Truman Customer Story Column
Wearing Short Sleeves and Standing Tall
What people ask in the consulting room before surgery is generally three things: how much it hurts, how long it takes to heal, and what the result will be.
The person in this story wrote exactly those three: "I worried about the pain of surgery, the recovery process, and the result."
Until the List of Worries Grows ShorterAfter the surgery, this person wrote that the pain was not severe and that they were satisfied with both the recovery and the result.
But that is their case. How much pain is felt and how quickly swelling subsides vary, and recovery does not follow the same timetable even after the same operation. So in consultation, instead of saying it will not hurt, I first explain what discomfort may occur at which point and what to do then. Discomfort you can anticipate is far easier to bear.
The People Who Stay Beside You in the Operating RoomThis person wrote that what stayed with them was the medical team continually checking on their condition and looking after them.
The ones who check a patient's condition and speak to them in the operating room are the anesthesiologist and the surgical team. As the operating surgeon, I enter after anesthesia has been given and focus on the surgery. The voice this person remembers means there is someone dedicated to watching their condition throughout.
They also wrote that the atmosphere was a little different from what they had imagined, while adding that "the staff were kind and considerate." What picture first-time patients arrive with is something we should look at more closely.
Asked what they most wanted to do after surgery, they said, "It seems I can wear short sleeves and go about with my chest out, which I'm glad about."
It is not a grand plan. Wearing short sleeves in summer; not stepping back when a photo is taken. The longer someone has postponed, the more the first line of the list tends to be this small.
What patients bring up in the consulting room ends up gathering here too. Pausing, every single time, at a scene no one else would even notice — and those pauses stacking up several times a day. Only once it is gone, they say, do they realize how often it had been happening.
Asked what they would say to others with the same concern, this person said that having done it, it was less than they expected, so if you are deliberating, go ahead. That is said from direct experience, and whether to have surgery is something to decide after confirming your condition through an examination. Finding out about your condition and deciding on surgery are separate things.
I hope the summer ahead of them is a little lighter than the summers past.
