The man and his wife.......

Why is it that when men are ill they become absolute babies?

I just met my patient and his wife who had surgery a few days ago, and what struck me again was the way in which he displayed his helplessness as he described the not so unfamiliar symptoms associated with his post operative state.

He is of average build but is bigger than his wife who is slim. But in matters relating to his health he is not able to pull himself together without her help and support. He came into our hospital on an emergency basis but he was subsequently stabilised, his post admission days were not without hiccups so we decided to take him into surgery. he viewed everything that was happening with an extra measure of fatalism and he would almost begin to weep whenever he had problems we considered minor.

His wife however was a study in contrasts the roles of defender and helpless seem to have been reversed, where he was whining she was stern telling him to pull himself together, where he acted the weakling she was much stronger. It amazed me to watch them and i had to wonder what attracted her to him in the first place. (they are an old couple). She in addition to taking care of his personal needs was cooking for him buying the needed medications, sleeping on the floor by his side keeping a constant vigil, ever attentive to his needs..........

In days gone by im sure he did not dare show any signs of weakness while the wooing and courting was going on. He may have wrestled with other village boys to gain her attention daring her not to choose the stronger opponent! He would have caried her over the mountains and streams to show that his strength would last forever!

But now the ravages of age have caught up with those once strong muscles 'mummy" his cry for her help pierces our ears, he can't even get up without her lending a hand. Just goes to show what the passage of time does to a man. But the question i asked at the beginning remains why are men apparently weaker when it comes to handling sickness or disaster?

Comments

  1. Anonymous6:09 PM

    Tomi,
    Finally, that nails it! Some of your comments show you have a chauvinistic side. What do you have against the XY species? There are "red flag" signs in this blog and the one on 'Difficult patients'.

    ReplyDelete

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