looked 'well' and had no problems when I was on soft diet. I had no 'symptoms'. The blood test didnt show high white blood count. They felt I was a hypochondraic and should be discharged. It wasnt pleasant. There was no scan at that time.

When I was back on normal diet, the pain recurred. The specialist visited me at the ward, he asked me if I want to bear with the pain until it was really bad, or operate to remove it. It was december and nus exam was in april. If the pain got really bad, I may missed exams and that would mean repeating another year. I decided on removing the appendix. That was how independent I was. Just 21, and I made all the decisions. It was easier without worrying about the medical cost.

I remembered the anasthesist was a cheeky fellow, who made unseemly remarks. When he saw the medical records, he also said, how can this be appendicitis. Whatever, immediately after the operation, when I was pushed out, I was almost immediately conscious, and the first question I asked was, is it appendicitis? The anasthesist was taken aback that I was alert so quickly, and said, yes it was and there were other problems.

Anyway that was the only time I went through a surgery. At my after op consultation, I asked the specialist who did the operation for me, how come he was quite certain I had appendicitis, when all other doctors felt I was a hypochondraic. He said, experience. He came across a case like mine before and saw the similarities. I was very thankful to him.

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The second incident involved my mum. She complained over weeks about abdominal pain/discomfort, and all the doctors she saw treated her for gastric/strss/wind. I was very uncomfortable, because of my own experience. She did go to a public hospital, but was not warded, as they felt it was gastric. It isnt appendicitis, they were certain. They more or less implied it was psychological

But a couple of days later, her pain was so bad, we had no choice but to send her to Mt e, even though we knew it would cause a bomb. The specialist on duty was an English, and he could be very sarcastic. Nevertheless, he spent the first half an hour just listening to all my mums complains (translated to him). He thought it could be stones in the gall, or some kidney malfunction. When I asked him, could it be appendicitis, he said, No.

I remembered that was a Sunday. The next day was a Monday, and I was in charge of the teachers day concert, so had to stay the whole afternoon to do the audition. When I went to the hospital, I was horrified that my mum was undergoing an emergency operation, and 3 hours had passed. I couldnt understand why cos the doctor did not say it was an emergency, or what the next action was. Thankfully dad saw to the procedure. I was really angry with myself then, that I had put school first, when mum was in such a condition.

Finally, when the surgeon came out, he said it was perforated appendicitis, which had ruptured, and the pus was all over the abdomen. In his 30+years of surgery, he had never seen a case like that, and it took him 2 hours or more, to 'clean up' the abdomen. Even his operating theatre nurse said, it was really very bad. I was stunned, and relieved that my mum pulled through. The surgeon was quick to realise in the morning that when the check for all his first conclusions were negative, but the white blood count was very high, that it was appendicitis, and made an immediate decision for emergency operation.

I was then very angry with the public hospital because had they diagnosed it correctly, the appendix would not have ruptured. Only a small percentage of people survived perforated appendicitis. My mum should never had been in such a risk, especially when she did seek medical attention, at the hospital. And now, i had to be anxious about how to cover the medical cost.

But the surgeon said to me, it took him, with all his 30+ year experience(I think he was in his 50s), his first conclusion was to rule out appendicitis also as the pain described was not the norm. Apparently the appendix had moved in position. He advised against lodging a complain. Because he saved my mum's life, I took his advice. He was very decent and charged us very very nominally for the operation and the after op treatments. He also arranged for mum to stay longer at the hospital to get the medical care. That drained all I had. But I didnt mind. Because the doctor went out of his way to take care of mum. Not that he was patient with her constant complain ( mum's threshold is not high), but his actions spoke so much louder than words.

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In both cases, experience had been the key to treating and saving lives. But not just experience. There was a careful analysis and true medical professionalism. Money was not the issue.

I do not demean youth. But however smart and intelligent, and whatever academic success or scholarships, it requires alot of exposure and most of all a keenness to listen, learn, and a heart to care. Especially if you are in the field that deal with the lives of people. It is not the number of years alone. It is going through the experience and learning from it.

Teaching and medical are 2 vocations that have the most dealings with lifes.

The difference is one is to nurture and affect the growth of the child, the other is to attend to the ill, and to save lives.

There is another difference, medical is regarded as a professional status, and doctors need a licence to practise , and they have an oath that they have allegiance to. You cant say I have a passion for medicine, so here I am, a doctor. You have to undergo the study and the training and be awarded the license to practise by a professional body.

Nevertheless, in both fields, lives are touched and affected. Let it be a positive touch, and affected in a way that befits humanity.

Silence is golden....