Do no harm

Helloooo Humansss!!!

Recently, I read a book that provoked a lot of thought within me. 'Do no harm' by Dr Henry Marsh. One concept kept sprouting throughout the text whether unintentionally or intentionally and was therefore emphasised by Dr Henry Marsh - the concept of luck. His book talks intricately about the experiences and various incidents met by a neurosurgeon and the sweet but also sour stories he had witnessed.

At first, when he mentioned the concept of luck, I was baffled. I thought: what do you mean a neurosurgeon with a degree in medicine and years of specialisation, practice and knowledge believed in something like luck other than skill?

The irony is that, up till now, which is evident in my previous blog posts, I've tried to not acknowledge the possibility of bad or good luck because it tends to hydrate the laziness within us and give us something/someone to blame instead of dealing with the situation.

But within the medical industry, perhaps it is a lack of in-depth knowledge or missing knowledge but when some unfortunate circumstances occur, Dr Henry Marsh boils it down to luck by hinting at it or directly mentioning it.

Any operation comes with complication and a side of chance, a percentage of how likely an operation will do well, and I think that the concept of luck is crucial here, because in reality no Doctor would want to harm their patient and would want to save every single one.

The thought of an operation leading to harm as a result of them operating is one burden a doctor cannot live with and continue with practice which might even hinder their future potential and possible people they could help.

Imagine staying awake and thinking of the multitude of scenarios where the operation could have gone well if you did not do something in a certain way or if you had just not operated and let someone else do it?

With chances not aligning, the concept of it being luck and not one's own fault is comforting yet terrifying.

After all those years of learning, in-depth research and studying and advanced technology, we were only able to increase the chances of successful operation and not eradicate the chances of an unsuccessful one - it makes me wonder how many more lives, years and generations it would take to fully eliminate chances of unsuccessful operations (if possible at all) and how many more complications will rise as we advance into the future?

It is quite unsettling and makes me unable to fathom how one should feel after doing all they can do and still be met with bad luck; it's as if you studied hard all your life for that one test and you end up failing. Not because you're not smart but because you were unlucky and happened to be late to that exam, of course in context of a Doctor and patient, the feeling of failing is probably a hundred times more extreme.

So, that was what was going through my head for the last couple of weeks after I finished 'Do no Harm'; even though it can be quite emotionally-demanding, I would definitely recommend this book as there are lots of aspect and elements of the book that are quite thought-provoking and the different experiences that Dr Henry Marsh has faced are extraordinary.

- Ravitreni Signing Off

p.s I don't know why I always make a comeback with rather heavy/ emotional topics but here I am! I'll try tone down the intensity next week :)