like shooting stars

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Fragility

Its mid-atumn festival today and as usual, I went for my clinical posting. The morning began as usual in the ward. Nothing much happened except that due to some particular reasons everyone working in the ward are required to wear our apron and gloves all the time. Followed the senior consultant and doctors around during the "Grand Walk" and learnt some things. At around noon, something happened which really brought me into deep thoughts. One of our patients suddenly collapsed and in swift seconds, 2 nurses and a doctor rushed to his bedside and carried out resuscitation. My heart stopped beating for a moment as I saw the nurses pushing their best on the hard chest wall hoping to see a miracle..not long later, the doc took over and too tried his best to resuscitate the patient. It was a tensed moment as everyone's eyes were fixed on the machine indicating the patient's critical condition. 15mins passed and everyone were still waiting for the miracle to happen. The doctor shook his head for a while which made my heart froze. Nevertheless, they continued the resuscitation. I could see the determination on their faces as I made a silent prayer for the patient. The worried faces of the family members made me felt the importance of having your loved ones around. Another 10 mins passed, and the miracle which everyone has been waiting finally arrived! The patient has been SUCCESSFULLY RESUSCITATED!!! It was a moment of victory for everyone, the nurses, the doctor, the family members and most importantly, the patient himself. The doc and the nurses had managed to pull the patient back from the hell gate. My eyes felt watery but I managed not to
show it out. Through this experience, I realised that life can be just so fragile and we might just lose anyone around us anytime. Being a healthcareworker, I realised that whatever we do determines the patient's fate. I'm really glad that I can be a part of them. Most importantly, it made me realised that we should feel fortunate that our loved ones are living safely and closely with us. Always bear in mind..." Life is fragile".