The incident sent me on an exploration of other
rehabilitation facilities in Canberra. I
discovered the only other facility of note was at a private
hospital. I arranged to meet with the
Manager and was shown over the unit.
Patients are accommodated in single rooms and the unit has a more
welcoming aspect.
Although the unit had a hydrotherapy
pool, the physiotherapy gym and services available for brain trauma recovery
could not compete with the resources available at TCH. I was forced to acknowledge this reality and
again, putting personal ego aside, swallow my anger and persevere. Carolie
did not want to move in any case as she felt comfortable in her surroundings,
and was largely unaware of my angst.
A reassuring factor was the presence on the
ward of one of the healing beacons we encountered in the labyrinth; a further
indicator of the potentialities of a genuinely patient-centred regime. This finger post to a humanist healing
modality came in the form of a doctor nearing the end of his hospital
residency, when he must decide a specialization direction. He combined a caring nature with high
technical proficiency. Again, we had discovered someone who attended his duties
with genuine enthusiasm, in the face of gruelling shift demands.
The resident's calming presence helped us through the
buffeting of crosswinds and ongoing worry over Carolie’s travails, not least of
which was the persistent infection atop her skull. On occasion he asked us if interns could
perform some of the blood testing procedures on Carolie to gain experience. I was ever mindful that both hospitals
encountered in the labyrinth are teaching facilities. Though they were somewhat chastened to
discover their technical prowess had a way to travel, the cheerful enthusiasm
of the interns leavened our mood. Such mentoring could not be other than conducive to understanding the
fundamentally human dimension of hospital medicine.
The resident opted ultimately to work in hospice medicine, which would benefit greatly from his compassionate professionalism.
To be continued....
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