Spot Shelf: Anecdotes on Death, Compassion + More in From the Eyes of a Healer

(SPOT.ph) Good doctors are some of the best storytellers. They must have walked past a thousand story ideas every day, from cases brought to them by their patients to simple encounters with colleagues in the hospital. And as human beings, they also have the innate impulse to tell good stories. Doctors, being the bearer of news to patients, serve as living conduits of these untold stories that they themselves have been a part of. 

Many doctors have taken pen to paper not to write prescriptions but to write prose. And with them being so attuned to sickness and death, these themes have become the most apparent to pen.

From the Eyes of a Healer: An Anthology of Medical Anecdotes is a vivid and all-encompassing take on the vulnerabilities and uncertainties of the healing profession recreated into 16 anecdotes written by doctor-authors who worked or are still working at the Philippine General Hospital, a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated by the University of the Philippines Manila.

The 100-page anthology is edited by Joey Tabula, a resident internist at PGH and a published writer-poet. The anecdotes average two or three pages each, the majority of which are written in English. For such a slim book that can be swept in a single sitting, it is loaded with a vast repertoire of experiences that only those from the medical profession can provide. 

Book Review: Three Key Points of From the Eyes of a Healer:

First, it showcases the human side of medicine and the doctor’s relentless struggle for empathy in an environment that forces them to be psychologically distant and emotionally detached from the cases that they handle. “Ang Pahiwatig ng mga Mata” by Nico Cedicol shows how a simple gesture like talking to the patient’s companion can ripple an impact. 

It also brings readers to a realization of the vital importance of putting humanity into medicine. Pauline Marie Camposano intelligibly expounds it in her anecdote, “Compassion.” It is determined by the quality of attention that doctors are willing to extend to patients. Compassion is to ask the right questions at the right moment.

Second, the book serves as a reality check for readers—of what death looks like, i.e. the physical process of dying. That even though we all know that it is the final destination, no one can be fully prepared for it, especially if one has to bear witness to the demise of a loved one. It comes when least expected, poignantly recounted in “Deluge” by Anna Elvira Arcellana where a boy is robbed of final goodbye having been painfully clueless on the cause of his father’s death. 

Doctors deal with sickness and death every day so much so that they become used to it. The book provides readers with a glimpse that doctors have their own ways of grieving the death of their patients. 

Third, it is a social commentary on the kind of healthcare system we have in the country, widening further the gap between the rich and the poor. Those who have limited access to the most basic care are also those living in poor health conditions. 

This case is particularly evident in the story, “Wanting, Waiting” by Ronnie Baticulon. It details the struggle of patients who must constantly deal with expired guarantee letters vouched by charitable institutions and politicians to help them with their treatments. 

The last part is a speech that the editor delivered during the 2015 Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Annual Commencement Exercise, narrating why despite the reputation and the challenges entailed in working at PGH, residents, and fellows still chose this hospital. It is because PGH is home to the best and the brightest medical personnel in the region. As Tabula remarked, “Totoong nakahahawa ang katalinuhan.” 

Overall, the anthology is an insightful read providing an insider look into the world of doctors who are overwhelmed with stories that might seem quotidian but for them, it’s a daily battle for survival. Working in the medical profession where only the strongest survive, it is important to keep one’s humanity intact while being loyal to a profession that one promised to wholeheartedly serve. 

For those who have appreciated this book, it will be a delight to anticipate a second volume covering other issues on health, hopefully with more stories written in Filipino. There is a weighty feel in writing stories in Filipino since all medical books are in English, but reading narratives in our language has its own appeal, providing readers with certain realities that cannot be captured if written in a foreign tongue.

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From the Eyes of a Healer: An Anthology of Medical Anecdotes (Alubat Publishing, 2017) edited by Joey A. Tabula is available on Lazada for P299.