BACK TO THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT

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As a caregiver, education and query are two of the most important tools I possess. Living in an age where information is instantly available, the better informed I am about Ernie's particular cancer, the better able I am and will continue to be able to ask the right questions. As the patient, Ernie has learned to read his own numbers when he reads a copy of his blood work.  He knows what his numbers should be from his INR numbers, which indicate his blood clotting factors since he takes a blood thinner to his kidney function numbers.  He is capable of reviewing his numbers, so he can ask intelligent questions during doctors' visits.  Just as Ernie has become a student of his own care, I have also researched and studied information, so I can determine additional questions.

One particular instance comes to mind that occurred during one of his hospital stays.  Two bags were hanging on the IV stand.  Ernie asked the nurse about the content of the bags.  She informed him that one bag contained saline solution to help hydrate him and the other a diuretic.  Because he knew that diuretics were used to remove fluid from the body, he questioned why he was receiving one bag to infuse fluid and another to remove it.  The doctor was consulted and the diuretic was immediately removed.  We often wonder how long it would have taken the physician to identify the situation.  

The professionals in the health care industry from the doctors to the nurses are all working for the common good of patients; however, these people are human beings and capable of errors.  Each body system is different and the patient knows his body better than anyone else. As caregiver, it is my job to listen to Ernie and assist in relaying that information to his doctors when he either isn't feeling well or in some cases when he is very sick, unable to communicate that information himself.  I am the constant in his life - the person who is with him most of the time.  The health professionals only see him for brief periods of time.  Constant vigilance becomes necessary to insure quality overall care.  

I have taken the liberty of inserting the parable I referenced in an earlier blog "The Blind Man and the Elephant" to punctuate the concept that when many people are involved in the care of one person, each one has a very distinct perspective and may not necessarily see the whole picture.

"ELEPHANT AND THE BLIND MEN

Once upon a time, there lived six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, "Hey, there is an elephant in the village today."
They had no idea what an elephant is. They decided, "Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway." All of them went where the elephant was. Everyone of them touched the elephant.








"Hey, the elephant is a pillar," said the first man who touched his leg.
"Oh, no! it is like a rope," said the second man who touched the tail.
"Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree," said the third man who touched the trunk of the elephant.
"It is like a big hand fan" said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.
"It is like a huge wall," said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.
"It is like a solid pipe," Said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.
They began to argue about the elephant and everyone of them insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting agitated. A wise man was passing by and he saw this. He stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?" They said, "We cannot agree to what the elephant is like." Each one of them told what he thought the elephant was like. The wise man calmly explained to them, "All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all those features what you all said."
"Oh!" everyone said. There was no more fight. They felt happy that they were all right.
The moral of the story is that there may be some truth to what someone says. Sometimes we can see that truth and sometimes not because they may have different perspective which we may not agree too. So, rather than arguing like the blind men, we should say, "Maybe you have your reasons." This way we don’t get in arguments."