“Isn’t palliative care depressing?”
Here is one more answer to the frequently asked question to palliative care practitioners, “How can you do this work year in and year out? Don’t you get depressed?”
Dr Vidya Viswanath, palliative care physician and Pallium India’s fellow traveller from Vizag writes:
“Every day brings a new challenge, a new thought and new frustrations in dealing with the huge gap between demand and supply. I saw 3 terribly disfigured head and neck cancer patients with maggots, with HIV and zero social support in two days. Just when I was in despair, I also had the privilege of taking one of our old patients with Ca Buccal mucosa to the hospice in our bus and then my car. He walked in and had his entire family around and died serenely the same night. I felt I was seeing Buddha in his disfigured face. And that is how I try to find my balance.”
Dear Madam
“We cannot thank you enough for the excellent care you have provided. From the moment we met you, we were certain God had led us to you.”