38 Complaining

a) The Oxen and the Axles: A pair of oxen were pulling a loaded wagon along. As they strained to pull the load, the axles of the wagon creaked loudly. This irritated the oxen who said testily to the axles, "Keep quiet! Why do you make so much of noise when we do all the work quietly?"

When Meena was admitted for treatment of high fever, her husband Kumar was upset. He complained to the doctor, "I have to do all the household chores and look after the children now. Can't she stay at home and take the treatment?” The doctor replied, "When she does all the household chores, you don't even notice it or try to help her. But when you have to manage it for just a few days, you complain so much.” He coaxed a reluctant Meena to stay in the hospital until she was really well.

b) The mule and his Masters: A mule had a hard time with his master, a gardener, who gave him much work and little food. The mule begged Jupiter to take him away from the gardener to another master. Jupiter arranged to sell the mule to a potter. The work with the potter was even tougher and so the mule begged Jupiter for another change. Jupiter obliged and sent the mule to a tanner. When the mule saw what the tanner did for living, he cried in despair, "Why did I search for an ideal master to suit my taste? My former masters would have at least given me a decent burial but now I shall end up in the tanning vat."

Babu, a 40-year old diabetic, was fed up with daily insulin injections. "I can't take them for the rest of my life," he said to himself and shifted to another system of

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medicine. There, he had to be follow a very strict diet and an exercise programme. He also had to take bitter herbal preparations. He could not stand it beyond three months. He then consulted a "polytherapist" who combined magnets, gem and aroma therapies to control his symptoms. He rapidly worsened and was admitted in a state of 'diabetic coma'. Insulin was restarted and he survived. Then he stopped complaining and took 'the injections'.

Comments

One must learn to count the blessings, instead of wallowing in the misery of self-pity and chronic self-absorption. It is quite common to see persons with chronic lifelong problems like diabetes complain bitterly about the illness or the treatment and speak for hours in this manner.

The average survival of a young diabetic used to be just three months before insulin injections were available. Now it is possible to live a full life despite diabetes. When a diabetic complains of needle-pricks for life, the physician has to counsel and motivate him/her to see reason and count the blessings.

A similar responsibility of being a counsellor and an adviser falls on the physician when the relative of a patient, usually the husband, complains about 'having to manage while she enjoys her restin a hospital'. If the patient is submissive to his demands, she may deny herself proper health care and rest. In the end, this will be counterproductive. Despite the current craze for 'patient autonomy', I believe that judicious paternalism by the treating physician is ethical and warranted in managing such cases.

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