I've Been Hugged!

I am a physical person. Beyond the contact required for a proper and thorough physical examination, I like to put my hand on my patient's shoulder, or hold another's hand - to reassure, to console, to convince. But a hug? A patient of mine took me completely by surprise one day. She was a frail elderly Indian lady who spoke little Malay. As I helped her sit up on her bed, she put her hands behind my head and hoisted herself up, then brought her head to mine, held it there, forehead to forehead for all of 5 seconds while making gleeful sounds! When she finally let go of my head I just stood there and gave my house officer a stunned look. Her daughter then added that it was her way of saying that she liked me! How cute. Once, when I was a house officer, I treated a lady for hypoglycemia. When she regained full consciousness she sat up in bed and hugged me, expressing her gratitude with a dramatic "thank you doctor, you saved my life!". Maybe she was still delirious from the effect of hypoglycemia. In a more sombre situation, a young man, full of grief, just lunged forward and hugged me after I broke the news that his mother would not survive despite all that we had done. Moments like these serve to remind us that above and beyond our ability to wield a scalpel or accurately diagnose and treat an illness, there is something else that is powerfully therapeutic - for patient and doctor alike. Like a hug!