Tonight I received this lovely email from her in return:
YES - be inspired, yes be a neurologist or a researcher in neurology, or a neurosurgeon!
Your reaction and your thanks are appreciated, but if you can, imagine what the effect is on me every time I switch off the device. There is not on day that passes for which I am not grateful. I am not putting this very well, but I am saying that if I have touched even one of you in some way that will prove positive for even one person with Parkinson's, then I have done a good day's work.
Thank you for your email, and good luck to you in whatever area of medicine you end up.
I think there is more than one of us in the blogosphere that might take a small seed of happiness from that.
Here's to the nurses*, doctors, medical students, researchers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, occupational health, lab technicians, and social workers that are spending their days and nights making the world a little bit better for someone. These grateful people are out there, we just don't get to hear their voices sometimes.
*And a Happy Belated Nurses Week!
5 comments:
How kind of you to write a note!
Maybe you can join Grumpy (and potentially me) in becoming a neurologist. :-)
The good patients FAR outnumber the bad. They just don't make good blog fodder. So if all you read is medblogs, you won't know they even exist.
But they are what makes it worthwhile. And bring me affirmation every day.
That is so great that you took the time to say Thank You ABB. We had several patient speakers during first year and I happened to run into one lady in the bathroom after her presentation.
I thanked her for coming to speak to us, for being brave and sharing her story. She almost started crying right there in the biffy and gave me a big hug. She said she had been really hesitant about speaking to the class, but had done it anyway as a favor to her doctor. She was so grateful to hear a Thank You she said she would definitely be returning next year.
I guess I assumed the patient speakers always knew how much it meant to us to hear their stories. Now I always make a point to say Thank You to make sure they do.
You'll be such a good doctor.
OMDG--I just thought it's gotta be stressful to put yourself in front of a class of med students and talk about your medical condition.
And it totally made my week, figured she should know!
I am actually really enjoying neuro (total shocker since I was kinda dreading it).
Grump--It's true. Even in the ED trenches of doom, it's true.
Ninja--That is very cool, and yea I think we don't do enough thanking in our culture. My mother is an extreme thank you letter writer. I know I get it from her. Good legacy I think.
Lorelei--I hope so! :)
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