To both patient and doctor, the day after thyroid surgery is anxiety day. The doctor wants to know if the voice of the patient was not destroyed. The patient needs to know if she can still speak her own natural voice.
When that hour of rounds arrives, my car speeds up and my steps to the patient's bed is lighter. Though I have done hundreds of thyroidectomies in my career, no case is similar to the other. I still can remember those cases that gave me cold sweats and headaches; those cases whose blood wet my underwear; cases that gave me sleepless nights thinking that they might bleed; and those cases that gave me heart attacks.
When I see my patients post op, the first thing I do is to make them smile. I crack jokes and make fun of whatever I can see in the situation of the patient. And then, I force them to speak in a loud voice. If the patient's voice comes out normal, that is the time I ease and relax. Satisfaction creeps into my face and a smile. Done it again!
When that hour of rounds arrives, my car speeds up and my steps to the patient's bed is lighter. Though I have done hundreds of thyroidectomies in my career, no case is similar to the other. I still can remember those cases that gave me cold sweats and headaches; those cases whose blood wet my underwear; cases that gave me sleepless nights thinking that they might bleed; and those cases that gave me heart attacks.
When I see my patients post op, the first thing I do is to make them smile. I crack jokes and make fun of whatever I can see in the situation of the patient. And then, I force them to speak in a loud voice. If the patient's voice comes out normal, that is the time I ease and relax. Satisfaction creeps into my face and a smile. Done it again!
No comments:
Post a Comment