Blog #7 — Filing a Medical Report

My experiences this past week in visiting with one of my patients has left me in a quisitive and confessional mood. Consequently, I have returned to studying some of the classics of Tibetan medicine, which were gifted to me in my youth by my mentors and teachers, to reinforce and further my understanding of illnesses and their causes. Although I have thought long and hard about whether it is appropriate for me to chronicle my patients’ illnesses in the form of reports and reflections of this kind, from which their personal details have been duly removed to preserve their anonymity, I am confident that these writings will stay within the purview of only other doctors in my community. Indeed, the details which I recount here will likely be of no interest to anyone other than my fellow doctors, for whom my own experiences will hopefully prove a source of edification and inspiration, to guide and enrich them in their medical and spiritual practices.

My meeting this week with a certain young man who shall here go nameless has left an indelible impression on my psyche, and I have been unable to stop dwelling upon the most expedient means of helping him recover. The man in question has recently come down with an unfortunately severe case of visual and auditory hallucinations, which have mostly remained unintelligible in their content. Although his condition immediately seemed to be correlated with his lymphnoidal system, I have since had cause to doubt my initial diagnosis and the mode of treatment I was considering. After examining the patient’s tongue underneath my lantern, I had him provide me with a urine sample, which I subsequently subjected to the various tests with which you are likely already familiar. That is, apart from noting the colour of the urine he provided me with, I also observed the nature of the bubbles which it produced when whisked (i.e. their size and duration), as well as its viscosity. Although only my fellow doctors will fully understand it when I say that the odour of the urine was also duly noted – in so far as it is one of the surest means of determining the nature of the sickness under question, and the most expedient means for its treatment — this particular test was not nearly as insightful as it has proven in the past.

After finishing with the urinary testing, I met again with the patient to measure his pulse, which seemed largely to substantiate my initial observations. Namely, in taking the pulses of the young man’s various organs at his wrist, it became immediately apparent that his kidneys were not nearly as strong as they ought to have been, for someone of his age. I inquired as to whether he had been meditating outside, or in otherwise inclement conditions. He responded that he had recently embarked upon a spiritual quest with his lama, which had brought him into the clearing of a mountain range for the last two months. At this remote spot, he told me that he had been meditating upon the instructions given to him by his lama, sleeping little and eating mostly wild herbs. Although I was surprised by the man’s apparently hale demeanour, in spite of the rigorous regiment he had been pursuing, I immediately advised him to cease his practice until the visual hallucinations he was experiencing began to fade. Until then, he was to avoid ingesting any form of caffeine at any cost, as this would only exacerbate the wind condition which was currently besetting him. Even the butter tea which our villagers are known to relish so much for our morning snack is to be put on hold until he has fully recovered from his malady.

Although it might seem rather careless, in light of the severity of the man’s illness, I impressed upon him the urgency of visiting with friends, as an important component of his treatment. In spite of the visual hallucinations which he is experiencing, the young man is evidently capable of conversing with others without any great difficulty, and this part of his treatment should consequently be very easy to accomplish. In addition, I am sure that meeting with his friends will not only restore his spirits, but do a great deal of good in ridding his system of the foul winds that currently course through it. Laughter is itself a tremendously powerful cure for wind disorders, and I am certain that this regiment, coupled with the pills I have given him to be taken four times each day, will go a long way in bringing him back to a state of equilibrium. However, it is absolutely crucial that he follow the instructions which I have given him for a successful outcome to be affected. I am sure that a warm bath, lots of sleep and plenty of rest will go a long way in bringing him back to health.