"There are worst diseases than Cancer"

––––
THE MAXIMS OF MEDICINE

Before you examine the body of a patient,
Be patient to learn his story.
For once you learn his story,
You will also come to know
His body.
Before you diagnose any sickness,
Make sure there is no sickness in the mind or heart.
For the emotions in a man’s moon or sun,
Can point to the sickness in
Any one of his other parts.
Before you treat a man with a condition,
Know that not all cures can heal all people.
For the chemistry that works on one patient,
May not work for the next,
Because even medicine has its own
Conditions.
Before asserting a prognosis on any patient,
Always be objective and never subjective.
For telling a man that he will win the treasure of life,
But then later discovering that he will lose,
Will harm him more than by telling him
That he may lose,
But then he wins.
––––

May 01, 2000

People walk to the hallway so differently. Some almost skip, so exquisite is their joy of leaving for another shore. Others walk as if they are boarding a badly kept bus, no more exciting than any other commute. Then there are the nervous ones, quick steps and stern faces, everything about them tight and fearful

I watched my feet take steps across the glossy tiles, my dusty canvas sneakers next to the shined pointed-toe leather shoes of passing patients'

"Doc!" I stopped from my tracks when one of the nurses called me out

The nurse was heading his way unto me without slowing her stride at all. One moment she was in the corridor, her eyes dead ahead and the next she was grabbing my hand to take a pulse. In this exchange she neither made eye contact or spoke; I began to feel sub-human, as if she's no longer qualified as a person at all. The nurse's face was like an overstored apple, round, full, yet crinkled worse than a brown paper bag after all the candy is gone. Her eyes were small, mean, bereft of any make-up and she smelt of detergent. She made a clicking noise with her tongue before pursing withered lips, finally hiding her yellow teeth

"May bago po tayong pasyente Doc" She said with her ardent voice

"If it's not a terminal illness like cancer or tuberculosis then let that patient die." Walang pakundayaw na tugon ko at nagpatuloy sa paglalakad sa pasilyo

"Pero Doc, you need to save a life even though the prognosis is very poor." Hinde ko na narinig ang mga sunod na sinabe ng nurse basta ay binilisan ko na lang ang paglalakad, I put on my inner surgical gloves and sealed them to the sleeves of my scrub suit 

On a plastic hallway chair sat a child, legs kicking in the air, clearing the floor by several inches as they swung back and forth. I was mesmerized by the red rubber boots on his feet and blue duffle coat, somehow the kid reminded him of a child who's diagnosed with Cancer earlier. His face had unhealthy look to it and his eyes were hard open as he stared at nothing on the wall. I stopped. The boy's legs weren't swinging in the care-free way he'd first assumed. Each one was more like a kick, sharp and pointed. He crouched down in front of him, letting the boy see his white coat and stethoscope and brushed his blonde bangs from his face.

"Hey there, I'm Doctor James. What's your name?" The boy became still and was quiet for a moment, sitting further back into the chair

"Hmm," came out almost like an accident, spilling out of his drawn inward lips. His brown eyes lost their harshness, becoming rounder, more glossy. Then all at once his face buckled, his breathing stopped momentarily and tears streamed, hinatak bigla nung batang lalake ang kamay ko at tinakbo namin ang kahabaan ng pasilyo, 'di ko man mawari kung anong trip ng bata, basta hinayaan ko nalang siya. If he wants to play then I'll interact at him wholeheartedly

Huminto ang batang lalake at ang kasunod no'n ay ang paghinto ko rin. My eyes starts to wander at where we had stopped, isang malaking salamin na may lukob na korte at lente ang una kong nakita. My heart starts to throb heavily

"What are we supposed to do here kid?" I can't help but to question the little boy, we're on the farthest part the Hospital already and its a restricted area

"James, everything seems to puzzle you out but you need to do something for me." The kid took both of my hands while his mournful eyes are looking at me and his generously curved mouth are giving me hibbie jibbies

This kid is making me laugh and is giving me mirth at this mundane Hospital

"Hinde ko alam kung anong trip mo bata, pero hinde mo' ko mapapasunod diyan sa kung ano man ang binabalak mong gawin." I was about to strode my way back when the kid pushes me to the sides of the mirror and my face was facing the transparent glass, Before my brain can register the sound as breaking glass, my eyes are shut tight and a million new knives fall softly over my exposed skin. I freeze, all but my heart remaining statue-like on the wet tile. When finally I allow my eyelids to flutter open I see that the ground is stained red, the colour creeping outward among the shards, the place seems to be different as I wandered my eyes to the place, its clearly different from where I was with the ambiguous and enigmatic little boy earlier

No longer is the door open, no bright light comes from the hallway. No handle, no way out. Four concrete walls, a linoleum floor, a toilet with no paper and a bare mattress - this “seclusion room” is a prison cell by another name. A steel-blue gown falls to my knee, fabric distressed by so much wear yet still rough. There is nothing to hold my mind or attention. Outside this room could be anything, anyone. There is nothing even to mark time. Would someone come in five minutes or five hours? Would I know the difference? The panic is no less than with the straps, trapped is trapped

There are people coughing and sneezing on the walls while on the other side are the people on baggy clothes with IV pricked on their veins. And there are people walking with their protective gears on and face masks

"Alam kong nagugulumihan ka Doc James but I wanted you to see this, I wanted you also to realize that there are worse diseases other than Cancer." May boses na biglang umingay magmula sa' king likuran at nang pinihit ko ang aking katawan ay nakita ko ang batang lalake na nakausap ko kanina

I was about to shout at the kid but he just raised his palms and wags it next to my face. signalling me not to agitate and to stop talking

"Lahat ng nakikita mo diyan ay mga pasyente na may COVID-19 o Corona Virus. It is a kind of common virus that causes an infection and it is a serious disease that can affect someone's upper respiratory tract and lower respiratory tract. It can spread mainly through a person-to-person contact kaya nagsusuot ang mga doktor at nurses ng mga PPE's para hinde mahawaan." He continued and his words starts to ignite inside my mind, making everything clear

"Seeing this mishaps would might alter your perspective about how important lives are, come with me." Ipinuwesto ng batang lalake ang palad niya at agad ko namang kinuha ito at agad kaming naglakad at kaagad nalang bumilis ang tahip ng aking dibdib, sa kadahilanang inuusig ako ng aking konsensiya habang naririnig ugong at iyak ng mga tao sa kani-kanilang kobre kama. Marahil ay napapagod na sila sa kanilang sitwasyon. Akala ko'y kanser lang ang pumapaslang sa milyong-milyong mga tao, may mas grabe pa pala

Hinde ko namalayan sa' king pag-iisip ay nasa harap na kami ng malaking salamin na pinuntahan namin kanina

"Maari kanang bumalik James." Ngumiti ang bata at binitawan ang aking mga kamay

"Teka, ano pala ang pangalan mo?"

"Ako si Corona and we'll see each other by the year 2020. Go and use your skills to save and prolong lives" Tugon ng bata at tumingkayad ito para haplusin ang talukap ng aking mga mata at paglipas ng magkailang minuto, pagkabukas ko palang sa' king mga mata'y nasilayan ko na ulit ang puting pasilyo ng Ospital

"Doc, James. Bakit po kayo nakatingkn d'yan sa malaking salamin?" Napabalik ako sa' king wisyo ng magsalita ang nurse na nakausap ko kanina, binalingan ko s'ya at ngumiti

"Asa'n na ang pasiyente na sinasabi mo kanina?" Nabigla siya sa' king naging turan pero agad na nakabawi at ngumiti pabalik

"Nasa emergency room po." Tinapik ko ang kanyang balikat bago tumakbo papuntang E.R

The sanctity of the patients, their humanity, is what this hospital strives to uphold - especially in this challenging times

Thanks to that kid for I have learned that we were meant to rescue each other, not cut down the forest to rescue one.