SHC & Family: HIP PRESERVATION: Journey to Freedom

If anyone hasn’t read it yet, you really should. It’s quite the eye opener.

Last night, as I sat reading in the library for a couple hours, I re-read this book and it really amazed me…every time I re-read this (among other books) certain additional things stand out to me, depending in the issues/experiences currently going on in my life.

So, here’s 2 quotes from the book (written by Dr. Jerome Groopman, who has other like The Anatomy of Hope, another great read):

” It doesn’t inspire confidence when a doctor tells you, “I’ll figure it out in the OR.” Paradoxically, such confidence is bolstered when a physician opens his mind to a patient and explains what he knows and what he doesn’t know, what is firm about his findings and what is still unclear, which symptoms he can not account for and which still demand explanation.” (page 171)

“Does acknowledging uncertainty undermine a patient’s sense of hope and confidence in his physician and the proposed theory? Paradoxically, taking uncertainty into account can enhance a physician’s therapeutic effectiveness, because it demonstrates his honesty, his wilingness to be more engaged with his patients, his commitment to the reality of the situation rather than resorting to evasion, hald truth, and even lies.  And it makes it easier for the doctor to change course if the first strategy fails, to keep trying. Uncertainty sometimes is essential for success.” (page 155)

Hmm…I think there are quite a few of us who have experiences that exemplify that last statement more than we realize. But, it isn’t the uncertainty that is a deal breaker, so long as you have an OS who is willing to believe, listen, change course as needed, and never give up on you. These are doctors we cherish…for long after we leave them.