At the start of it all, we all had a simple need.
To do the best for our patients...to see them breathe better, walk better, jump high, run faster...
Or even just simply to see them smile...

But now, this need is denied...
One by one, we fall prey to the system...
We spend more time stressing over the papers, and less time worrying what to do to make Mr X lift that foot higher so he can go home as he doesn't live on a lift landing HDB flat...
We are occupied with audits, checks, processes, standards etc...
Yet all Mdm C needs is for us to transfer her into a commode so she can pee comfortably in the toilet and not have soiled diapers.

That basic need, that need which directed most of us into this line of work,
where has it gone?
Forgotten admist the other work?
Or just buried deep within until one day, when all of our passion has extinguished, would we find its ashes?

I once blogged the healing power of touch...
not just healing from us...but also, healing ourselves when we have patient contact.
The joy of having Mr Y do his own swing phase on his hemiparetic side...
The relief when Mdm A finally coughs up that sputum plug
The proud moment when Ms B lets go of the crutches and walks in to say hello...
The sense of achievement when 'difficult' Mr Z finally agrees to sit out of bed and do pedal bike for 10 minutes

For some of us, these are almost as essential as food and water...
And for some of us, we have become so starved and dehydrated that we no longer really care.
Work...has just become what it is...W.O.R.K.
Spending 8 hours a day, Mon to Fri (and for some, on Sat) just to receive that GIRO transfer every month

Isn't it sad?
Personally, I think it is heartbreaking...
For some of them, they found solace and rekindled their passion...
For a few of us...it is like watching an oil lamp burning out..
Slow and painful process...yet unfortunately, inevitable...

~pfffft...goes the flame~