SCIENCE VS SHAMAN
I never had a close encounter with the occult until that fateful day which I refuse to divulge when it exactly happened. Being a child raised out of the modern technology, I admit I’m quite biased with my ideas and beliefs regarding ancient practices and it’s a contributing factor that I belong to the allied medical field- a health care professional. I had never been judgmental. I always analyze both sides of the story. I respect the opinion and personal beliefs of other people, but on that fateful day, I was exposed to the realization that whatever happens, a person should stand by to his principles in life. To value the ethical principle of confidentiality, I will not name drop the involve personalities. The case is about a patient suffering from kidney failure. Based on the diagnostic examinations which are evident medical basis and the presenting clinical manifestations, it is CRF or Chronic Renal Failure. What is CRF? It is the progressive loss and ongoing deterioration in kidney function that occurs slowly over a period of time due to a variety of causes. It occurs in stages and is irreversible. It affects all the major body systems and requires Dialysis or Kidney Transplant to maintain life thus preventing death. Signs and symptoms include the following: anorexia and nausea, headache, weakness and fatigue, hypertension, confusion and lethargy (which may be followed by convulsions and coma), kussmaul’s respiration, diarrhea or constipation, muscle twitching and numbness of extremities, decrease urine output, decrease urine specific gravity, proteinuria, anemia, azotemia, fluid overload, and signs of heart failure. Laboratory findings of the patient last March 2009 revealed a markedly increase Serum Creatinine (2300+ mg/dl), Blood Urea Nitrogen/BUN (40+ mg/dl), BP of 160/100, isolated PVC’s on the ECG and increase Potassium (5.9 meq/L). The attending physician advised an immediate admission to the hospital and ordered an Emergency Hemodialysis. The patient is also under treatment for Schizophrenia and is taking Risperidone- an anti-psychotic as a maintenance drug. But due to many factors, after a bout of undecided circumstances, the family of the patient decided not to seek medical treatment. Instead, they consulted to a quite well-known nutritionist/herbalist who advocates Vegan diet to his clients. I have no idea whether that person is a Registered Physician or not. He prescribed the patient with different herbal capsules and miracle tea that roughly cost P10,000.00 and those medicines are consumable in less than a month only. Imagine the amount the family paid? That amount is tantamount to one session of dialysis already. Let’s put into perspective that right at this moment, after one month of taking all those pills and tea, and improper diet (unbalanced nutrition), the toxic substances dramatically increased to a much lethal level. The patient now manifested severe anorexia, nausea and vomiting (I saw that it was actually gastric juice the patient had vomited), headache, weakness and fatigue, bladder and bowel incontinence, muscle twitching, numbness of extremities, confusion, lethargy, blank facial expression with a sharp fixed-stare, disperse ecchymoses (bruises), pallor, facial edema, drooling and guarding due to severe flank and abdominal pain. A heart of stone will surely melt if you saw the patient in that condition. But because the significant others already made up their mind of not admitting the patient to the hospital, who am I to intervene nor interfere? The worst scenario came when they resorted to consulting a shaman. I didn’t quite remember how the shaman looks but if my memory serves me right, he’s an old man around 50 years old, about 5’2”, thin, with long dirty finger nails and he’s a Gay. The shaman performed his rituals by endless effleurage and palpations to both upper and lower extremities and some parts of the trunk where vital organs are located. I didn’t heard Latin chants though. Imagine the pain that the patient is already experiencing became more aggravated with the shaman’s endless palpation. I was in complete awe when I saw him performed a deep palpation (very deep indeed) to the patient’s right lower quadrant of the abdomen directly at the Mc Burney’s point. I cursed silently. My God! He will rupture the appendix with that type of palpation! The patient was crying in a hoarse voice as if begging the shaman to stop uttering the word “masakit!’ over and over. I was completely stunned and shocked! I felt so rebellious, so futile, unable to do anything beyond my control. It was their decision not mine. I was there because I was in a position wherein I really have to be there and not to indulge them. He uttered an oath then said that a certain “engkanto” and “isang tao” were the one responsible for the patient’s illness. The patient had allegedly eaten the engkano’s rice that’s why it’s very hard to retrieve the patient. Worst, he told us that two “white ladies” were lurking around the vicinity where we were. I’m not clairvoyant to know if it was true, but I firmly believed that it was all a hoax. My faith in God emerged. It was all insanity! No force on earth can ever tamper my faith in God and believe that shaman. I admit I’m a fan of horror stories, vampires, ghosts, doppelgangers, local “aswangs” and others, name them and I know them. I even collect True Philippine Ghost Stories books and they never failed to give me goosebumps, but merely for the pleasure of tickling my weird side and not to believe that they really exist. Yes, there are unseen forces to naked eye. They may be good or bad, but since I don’t have the gift to immerse with them- I don’t see, hear or feel them- I’d rather not indulge myself and just focus on strengthening my faith in God for He is the supreme-being. The last thing I will ever do is to put the fate of a loved-one in the hands of someone who doesn’t believe in God. Maybe- just maybe!- I will believe the shaman’s declarations if there were no medical basis for the patient’s illness. But for heaven’s sake, are those medical findings not enough evidence that the patient’s life is in complete jeopardy?! Medical diagnosis reveals Chronic Renal failure on its third stage which is End-Stage Renal Disease wherein excessive accumulation of metabolic wastes occurs and the kidneys are already unable to maintain homeostasis. Dialysis or other renal replacement therapy is required to prevent death. On the other hand, my Nursing Diagnosis will be High Risk For Injury related to Shaman Beliefs! Browse the NANDA book, if you didn’t saw that nursing diagnosis, message me and call me an idiot, but if you agree with me, just help me pray that the patient will miraculously survive this ordeal. I was a fool I was there, I felt so angry especially when the shaman’s accomplice said that he cannot text his master long before we arrived at the place. Some uncontrollable forces were supposedly blocking him to contact the shaman. Holy God! I promised myself that I will never ever put myself in such an awkward situation ever again. But I’m giving the shaman the benefit of the doubt. Who knows, the herbal capsules and miracle tea that the nutritionist/herbalist prescribed were taking effect. The BUN and creatinine might fall down to the normal level, who knows? And when that event happened, they will surely commend that the shaman cured the patient. Or perhaps the shaman was right afterall with his declaration. They can believe that, you can believe that, but definitely not me. If the patient had undergone dialysis a month ago, the patient might be well this time. Who knows? My honest opinion with this situation? Let me express myself in our native language. “Hindi lahat ng tao ay pare-pareho. Hindi ko sila kinokondena sa pinaniniwalaan nila dahil karapatan nila yon, pero ako, pag nalagay sa ganoong sitwasyon, sukdulang mamalimos at magmakaawa ako sa lahat ng tao maipagamot lang at gumaling ang taong pinakamamahal ko. Lulunukin ko ang aking pride kung kapalit naman noon ay maisalba ang buhay ng taong mahal ko. At kung di man siya gumaling at namatay pa rin? At least hindi ko habambuhay na pagsisisihan na wala akong ginawa upang madugtungan ang buhay nya. Nag-effort ako upang maisalba ang buhay niya, sapat na yun upang maipadama at maipakita ko kung gaano ko siya kamahal!” This is just my honest opinion, and I hope no one will get mad at me because afterall, we are entitled to our own opinion. The bottom line is: Death comes at the most unexpected time, but now I realize death is sometimes a matter of choice too. May God Bless Us All!…=)
