They heal sick people; they save lives. But doctors are human, too, who can get affected by the loss of their patients, no matter how they want to appear otherwise.
This is the message of the picture of a supposedly grieving doctor from a hospital in Southern California whose poignant image was captured by one of his co-workers. The unidentified physician just lost a 19-year-old patient from a disease and could not contain his grief.
The picture showed a man in a white lab coat crouching beneath a lamp post and facing a concrete wall, apparently overwhelmed with anguish and crying over the death of his teenage patient.
The viral photo (Credit: The Independent)
The photo quickly went viral after it was shared by one Reddit user named NickMoore91 who identifed himself as a paramedic from the same hospital and is a friend of the doctor.
He captioned the photo: “The man pictured was unable to save one of his patients. Though this is a common occurrence in our field of work, the patients we lose are typically old, sick, or some combination of the two. The patient that died was 19 years old, and for him, it was one of those calls we get sometimes that just hits you.”
The picture also triggered an onslaught of sympathetic comments from forum users; some of whom are claiming to be medical professionals themselves who shared their own similar experiences.
“I know what that person is feeling. Yesterday one of my 17 month old patients died,” Reddit user, boldwhite, said. “I was in the bathroom crying in private between patients several time yesterday. I’ve cried in stairwells and hallways.”
Another one wrote: “There is nothing like working on a case for hours then have the patient die. This picture sums up my emotions and I am sure the emotions of many others working in the medical field.”
Some also recalled how they witnessed some doctors crumble in frustration after they lose a patient.
“Wow, this really hits home for me. I lost my father earlier last year from an aortic dissection. He started feeling a weird pain in his chest and within an hour he was dead. He was a perfectly healthy 49 year old man,” one user narrated. “The doctors kept reassuring us that he would be fine. When he died the doctors who were working on him at the UCSD medical center were crushed. I could definitely see it in their eyes. They called my house multiple times throughout the year to see how my family was doing.”
“I know I’m speaking in general here, and I know that we aren’t all the same, however when it comes to our work, nothing is harder – and I mean nothing – than telling a loved one that their family member is dead,” said another netizen.
However, according to the post, the doctor did not spend much time wallowing in grief. He supposedly collected himself after a few minutes, then went back inside to attend to other waiting patients.
“Within a few minutes, the doctor stepped back inside, holding his head high again” the post ended.