had pdp today, otherwise know as pretend-doctor-program. we were assigned ward 5-, where we met out prof, this nice, senior doc who gave us the introductory lecture on the program. he gave us three cases, a fifty plus odd-job laborer who had a history of lymphatic cancer and had come in for swelling in his hands and legs, a thirty-something working professional whose nerves to the right eye went haywire and lastly, a boy our age who came in after fainting in school.


the laborer had come in several days ago after downing two bottles of sour plum (suan mei) juice in two days. he claimed that the edema in his limbs had nothing to do with the cancer, for which he had already undergone thirty sessions of radiotherapy for, and told us never to drink sour plum juice at night. of course we knew better and later we discussed the fact that no one had told him that the edema was related to his cancer. in a way, witholding such info from a patient seems cruel, but then again, telling him, an uneducated, jobless man who's draining his family resources to pay the medical bills, that he just might not have much longer to live would be cruel too. we were left chewing over that.


the other guy, whom i got to interview, was a chatty but anxious man. thankfully he was forthcoming and he spoke english! i feared i would get a hokkien guy and i'd be standing there mutely and needing rodney or someone else to translate! his sixth cranial nerve had gone first, so he experienced headaches and double vision. subsequently his third nerve went, so now his right eye can barely open. the doctors told him that they have not the faintest idea what is wrong with him, so naturally he's worried, but he's optimistic about getting discharged soon after all the tests are over.


the last patient we saw was this boy who seemed to have some congentital spinal cord defect that left him with the occasional fit and fainting spell. in fact he was brought in yesterday after fainting in school. he told us his doctor had recommended him an overseas surgeon to operate on him, but that his dad doesn't trust them, so they rejected the offer. in the discussion later, we concluded that it was most probably because they couldn't afford it that they turned it down; his dad is a bus-driver and i can't remember what his mum does. medishield does not pay or subsidize such expenditure, which is sad, and only proves once again, that money does talk.


compare this to the second patient, who has a stable job and seems to have bought medical insurance. it's obvious how a little more cash in your pocket and a wee bit of planning can save you from burning a hole in your pocket.