Hello people. Today I'm going to tell you a true story and ask you a question. I know the title is a cliche, but also gives the exact idea that I want. Some time ago (October 2020) I faced the loss of a family member, a dear person. And in the process, I noticed some things and realized others, which I want to share now. Stick with me.
Given this tragic reality that we live in, it's more and more common to be affected by some terminal illnesses. It's not easy, no one says for sure and nothing is certain, nobody knows what's going to happen. I'm talking about Cancer. Without speaking on the always late diagnosis, not allowing people to have time enough for efficient treatment, leaving us only with hope for a miracle from God. Real despair.
In the last week, I lived a situation more or less like this, an unforgettable October. My father-in-law started to get weak, and despite your 73 years old, he always felt strong. Shots, tryings, nobody could explain this weakness. And it was increasing fast. We went to the public health care, lazy as hell, little could they do. (I'm talking about Brazilian public health care. A true lottery.)
On a specific day, his weakness came to a concerning point. He couldn't even talk, barely coughing. Or walk, event seat at the bed, it was impossible. We decided to take him to the emergency and reclaim him for care. They hospitalized him. Their guessing was for a stroke, based on her slow movements.
On this same day, at night precisely, I stayed there, in the emergency room, until the next day. (At this hospital there's an emergency room where a relative can be together). It was when I saw closely the Brazilian public health care. I was shocked and very scared. On one side nurses and doctors give their best to see their patients get better, and on another, the resources needed, patients abandoned by the system. Filthy bathrooms, and poor cleaning. Anyway, I'll let this night for another post.
After one day, it came the diagnosis. It was cancer. The doctors say that there were so many tumors that to make biopsies of all of them will put his life in danger. It was required to make a decision, do or don't do the biopsy. We decided not to do it. Some days after in the hospital, he was released. The doctors sent my father-in-law to his house and said to him stay with your family. Some of us already knew what it meant. Others do not. Believe me. The doctors said that the better for the moment was palliative care.
This situation and this expression (palliative care) were all new to me. I know that the name explains itself, however, I didn't know about that kind of treatment. Now that I've put the context, let me say this.
What happened to the human species that we let get to this point? And obviously, I couldn't answer it. The question that made me think was why we need a protocol for that, and why this is not something natural. Then I asked myself why even families don't have this kind of treatment on a daily basis, which is to see our close ones like humans.
And I kept myself thinking about that. Relieving the pain, and distressing symptoms, improving the life, mix psychological aspects and spirituals are some of the items listed in palliative care. So I concluded that almost all of those items can be made by anyone. Once we're dedicated to it.
If you allow me a tricky example, follow me on this. What are the recommendations for having a pet? We need to feed and take care of it, dedicate some time, to play, to teach, [strong emphasis here] at the same time. Did you get it? Did you see it?
I mean with all this, life can be simple if we give importance to what is important, people and moments.
Originally posted at https://ricardocampos.blog/post/life-is-simple/ on Dec 10, 2020, 11:08:35 PM
Top comments (0)