A Halloween Lesson

Last night a man named "B" greeted his first trick-or-treater. B wore blue scrubs, a face mask and a stethoscope. His mom sat in a wheelchair, a blood pressure cuff on her arm and oxygen tubing connecting her to an oxygen tank.

A little boy dressed as Superman asked, "Is this a real doctor's house?"

"No" B replied.

"Is she really sick?" he asked, pointing to B's mom.

"Yes" B answered.

"How are you gonna cure her, if you're not a real doctor?" he asked.

"I have to find someone smarter than me," B told him.

"Then you shouldn't pretend you're a doctor, if you can't help someone!" He was about to say more when his father interrupted, saying, "Let's keep moving. We have a lot of houses to visit."

 

I don't know what happened then. Did the father encourage his son to forget about it? Or did he condemn B and his mom for making fun of a sad situation? I can only hope he embraced the opportunity to teach a few lessons about Healthy Survivorship:

1. Acting like a real doctor when someone needs help is a terrible thing.
2. Making fun of things that scare us can be a healthy way to regain a sense of control.
3. Along with the power to heal comes the power to hurt. If the person being made fun of isn't ready for it and takes offense, humor intended to help can actually hurt.  

Comments

[Brian (DocSwill)]

I'd like to mention that B is a cancer patient himself, searching for a way to pass out candy with his insistent 80 year old mother, in an effort to avoid contact with so many people and prevent contracting the flu.

The image did seem to confuse many. Especially the adults. Perhaps it was too real for some, but we found the levity in it all.

I wonder if the little boy actually thought he was Superman for the evening?

Peace B
Yup B's Me!

[Wendy S. Harpham, MD]

I'm glad you and your mom had some fun last night.Thank you for sharing this story with us. For a young boy, "Superman" shows great insight.

With hope, Wendy

[Pam K]

Hello all....my take: The more folks get comfortable with the medical "tools fo the trade" the more likely they'll seek treatment, and seek it sooner, and follow it through. If we can knock out fear, by making the "look" a commom place view, then that is worth a hundred PSAs on any TV network.

[Wendy S. Harpham, MD]

Dear Pam,
Great point. With hope, Wendy

[Brian (DocSwill)]

I also wanted to add...we had many laughs while deciding to do this. We even thought we could put mom's(sanitized) potty chair on the porch and fill it with candy, but that was going a bit overboard. I just couldn't stop laughing over that thought. Even when facing illness there's always room for laughter!

Peace B

[Wendy S. Harpham, MD]

The image of the two of you coming up with these ideas is a riot! A perfect example of Happiness in a Storm.
With hope, Wendy