Fear

He had no fear.

Last month he came with a severe abdominal pain. Initially he thought it was just some cramps, and it would soon resolve. He had abdominal pains for so long that he forgot when he did have a easy day.

It was not until our hospital found that he had some segments of small intestine, did he realize how lethal the problem could be. Thanks to the clinical judgement of the doctors as well as the state-of-the-art imaging technique, he could be diagnosed and managed correctly, instead of misunderstood as having gastroenteritis.

I met this patient when I had my clinical attachment in the surgery department. He was really a sick one. You could not image more medical problems from a young surgical patient like him. After these years of illnesses, did he afraid of dying in the hospital? I asked him.

No. He firmly replied me. "When I got into this hospital, I put the life and death beyond my control."

I was moved and thought to myself. How possibly could one decide his past and future?

"Learn from your patients. They are the best teachers for medical students." The hallucinations of voice  comes to my mind again. This was such a familiar voice that I would not dare to forget.