Fortune Cookie 06/07/2010
 
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After clearing my plate of a new Chinese shrimp dish, I reached for my fortune cookie. (I never eat fortune cookies—I don’t like their stale texture—but my dog loves them.) My fortune read, “You will touch the hearts of many.”  This message gently nudged me in an unexpected way, and I reflected on today’s new patient and the power of touch.

My new patient, whom I’ll call Adam, has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma disease. His thin frail body sits rigidly, curled forward in a motorized wheelchair; his weak respiratory muscles are aided by a machine. 

Shortly into the gentle massage treatment, I could feel his resistance lift. He gave into my hands and his muscles began to melt under my fingers.  A deep breath followed, and I paused as his respiration subtly shifted into deeper fuller breaths.  The duration of the treatment was shorter than most, but his response was significant. He sat taller in his wheelchair and moved a bit more easily. I even detected renewed life in his eyes.

Before I departed, I thanked him for allowing me to work on him. Adam looked at me, paused, and said, “Come back again.”

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