The Heart-Centeredness of Medicine: an excerpt from my book

An excerpt from The Heart Centredness of Medicine (https://drolivialeeong.com/book-pre-sale/)

I waited for a long time in the hospital bay before John was finally able to come in and see me. Dr David, the orthopaedic doctor on duty, came and talked to me. He had a really compassionate manner. I can confirm there is no truth to the rumour that surgeons are a cold-hearted bunch with no compassion. I vowed that once all of this was over, I would emulate Dr David’s approach and be a compassionate doctor like him.

Dr David organised for a CT scan of my lower back. It felt weird being in the scan machine for the first time. I noticed how cold the metal surface was as I was lying on the table and how cold the radiology room itself was. The scan was over in less than fifteen minutes and the porters whisked me back to the bay in the Emergency Department where John was waiting for me.

It felt like an eternity, but it was probably less than an hour, before Dr David came back to fill me in on what the scan had shown. He looked sad when he arrived and my heart sank because, deep down, I knew things were not good. He informed me I had a burst L2 vertebrae with L1 and L2 dislocation in my lower lumbar spine. “This can’t be happening,” I thought to myself. I was devastated. My life was ruined. John slumped in the chair looking absolutely devastated when he heard the news. We were both speechless as we looked at each other when Dr David told me I needed to have emergency spinal surgery that day. I signed the consent form with my hand shaking like a leaf.

My memory of being transported to the operating theatre is crystal clear. John was walking next to me as the stretcher glided along the corridor. I lost sight of John once I reached the operating theatre. In all my life, I have never been so scared and distraught at the same time. Thoughts were running through my mind, like: We have never been apart before. What if we end up being apart forever if I don’t make it out of surgery alive?

I looked around the operating theatre with white cold fear coursing through my body and my mind. I closed my eyes and through the emotional pain I realised I was afraid I might die on the operating table. Dr David and his boss, Dr Susan, came in to speak to me. I noticed that Dr Susan was also very compassionate. She spoke to me about the details of the operation in a calm, gentle voice. I nodded and accepted my fate then and there. I remember the anaesthetist, Dr Sam, putting an intravenous line in and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the recovery room. I was disorientated, but alive. John was sitting on a chair, looking completely exhausted. In fact, he was nodding on and off to sleep. In that moment, I realised I was really alive and I thanked God for that.

Here is the link for the pre-sale page for the book: https://drolivialeeong.com/book-pre-sale/

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