I have a patient
Who cannot read
or write.
I have not yet
Determined the reasons why;
Whether
circumstance
situation
or something
else.
Nevertheless,
He struggles with many
activities
that you or I
would find
Straightforward.
When I was explaining to him
the other
day
About the dosing of
Paracetamol,
I realised
the usual
words wouldn’t work.
You see,
he
doubts words.
He lives in uncertainty.
When something is written down,
It becomes concrete.
Solid
Everlasting.
You can turn your back
And it will still be there.
Without
Writing
Nothing is permanent.
Everything passes
And is gone
The moment your attention has shifted.
Eventually,
We worked out that he could both
Tell the time
and
Use
A simple system of lines to count.
Hence,
‘I’
Was one
And
‘II’
Two
And so on.
Thus,
We had II tablets to be taken IIII times a day.
Yet,
How would he
Keep track of the times?
When to
Stagger the
Dosing?
When to jot a ‘I’?
Then I drew clock faces
With the relevant
Hour-times
Coinciding with doses.
Hence,
II at 8 o’clock
And
II at 12
And so on.
Here is an illustration:
You see.
My point is,
I never would have conceived this in the hospital;
Had I not been in his living-room
Without all the paraphernalia
Of 21st century healthcare
Intruding,
We’d never have
Reached
These brass-tacks.
We are working on a false assumption
That
People are
same as
we see
on wards
and clinics
as
we see at home.
They are not.
They are artificial
Transformations.
They are idealised.
We need to undo our approach
And relearn
What it is to
To investigate
Analyse
And
Treat.
Dr Rod’s Odd Blog (almondemotion) 
Indeed the conventional approach in western medicine needs some major changes. You’re doing that with great effectiveness, the problem will be how many others will see this too and change their approach. A difficult thing with the linear sequential thinking that is so inherent in the field on science and engineering.
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Hopefully my persistence (stubbornness) will pay off 😄
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Really loved that, Rod. Very moving. And point clearly underlined. Perhaps, in hospital, the course of action would have been to ask the nursing staff to administer the drugs at the appropriate time. By visiting patients in the community, in their own homes, they become a partner in the treatment – they are empowered with the task of making themselves better. Could it be that this element is totally missing in hospital?
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Missed/overlooked/ignored/denied?
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I agree, meet the person where they are ,who the are, in their individual circumstances . Very inventive and effective solution for this person!
School education during and after the war probably patchy, plus missing one day in the curriculum regimen may mean missing a vital skill . Older pupils may leave early to work to support the family. Younger pupils may be ‘ kept back’ to help Mum or Dad.
Measurements and targets in hospital based on what can be counted ( wellbeing scale exists ? quali scale still? )?
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Thanks Freda. I hadn’t considered these possibilities. I think this as with other ‘impairments’ eg vision or hearing is not something like to express and often keep to themselves to their detriment…
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