had the last two pdp sessions on monday and tuesday. on monday, we met up with two cancer patients. the first was a twenty year old national service man, cheerful and seemingly robust, with only a bald head to hint at his illness. he was diagnosed several months ago with leukemia, but the prognosis is good, and he seems to be headed on the road to recovery. the other was an indian foreign worker who didn't know his diagnosis yet, but was clearly weak and miserable.


the next day we met two accident cases. the first, also a young man, had been on his motorbike when a car rammed into him, taking off the flesh of his right leg. think he's doing better now, still hurting i guess, and the doctors were incubating his bandaged leg to speed up the recovery process. the next patient was a middle-aged guy, who slipped off a ladder while polishing a lorry. his left leg hit the edge of the kerb and broke, so he's in for minor surgery.


his story is one that really touched my heart. i know there're lots of similar cases out there and the corresponding variations to the story, but his is a typical poor-will-always-become-poorer story. he's self-employed, with no insurance, no workmen's compensation, so he has to foot all the hospital bills by himself. his younger son had told him not to worry, that an operation was nothing, since all you'll get is a scar. it touched him, although he knew that was a kid's point of view, but it made him feel better. with all the support his family is giving him, i really hope he gets well soon. i could see he was holding back his tears. being the sole breadwinner, with no cpf, no savings and two children to raise, this must be a great strain on him.


oh well, i guess like what prof goh said, we can't become desensitized to such stories. there will tons of such people that we'll see in our career, but he reminded us we are all human, and no matter what, we should try to reach out to them. hmm, hope i'll be able to do that.


anyway, if you guys are bored, i've just put up two long soccer rants on my other blog. for those of you who only knew me in med school, yes, i can be soccer crazy. got up at two thirty in the morning to catch it. bleah.