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| Chapter 9 - Memories of Max |
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It came to a very painful face off. You tell him that you will not sit and listen to his cries of pain if he will not take the tablets because they are the only things which will help him. You walk away as a Torturer and wait until he asks for the tablets. He takes the tablets and after a while the pain subsides and you are friends again. At what cost do you act out this role of Torturer? At the time I endured resolutely. In the longer term I paid the cost and it was very very expensive. |
In the end, as far as the painkillers were concerned, I passed control to Max. I decided to ignore the guidelines about how often they should be taken and let him make the decision. He was the one in pain, and so I let him decide when to relieve that pain. I explained to him that they had to be taken regularly and that they did not work instantaneously and that there also had to be a certain consistency in the dose before they had any effect. Although this may sound radical to an observer, this was a good move. On regaining the control over what was happening to him and his body Max started to request the tablets and we started to work together. I would explain the consequences of a drug and he then made the decision. The removal of force generally made him far more receptive to medication. |
This was not always the case. Some medicines are vital and yet provide no visible effect and in these cases this strategy did not work. |
The potassium tablets were one of the medications which fell into this category. These are large tablets which are needed to prevent potential heart attacks due to the drop in levels of body potassium caused by the chemotherapy. Max used to bargain for hours. On one occasion he agreed to take them after a bath. Yet again I knew full well this was just a delaying tactic. I'd reached the point where I felt I had to confront the issue directly. |
“Max, we need to get through this. You know that you must take your medicine. I need to talk to you about why you must take them." |
“Because the doctors tell you to give them to me.” he muttered sullenly. |
“Yes, but they only say that because the medicines can make you better.” |
“I don't feel ill at the moment.” |
“Do you want to know what happens if you do not take your potassium? If you do not take it then you might die.” |
This was long before he knew that his illness could kill him. |
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| Copyright © 2001 |
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