The professionalism of medical doctors is not just on their medical treatment knowledge, but how they make the patients feel at ease, how they show care and concern for their patients like the patients were their own, next-of-kin…translated…
Upon reading Sam's "Like a Teacher & a Friend", there came to mind, a white-haired angel immediately, because of his care, I was able to, help my father through his final passage of life. It was summer that year, my father went through a series of checkups, and he was diagnosed with liver cancer. At the age of eighty-five, he'd grown weak, and I'd not felt right, putting him through the tortures of treatment, and I'd, made the, most, difficult decision in my life, slowly, sent him into the hospice program. That was what Grandma Gin said as "a place to wait for death to come for you."
As I'd settled dad in, I'd also, groomed through my messy thoughts too, in the evenings, I'd lain on the folding bed, watching him sleep in peace, the slowly rising chest, my tears fell across my nose ridge, glided across my face, became, a tiny, pond.
Dr. Huang was there for the early morning rounds, his gentle gaze behind his glasses, got into my heart, "This is the path that every one of us will be on eventually, it's just that your father is going first, to get to know the way.", the nurse told me that Dr. Huang originally worked in gynecology, because his older brother died of cancer, that's why he'd taken the courses in terminal care in Great Britain, and received in master's degree in the area of expertise. He not only was able to calm the patients' minds, but also, the families', hearts too.
The hospice was a place where someone is allowed to finish up with life with the dignity completely, intact, I knew that my father will not get discharged out of the hospital healthily, but, he will be able to face every day that he has remaining, without the, pains; he was peacefully asleep now, coexisted peacefully with the cancer cells in his, body right now,
When Dr. Huang came to check up on my father, my father was always asleep, he'd looked at me and told me, "if you're well, then your father would be well too, he could feel what you feel." Sure I will, I will be strong for, dad.
My father stayed in the hospice for a little over a whole month, his vital signs are stable, and I'd taken him home with me. With all of his loved ones around him, my father passed his final Father's Day, he'd gone to, explore the way before all of us.
My mother's pap smear came up abnormal, and her oncologist was also Dr. Huang, all of her three-month check pap smears came up abnormal, but, before the word, "cancer" had come, we'd followed up for three whole year, when the oncologist recommended her to surgically remove her uterus and her, ovaries.
Being fearful of the knife, my mother always, evaded it, said she needed to hang up the incense at home, that it was Dragon Boat Festival soon, that she needed to make the food items, Dr. Huang told her, "you're still quite strong right now, you can recover very quickly after your surgery, as you get older, the time it will take for you to recover will be longer, and you may need to get wheeled in for your, follow-ups.", two weeks later, my mother had her surgery, three days later, she was discharged from the hospital, by the seventh day, she was able to walk into the follow-up sessions on her own, and we're, returning, my mother at eighty, is still, very, strong.
Pushing open the door to the doctor's office, Dr. Huang's hair turned white, his round-shaped glasses, resembling that of the writer, Hsu, looked like, a, smiley, face.
So, this is on how losing a parent, recovering, and, accompanying her mother to treat her cancer, and the oncologist's treating his patients like they were his next of kin is truly, amazing, there are not that many physicians who are like this one, sometimes, these major hospital physicians, especially the famous ones, their schedules are completely booked, and they can't make the time to have even one word of exchange with their, patients at all!
