There are few things I learned while watching Dr. John. And since I keep repeating this series again and again, I put my thoughts here.
The story is about a genius anaesthologist, in diagnosing patients together with his Pain Management team. But this doctor, Cha Yo Han is suffering from mutation of ntrk1 gene that lead to CIPA. Basically he cannot feel pain, and for anhidrosis, he can not regulate his body temperature well. Also, he can not sense any changes in temperature. Well, for any kind of gene mutation, usually the patient is having some sort of mental disabilty, which is usually what CIPA patient is. But, if they were to stick on the right track, we wont have this Cha Yo Han.
That’s all for the synopsis part.
Now, my ‘findings’. There will be spoilers in here. Read through if you are okay with that.
In Episode 5, Dr Kang Shi Young was looking for the café where he had her last meal with her dad. I almost cried watching this part. Mostly because I faced the same scene before. I always go out having afternoon meal with wea to various eateries. I somehow put myself in the situation. Reminiscing the last place me and wea had our last outing together. It should teach you that, things will last. Cherish this moment NOW. You wont know when you will miss it.
In Episode 8, where he was diagnosing a priest with meliodiosis. There was part where Dr. Lee asked him, why does a deity allowed a pious man suffering when he is already devouted. Because as an atheist, Dr Lee cannot grip the conditon. The priest replied, for him, the sickness is part of an atonement for his previous sins. (He was a soldier, killed lots of peoples during war) Well, as a muslim, it kinda strike me through. Because Islam teaches us that pain and sickness is not a punishment. We may suffer, but we will be paid generously if we patiently suffering through. Sickness, disease and pain; no one want it, no one request it, and everyone will do anything to avoid it. But, we do not have any power over those, because as muslim we believe it as part of destiny. But Islam teaches us what is good behind this. Everything will bring in goodness in us, only if we allow ourselves to look into that. So, in Islam, even sickness bring us goodness, not punishment. We will be rewarded later on for the hardship we faced today. And for me, this is a very good motivation to go through the hardness.
I guess that is a good anwer for “why do we need to suffer?” “for later good”. When? In Islam we believe in life after death, when only your deeds matter, then this is the later good that is highly desired.
In Episode 14, where they discussed about Cherubim. “A drug that can let people die in peace” There was one terminally ill patient decided to undergo euthanization (illegally) with Cherubim, because he believed the drug can end his endless suffering, in peaceful way (they even showed the brain beta waves and alpha waves to indicate the peaceful mind the patient was in at his last breadth). The Yo Han then replied, he didn’t see that as something peaceful. He see that kind of death as something sorrowful, sad and lonely. His death is taken as a crime. Where again, in Islam, to have a peaceful death, full with love and dignity, you have to live in peace and dignity. Live as how you want to die. As in, you don’t need to use drug for the said case. You just need to live rightly.
Last, Yo Han is suffering with CIPA. Thus he cannot feel pain. Pain is, troublesome, burdensome right? But, just because he can not feel pain, he wont realised if he is in one. And because of that, he wont realised if he got infection. Even it you can diagnose it from the blood test, he cant localise it, because of the missing sense. You wont realise how big and beneficial of something that is so burden-full, until you totally lost it.
Truthly, I cannot fathom how people can live without sensing pain. Then, things happened. I went to a weekend getaway with family. After some water activity, something was not right in my ear. It hurt badly. I went to the clinic for a check. Turned to, few days later, I need to meet with ORL doctor, and he sucked out the earwax from my eardrum. But, days after that, the pain was escalated in stead of reducing. I can feel it moving to my jaw and eyes. I did not think of any sort of infection, because I already met with ORL-HNS doctor. He didn’t notice any infection on my ear.
But the pain really bothering me till I need a painkiller, just to sleep. I decided to go to a GP right away. The area was already red and swelled badly which indicated an infection on my right ears, and it already moved to my left ears, jaws and my laryngal. Was prescribed with antibiotics. And alhamdulillah all is well now. This is the problem with people that can not feel pain. I know something wrong with my ear, because of the unpleasant feeling. But, if I did not realise the pain I was in, I wont go to have second treatment, then I wont realised the infection. See, pain is actually helping you. To pain is to live.
In the last episode, Yo Han successfully developed a kind of pain killer that may help terminally ill cancer patient suffering with unbearable pain, so they can live their life fully, until death come to them. This bring back the previous point. You can doctrate how you die, by living your life. And as Islam teaches you, that you don’t know when will death come to you, thus you need to live your life fully. Death will come eventually, and you don’t know when and how. You don’t have control over that. What you can control is how we living before death came.
And last, it is okay to show your love. Like what Shi Young did. If you like someone, then you like him. It is okay to be in that way.
