Читать книгу Close to the Bone - Jean Shinoda Bolen - Страница 29

There are many good reasons for an immediate admission to the hospital, such as traumatic injuries from accidents or violence, severe burns, a likely myocardial infarct, hemorrhaging, being unconscious, having a raging fever—any state in which immediate care could make the difference between life and death. At Los Angeles General County Hospital, where I interned, anyone who arrived in a critical condition was called a “red blanket.” The patient was immediately put on a gurney, a red blanket (in actuality, a bright red sheet) was thrown over him, and an attendant wheeled the gurney on a nonstop elevator to an admitting ward. When a red blanket arrived on the floor, that patient was seen immediately.

In contrast, many people go to a doctor's office with symptoms that have been present for a while, often after having had to wait for days or even weeks for this appointment, and are told that they must go from the office to the hospital immediately. In an atmosphere of fear and urgency, there is then no time to prepare others, or get some matters settled that might otherwise be major worries, or get a second opinion, or be able to inquire into alternatives, or become psychologically and spiritually supported and prepared for an undertaking that will tax the body and soul of the patient. Doctors who instill fear, don't discuss options, and take immediate charge under noncritical conditions usually render the patient helpless to chart his or her own course. Fear of malpractice suits, unfamiliarity with the patient as a person, and the economics of insurance coverage may make this course the prudent one for the physician and a very difficult situation for the patient to resist.

This is a critical moment. The decision to be immediately admitted to the hospital may be the right one, and you may be relieved that this is happening, because you have had a feeling that something quite serious was not being attended to, and now it is. You may intuitively trust the doctor and the decision. Or, as is sometimes the case, there may be an inner resistance, an intuition or feeling that you need more information, or need to sort out the situation, or need to take care of other matters before you can go in. For the soul, and quite possibly for the body, it matters whether you are ready or not. For you are not just being admitted to the hospital, you are on a soul journey that will take you into the underworld.