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My patient was dying, but would his wife accept it?
How doctors can better navigate difficult patients and families.
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People healthcare professionals describe as "difficult" are often struggling to do their best for their loved one, says the writer.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Daniela J. Lamas
My patient’s wife glared at me from across his bed, where she stood flanked by a half-dozen friends. My patient, lying between us, was yellow with jaundice, his face gaunt, bruises on his arms from months in the intensive care unit (ICU). He was off sedation but remained comatose.
His wife paced the room as she talked, her tone pressured. She wanted to know what we were going to do next – surely, we would transfuse and restart antibiotics. I explained our care plans for the day but reiterated, as we did daily, that her husband was dying. His liver cancer could no longer be treated and had now caused other organs to fail.
