For a caregiver, keeping the course in the face of suffering, exhaustion and injustice of certain situations is not always obvious. We learn to forge a shell, to take a step back, to “hold” for others. And then sometimes, an unexpected meeting brings us back to the essential: the deep meaning of our profession and our place with others.
This is what happened to the Dr. Brendon Stileswith Joseph, a 13 -year -old teenager whose gaze he will never forget. “”My biggest lesson in optimism did not come to me from a colleague but from him ” recalls the thoracic surgeon. “”This adolescent underwent an amputation of the left leg due to cancer and then developed a metastasis in his chest. “ Despite this, he has never complained, he never bent. The doctor tells how much he was marked by his inner force: “He showed a resilience that amazed me.”“”In intensive care after a heavy operation, I was amazed to see Joseph, still under respiratory assistance, smile and lift my thumb. This gesture upset me. He was not complained and had the sole objective of recovering and regaining his life before“, Continues the surgeon on Weill Cornell Medicine. A few weeks later, he ran on a basketball court, with his prosthesis, as if nothing could stop him. He fought against the disease until the end. It was a model of optimism and courage for the whole service.
“”Joseph’s case must be an example: he teaches us that patients optimism is a deep inner force, and we as a doctor, we can encourage him by honest communication“. Tell the truth does not prevent us from giving hope: patients have the right to know the facts and to know that their doctor will be by their side. Joseph and his family have always known what they were confronted with and their resilience has never weakened. This young boy to remind the doctor that his role does not stop in the operating room. He is also there to bring hope, even fragile, and to embody a stable presence. “We must make sure that patients know that we will do everything to get out of it.”
