our own system

Rick Reilly:

Suddenly, the huge gray machine whirs like a giant Transformer, turning sideways, first this side, then that, as though it’s trying to decide how to eat him. Then it zaps his throat and neck lymph nodes, ravaging them. It gives him a radish-red rash that’s covering his face, chest and back. I know. He shows me. He shows me many things I don’t want to see. He’s doing it because he wants people to know exactly what it’s like. Wants to take the fear and mystery out of it for people.

I find it exceedingly intriguing to read how people describe healthcare, treatment, disease, etc. It’s amazing how easy it is, experiencing the day-to-day, to separate from how healthcare makes people feel and what it does to them. Even with patient stories unfolding daily, accounts like this bring perspective. 

I think the truly great healthcare people are the ones who don’t forget that there’s a story, with a patient at the center of their own plot, in every healthcare interaction.