OR Wheels vis-à-vis STREET Wheels
At 1st Glance …
Author:
Co-Editor Anna Lou Villena 🙂
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OR Wheels vis-à-vis STREET Wheels
At a single glance!—– Monotonous it may seem for some whose routine lives are just scaled on the pedestrian, but not for a few others whose perspective could align two contradicting wavelengths.
September 2003, when I first stepped in a cardiovascular operating theater, I was enthralled by this four-wheeled machine operated by a profound driver, so-called “perfusionist”. As signaled by the surgeon, every command is repeatedly uttered and quickly respond to questions with conviction. This firmness assures the team especially the surgeon that all are in the same channel and everything down in the 4 wheels HLM is in perfect alignment strictly following a calculated flow.
Vis-à-vis, October 2012, I perched in Changchun, China. These 3 wheeled novelty and economical cabs for short distance transport prompted my attention. Looking at its topology, unjust instinct crossed my mind – “Riding in that car will put my life in peril—NEVER will I ride !”
The realm turns counter clockwise, wayward situation happens, snowfall was too heavy and a 10 minute walk to my workplace could be horrible. The optional rush is to wave one for a ride. Surprisingly, the 5 minute ride was stable, a sole smile and Ni Hao! (Hello) from the responsible driver, maneuvering the cab in a limited speed, nullified my wrong impression and gained my confidence.
Same scenario could be vivid for ordinary, apprehensive cardiac patients who with just a single glance at the 4 wheels HLM machine, strike a query in mind – “How could this bulky metal thing be my temporary heart and lungs during surgery?” “Is the one operating this, reliable enough?”
This kind of prosaic ideas can only be answered by a categorical explanation from the heart team peri-operatively. At some point, perfusionists should not clamp down their charming faces in the four-corners of perfusion room, we must take an active participation for educating patients before the surgical operation. Assuring them that they are in the best hands of a profound “pumpist”. A beam of genuine smile, a single Ni Hao! (Hello) or Pershendejte (Albanian), and a wave will undoubtedly gain credence that significantly shows — WE CARE for them. On a brighter note, their surgical success will uphold Martin Luther’s wisdom that “BLOOD alone moves the WHEELS of history.”
