INDEXING TITLE: NALUDINO'S MAR (5-03)

TITLE: "Masamang damo"

PERIOD OF MEDICAL OBSERVATION: March 2005

NARRATION:

We just discharged a patient. Someone who we thought would never see the light of day again, considering the injuries he suffered. Here is his story.

He arrived at the Trauma Emergency Room, in the wee hours of the morning. I was on duty then. Two of my seniors were operating at that time while my batchmate was doing a case of an appendectomy. He arrived with two friends; he was holding something in his arms, looking very, very weak. I immediately recognized this as a trauma case and I was shocked by what I saw. What I initially thought as baggage, he was actually carrying in his arms, his abdominal contents. I set him on the stretcher and proceeded to giving him emergency care.

He was operated on almost immediately and was in a guarded state for almost a week. Post op care was very tedious. The patient eventually developed a colocutaneous fistula, and was deteriorating. His condition was not being helped by the fact he had no relatives around. It came to a point wherein we were told by the consultant that we may be already too late. He instructed us to look for the relatives and inform them of the patient's condition.

From that point, we felt that we were just waiting for the inevitable.

We were all proved wrong. The patient started improving. He was eventually sitting up, and then proceeded to ambulate.

Looking back, I can now remember the first words that the patient said to me at the ER, "Doc, tulungan niyo ako, ayoko pang mamatay."

INSIGHTS: (discovery, STIMULUS, reinforcement) (physical, PSYCHOSOCIAL, ETHICAL)

"Masamang damo, mahirap mamatay."a line we here every now and then, at the Trauma-ER. We see different people, they have different attitudes, and they come from different backgrounds. But most share the same
sentiment, "ayoko pang mamatay." We doctors are not immune. Admittedly, we all have our preconceived notions or stereo types. However, we must transcend these stereotypes and see the patients for what they are, at that moment. They are there because they need our help. They are there because they entrust their lives to us. Whether or not they are "masamang damo" or "mabangong bulaklak" it our duty to help them live. Preconceived notions may be wrong.