I wasn't long at my current job - about a week - when my consultant came to me and said he was bringing in a patient for a major operation. This gentleman had cancer and they would be taking out half his tongue. It was a huge procedure, involving several different doctors, bags of blood from the blood bank and up to 12 hours in theatre. It was up to me to make the arrangements. I remember halfway through the day. The registrar came down as he needed a break at around 4 PM, I asked how it went and he said "we are still working on him".
About two weeks passed and I forgot about it until there was a knock on the office door. I got up to open it and nearly collapsed from shock. It was the patient himself, struggling talk and even breathe. He handed me a piece of paper with my name and job title on it. I wasn't sure who was going to pass out first: him because he was clearly extremely ill or me because I had never seen someone so close to death before.
Today again there was a knock on the door. Again I got up to open it to be greeted by the same gentleman, this time nicely dressed. This time I was able to "talk" to him in a more positive manner. Also, although his speech is not brilliant it's 100 times better than it was. I had to really focus on what he was saying to be able to understand but at least we could communicate without him writing things down. The last time I had to send for one of the nurses as I was so "uncomfortable" for want of a better word.
Anyway he is going on a trip with a local church group and the organisation want a letter from my consultant to say he is ok to travel. I have read many of the letters about him which come my way as my consultant is...well a dinosaur basically. He doesn't open his mail or read his emails. I have to open everything and print it all off.
Truthfully I'm not sure how much more time he has left on this planet. But to see him looking so well today left me in complete awe of the strength of the human body and the human spirit. In many ways we are extremely fragile but in other ways we are powerful beyond belief.
No matter how bad things may seem, there is always hope. You just have to know where to look for it.