One of the leaders at my son’s care facility likes to share a quote from the film, Patch Adams. The film stars Robin Williams. The quote reads, “You treat a disease: you win, you lose. You treat a person I guarantee you win—no matter the outcome.” (Here is a link to the video clip including the quote) This post is about applying this mindset to every sphere of life, including healthcare.
I find that healthcare workers who take this approach with my son Christopher, who suffers from TBI, make a holistic difference in his life. It is a win/win.
The same goes for all of us. We are all healthcare workers tending to one another. May we treat one another as persons, just as Jesus did in ministering to individuals in need. He always treated people holistically. Such holistic care is just what the divine doctor orders for our world today!
One might argue that our society is on life support. There is so much distrust, cynicism, indifference, and hostility in various quarters. Similarly, without trying to be morbid, I feel like many aspects and arenas of my life are on life support. Perhaps you can relate?
When experiencing great duress, it is very difficult to keep Patch Adams’ quote in mind. It is very easy for any of us to dehumanize one another amid the stresses that weigh us down. I am working hard to not lose sight of this outlook when crafting emails on Outlook, writing posts at Facebook, and driving down the road.
I loved Robin Williams as an actor and grieve over the tragic tale of how he died by suicide. He had Lewy body dementia, which was only diagnosed following an autopsy of his brain. The illness, which was misdiagnosed during his lifetime, caused him and his loved ones so much emotional and mental anguish.
It just goes to show how little we know sometimes of what people around us are going through. We must never stop treating them as persons, no matter the symptoms and behaviors they generate. We can only hope that others will do the same toward us, too.
The quote from Patch Adams, and the tale of Robin Williams, resonate with my ambition in life, and calls to mind the subject matter of my new book, More Than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture (IVP Academic, August 8, 2023).
This Thursday, at 1 PM Eastern, I will be participating in a live webinar with Byron Borger of Hearts & Minds Bookstore. IVP will be coordinating the event. Registration is required for this free venue. If you are interested, please click on this link here and fill out the online form.
Here is an endorsement for the book from Dr. Robert Potter (M.D., Ph.D.). He is a medical doctor and personalist ethicist who does house calls and who also practices what the Patch Adams quote preaches:
“I think of ethics as good reasons for action. I have long searched for a practical theology of moral values to use in my work as a healthcare ethicist in guiding persons who have to make difficult decisions. In More Than Things, Paul Louis Metzger has given those of us who work in the discipline of healthcare ethics such a trustworthy, practical theology of moral values. He has skillfully drawn together multiple strands of moral reasoning from history and current critical thinking in philosophy and theology to address a variety of critical ethical issues, including healthcare. Those who are compassionately guiding other persons through difficult ethical decision-making in morally conflicted life situations will find this book to be a strong strategic instrument for discerning ‘good reasons for action.'”
Please join Byron Borger, IVP, and me for the conversation on personalist ethics. We look forward to your presence. There will be an opportunity for people to raise questions for consideration, along with information provided about a discount for the volume.
Here is a link to the publisher’s website page for the book, where one can find a free excerpt, a book summary, table of contents, and full list of endorsements. A free reader’s guide is forthcoming.
This unfathomable journey on life support with Christopher has influenced my writing like no other experience. No matter what I write in the future, I hope a recurring theme and thread will be that I am treating persons. I am not treating merely diseased behaviors, but people who struggle in many ways, just as I do. We need to see one another as more than the problems we manifest and cherish people as being far more valuable than things.
We are all persons. Each of us is a patient. We are all doctors caring for one another in need, as Robin Williams in Patch Adams reminds us. May it shape our daily practice.
PS: Here’s a picture of Christopher with rabbit pillows under his arms. His mother loves rabbits and who adores her son acquired these pillows for our young man to help him cope with spasticity. (His baclofen pump also works wonders!) Mariko prescribes and administers regular doses of TLC (tender loving care) to treat his TBI. Her formula for treating Christopher’s person will win every time!
To read the various posts about our journey with Christopher and TBI, please click on this link. Thank you for your prayers! God bless you!
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