December 16th

TREATMENT FOUR ( or is it?)

                                     

                                                           'A Ward with a View'

I arrived at the Laurel Suite today, armed as usual with my laptop, lunch and water bottle and was escorted to seat 1! ( a chair on it's own at the top of the ward) The ward was busier than usual and it was clear that the nurses were under staffed 

I had my usual bloods taken and whilst waiting for the results, wondered if treatment four really would happen as my Doctor was off sick, and without his go-ahead after the recent heart monitor results ( and palpitations during treatments) the nurses could not administer the usual treatment...

I was offered a coffee whilst phone calls and emails were made  and I had a few thoughts from my new seat.

From here, I see different things, my view of the patients is different and I notice how much longer the ward seems from this view.

This got me thinking about perspectives ; how often we see things/ people from one perspective, just like the optical illusion below - Is it a rabbit or a duck?

https://images.app.goo.gl/n276nc6iLVKMGSGr5

This is a funny story ( with a  Biblical lesson)

Perspective is an amazing thing, isn’t it? You and another person see exactly the same thing happen, but later find out you somehow saw two completely different things! Scientists have even studied this phenomenon and discovered that what we expect to see has a powerful impact on what our brains comprehend.

In one study, a group of subjects (not realizing they were part of a study) went out on a boat on Loch Ness, the supposed home of the famous Loch Ness Monster.

The subjects were told that there had been several sightings by locals, and that there was a good chance that they would see something that morning. As part of the test, a diver had been submerged out in the lake with a plain 4X4 piece of lumber. At a particular point in the voyage, the diver slowly raised the 4X4 board out of the water, held it for a few seconds, then took it back below the surface.

The people on the boat responded excitedly. When they returned to shore, they were asked to draw what they had seen. The subjects drew a long thin neck—with a head! What they saw was completely different from reality—because they weren’t primed to see reality. They were primed to see what they imagined, what they hoped was true. The same thing happens in the way we view our lives and our relationships.

There’s an interesting anecdote from the life of Jesus that illustrates the way He sees, and how it can be so different from what we see. Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” (John 9:1-3)

Do you notice the difference between Jesus and His disciples here? The disciples saw this guy as a potential for a theological argument. “Hey, guys, here’s a hurting person—let’s have a fuss about whose fault it is!” But Jesus saw a chance to glorify God. He saw with clearer eyes what was really going on in this man’s life.

I love this! 

Many times, we see the things / people/ situations HOW we WANT to see them.

Often, seeing things from other people's point of view is hard, we have our own ideas and can be judgmental . Like the people on the boat, we see what we want to see without knowing the full story. 

After reading this ( and enjoying my coffee), the nurse informs me that they cannot give treatment until they receive official word from the Doctor - I am now going home!

So, I am trying to see this from a new perspective and practice what I 'preach' - Just like sitting in my new chair with my new view, this is something for me to see from the nurses perspective, rather than mine ; all this is for my own good and although rather inconvenient today, I need to appreciate the NHS are doing their utmost for me and meanwhile, I will continue to live another week feeling grateful for a few days without side effects.