..the wonder drug..

In a seemingly advancing gadgets in the field of medicine, there are still existing miracles, not brought about by these advances but by the very basic, readily-available wonder drug I recently proven so effective.

He breathes through the tube on his throat augmented by oxygen. He eats through the tube on his nose down to his stomach. He passes urine through the tube "down there". Both legs are attached to a mechanical massage to prevent him from developing clots on his legs. His bed is supported by an inflated mattress to prevent him from having bedsores. And turning him every two hours is a must. Every now and then, a puncture on his vein is done so he has an access to a number of antibiotics. He is continually febrile, limited to no response in stimuli, and totally dependent for activities of daily living. In short, he is in a state of coma. 

His father would stay with him from dust till dawn. When morning comes, his father would leave for work and his mother would take charge for the day. This is the shifting of his parents for how many months since he was trans-in  from ICU to our ward. 

The mother would asked us to remove the mechanical massage, pour the olive oil she bought and patiently do massage over his son's body. And this usually takes for hours. She would call every now and then, asking questions about his son's temperature, the urine output over a newly inserted catheter, the number of Doctor's visits and anything and everything she might think of asking. She would talk to him in their native tongues  though what she gets is often silence. She would never falter shedding tears as she reminisced the qualities of his son whenever I got the chance of talking with her in a language I'm struggling to familiarize myself with. The nonverbal cues, however, speaks louder of the love of a weeping mom over his unresponsive son.

With the fast-paced happening in our daily routines, the once all-over-tube-attached patient is now breathing normally without oxygen, having an eye contact with his nurses, eating through mouth, obeying simple commands, uttering words in a husky voice, and able to say his emotions through sign board made by his patient mother.

Miracles really do happen in the field of medicine with the invention of all these state-of-the-art advancements. However, there are still miracles I consider free of charge. This I guessed was what happened to our patient. Just a four-letter word, not operated by electricity or battery, readily available, and cost effective. I'm talking of the wonder drug you too is benefiting from. LOVE. You read it right. LOVE do heals.  It was the love of his mother, the love of his family that our once we afraid to lose patient came to recuperate. Though the advancements had helped in scientific ways, nothing can commensurate with what the power love brings. I can't really explain. Only the author of love can. God.

Ok, pretty nurses are a plus=)