Black History Month: Sun, Set and the Sacredness of Care

By AlAt (an osteopathic medical student who wishes to remain anonymous)

This is my retelling of a clinical experience I had with the loveliest of folks who presented together. As patients, they were assigned to me.

Who am I? I am a student doctor! I am blessed to be completing clerkship rotations where I learn, reinforce my education and cosplay as a healthcare provider. Why was my encounter with the aforementioned couple so memorable?

Note, I will refer to them as Sun and Set—a Belle with microbraids of stunning tones and her Beau—borrowing inspiration from the hues of Sun’s wardrobe ensemble. In a gentlemanly manner, Set rested his fedora on his eye-catching cane upon sitting in their shared exam room. Both Sun and Set were easily fashion icons, and documenting their physical exams to include “well-groomed with appropriate hygiene” did not do proper justice to what they graced us clinic scrub-wearers with.

Prior to entering their exam room, I noted their reassuring vitals and considered how to discuss total health optimization with them.

In their exam room, we three yapped it up like aunties and uncles do. Sun and I blushed at Set’s chivalrous “ladies first” declaration, which commenced Sun’s evaluation. Sun recalled to me updates since her last visit. Set contributed details to fill information gaps as well. She was tolerating her new medications that were, in her words, “bringing down her sweetness.” Additionally, she reported not meeting her personal exercise goals secondary to the countryside heat of the Sun Belt Region. I looked forward to the attending arriving with his spiel on swimming pool exercises and worry-free interpretations about the health of Sun.

Then, I shifted to Set's evaluation. Despite Set’s mostly well appearance, our interpretations of his labs, exam and presenting problems introduced multiple worrisome developments, indeed. Steadfast with my attending for over an hour, I understood how tweaking Set’s medication regimen would increase its tolerability. We then expected that his motivation to comply with the therapy would improve and ultimately prevent him from suffering complications. Committed and awestruck, I was Set’s audience as he learned to participate in “teach-back counseling" on restorative lifestyle changes that would be crucial to his well-being.

As Sun and Set fathomed all our feedback, I reflected on the emotional rollercoaster that we rode together. What began as lighthearted arrivals and introductions shifted to matter of fact health affairs, and was now guarded acceptance. The final shift towards resilience was led by Sun and Set sharing that they would proceed with their plans to uphold their rendezvous date at the local seafood restaurant, and later meet their Pastor and multigenerational progeny for playing checkers.

I do not know how their date went, so please do not ask. Where are they now, though? I did not have the privilege of meeting Sun and Set a second time due to beginning another rotation at a different facility soon after their visit. However, I will it from my soul that they made their modifications where they could, particularly in Set’s case.

Mr. Set, please have accepted our regimen. Lord please put it in his mind and his bones to do those walking-in-his-pool activities we advised on to ease him into achieving more comfort. I assure myself that Sun will exert her vibrant influence on Set as she strives to “bring on down her own sweetness” further while also enjoying her era of feminine, graceful aging, free from her previous discomforts. As I lay plain the sentiments of closeness and stewardship I feel towards Sun and Set, I aim to offer a reassuring example of humanism in medicine that persists in a time where soulful connections may feel few and far between.

If these are the kinds of interactions I am lucky enough to have with my community, then there also are others like me keeping a culture of interconnectedness alive.