Full Circle: When the Heart Seeks Homeground
Patient: He was an aero-engineer who had been working abroad for several years in the West, for one of the foremost International Space Agencies.
Diagnosis: The initial evaluation at the ER indicated possible trouble. He presented with highly alarming symptoms, stating, “I have pain in chest, both shoulders and hands, and I feel breathles”. He also added that he had a brief episode of “syncope “, an ominous symptom under the circumstances.
Patient's Story
He had come to Asia on work, to another ultra-modern city-state where the symptoms originally began. Obviously, my next question was, “What brought you to Trichy?”. “Trichy is home,” was the reply!. Life had come full circle for him—he was back where he began.
In the practice of modern medicine, we are mostly restless and impatient. Gone are the days of a conversation with the patient, eliciting history of the illness, present and past and inquiring into his personal and family history. Sir William Osler, the “all-time greatest physician,” had advised long back: “Listen to your patient, he is telling you the diagnosis.”. I only asked a very simple question: “What do you do?”. I did not expect the details he divulged in the ensuing conversation about his life and work.
I was inspired by his story. I requested the team to make sure he was comprehensively evaluated for significant coronary artery disease.
Listen to your patient, he is telling you the diagnosis
