Stop and smell the roses

I saw his familiar face while I was seeing another patient. He, in turn was being seen by a colleague of mine in the consultation room we were sharing. I have not seen him for quite awhile I think, but I could still remember his face although the face that I used to know was a sharp and smart-looking one, not weary, sad and unkempt as the one in the room that day. Out of curiosity, I turned to him and said ‘hi’ as soon as I was done with my patient, not knowing whether he would still remember me or not.

Then something unexpected happened. The weary face suddenly gave out a big, cheerful smile. He told me that he wanted to greet me when he walked in but he thought I was busy with the other patient and I didn’t looked his way anyway..... He then said that every now and then, he would bumped into me along the hospital corridor or when he was waiting for his turn at the clinic waiting room but he said I looked busy all the time. He noticed I now walk really fast too so he didn’t want to slow me down or to interrupt my routines. My heart skipped a beat.

I pulled myself closer and asked him how he was doing and why he looked so thin and sad. He told me that he had a stroke last year and was admitted to the hospital for a long time but in another ward. He wanted to find me but didn’t know how to since he couldn’t walk or talk much after the stroke. Even now, his speech is still slurred and his left hand limpy. Instead of donning crisp-ironed shirt, smart pants and polished shoes like he used to, he just wore collared t-shirts with a pair of 3-quarter shorts and slippers this time. Yup, slippers. He stays alone now and not managing well at home. Just a few days before his visit, he fell off his own bed..
My heart skipped another beat.

He said he wanted to call me but he has lost my telephone numbers. Well, even if he hasn’t, the number that he had would be useless since the hospital numbers have all changed to new ones anyway… He said he misses his ‘old friend’. His sentences touched me to the core and I couldn't stop thinking about him for the rest of the afternoon although I was physically busy. Truth to be told, by the time he left the room, I had tears in my eyes..

Chong Chee Fong. That's his name. I didn’t even remember that so I had to ask my colleague who attended to him, right after he left. He called me 'his friend' but I couldn't even remember his name...pathetic eh?

I got to know him a few years ago when he got admitted to one of my wards for heart problems (can’t remember the details) and I taught him on his long-list of medications. Since then, he would stopped by my wards/office to look for me whenever he came to the hospital, either with drug queries or just for short chats. Sometimes he would call too. He was one of my 'good' patients, compliant to drug treatment and always asked questions. I like responsible people who value knowledge so I had no problem entertaining his queries. In fact, I enjoyed his visits because I got to learn too since he reads a lot and we would have short discussions on alternative medicine (which he was interested in but could not take much due to interactions with his warfarin therapy).

I can still remember one day a few years ago, he came in with a few types of leaves (chinese herbs) and helped me to identify them for interactions with drugs. You see, it is really difficult to find data when it comes to herbal medicines especially the raw ones since the names in references would be the scientific ones while patients would normally refer to their common names so his help was greatly appreciated.. I think he was satisfied with his work too. But over time, his visits and calls lessened. I in turn became too absorbed with my own life too and didn't think much about him. Well, not until that particular day.

In his own way, he reminded me to be my old self again.. I think I need to care more and definitely need to walk slower now and start looking at people in their eyes again. Who knows, there are people whom I pass-by each day who are quietly in need of my help but too shy or too weak to catch up with me.

Thank you uncle for the friendly reminder..