“A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. A life spent at home is safe, but that is not the purpose of living.”
This Facebook post was first published HERE on 22 February 2021.
You can read other physicians’ untold stories HERE and HERE.
The Year 2016
“ Doctor, I don’t want your diabetic medications!”
“ Why?”
“Because my relatives told me they damage my kidney!”
The Year 2017
“ Doctor, I don’t want your cholesterol medications!”
“ Why?”
“Because my neighbours told me they damage my liver!”
The Year 2018
“Doctor, I don’t want to take my hypertension medications!”
“Why?”
“Because my friends told me they cause impotence and loss of sex drive!”
The Year 2019
“ Doctor, I don’t want to start my mum on dialysis no matter what happens!”
“ Why?”
“ Because I gather from Google, once we start someone on dialysis, there is no turning back!”
The Year 2021
“ Doctor, I don’t want to take the covid-19 vaccine!”
“Why?”
“ Because I read from social media someone died after taking the vaccine!”
The rate of anaphylaxis ( serious allergy reaction- not death!) for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is 4.7 cases/ million doses and 2.5 cases/million doses for the Moderna vaccine.
Malaysia registered a road accident death rate of 23 per 100,000 population in 2019 which translates to 7000-8000 deaths per year or about 230 mortality per million population.
“Are you considering to stop riding a bicycle/motorcycle, driving a car, or even taking a bus after looking at the high road accident mortality rate?”
I always ask patients this question when they tell me all the above excuses!
Goethe once said:” The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety.”
Life is inherently risky.
“A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
Everything you do in life carries certain risks! Listen to your doctors for medical advice and not someone or something you can’t turn to for help when you are really ill!
Let’s take this opportunity to finally set things right!
