The clinic room door opened and the patient’s daughter said, “Dr. Shah!! I heard your voice through the door and knew it was you!!!”
She was the daughter of a patient I had taken care of on my last night of trauma call as a general surgery resident. I only saw the family that one night. I had switched to a new service the next day, so I didn’t get to do his post-op care. However, I was the resident who delivered the diagnosis, explained the risks of the surgery, did the surgery with the attending, and updated the family after the surgery. The patient was very sick at the time, and it was one of those surgeries in which if we didn’t do anything, he would die, but at the same time, we didn’t know if he would make it through the surgery. He did make it through the surgery and now here he was, standing before me with his daughter in the clinic one year later.
One year later she still remembered my voice. That made me think about pivotal moments in people’s lives and what they remember. It was one night of my life, but that was a night that they will never forget. I told them that their father could die that night. I was the one delivering the bad news. I was also the one that delivered the good news that the surgery was successful and that he was already improving. When she brought me into the room, she asked me if I remembered that night, which I did, then pointed out her father. I didn’t recognize him because the last time I saw him, he was in an ICU with tubes and cords everywhere. Now he was in front of me, standing tall and full of life with his family around him.
As doctors, we get busy and the rounding lists can get long, but I always remember that when I talk to a patient, I may be telling them something that they will remember for the rest of their life.
Story and photo: Amita Shah, MD