Sloppy Communication

 

Me:  “Swallow this.”  

Patient:  “Are the Stars playing today?”  (coughs and splutters)

Me:  “One thing at a time.  Swallow.”

Family member 1:  “Why is it so cold in here?  It’s probably because of that covid virus.”

Family member 2:  “Who’s got covid?”

Me:  “Nobody in this room has covid.” (turning to patient)  “Now swallow.”

Patient:  “I don’t have covid!  They did a test!”  (coughs and splutters)

Me:  “One thing at a time.  Swallow.”

Patient:  “You’re the one who brought up covid.”  (finally swallows)

Me:  “Good.  Now swallow again.”

Family member 2:  “Let’s watch the Stars game.”

Family member 1:  “Can’t you see he’s trying to focus on his swallow?”

Patient:  (with a gurgly voice) “Why do I have to swallow again?”

Me:  “Something seems to be going down the wrong pipe.”

Family member 2:  “I can’t hear the therapist.  What did she say?  Why does she want him to swallow again?  Is it because of covid?”

Me: (shouting) “SOMETHING IS TRYING TO GO DOWN THE WRONG PIPE.”

Family member 1:  (also shouting, simultaneous to me) "HE'S CHOKING."

Patient:  “No, I’d feel it.”

Me:  “SWALLOW.”

Patient:  “Let’s watch the Stars game.”

 

Working with patients and families with disabilities has taught me that communication is often messy.  No matter how perfectly I plan my session or how brilliantly I attempt to do patient/family education, something often goes awry.

I see it in my own life too.  Conversations with my family and friends—they’re not optimized; they’re not like the crisp dialogue written in movies and books.  In real life, people talk over each other.  We say what we don’t mean.  Or we say what we mean and are misunderstood.  We misunderstand others.  We apologize (or we don’t).  We get mad.  We interrupt each other.  We fail to listen.  We learn to listen better.  We change our minds and say something different.  We say things in such a roundabout way that nobody can understand what we’re getting at.  We use metaphors that don’t work.  Things get overwhelming.  Nothing goes according to plan.  We all get confused.  We have to work very hard to reach each other.  It’s sloppy.

And you know what?

That’s OK. 

In fact, I think it’s strangely beautiful.