Harry and Harvey send a message from Oz

I'll be writing from Melbourne, Australia for the next several weeks.  I've been invited to be a “Thinker in Residence” at Deakin University, which has campuses here and in Geelong several miles to the south. Beside participating in university activities, I'll be offering advice to the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA), which provides liability and other insurance to the various state agencies, including those involved in health care and infrastructure. And also to GMHBA, a non-profit private health insurer based in Geelong.

I'm hoping my regular readers–and maybe some new ones–will enjoy some observations from here in Oz.  Given the reach of the Internet, I'll still be watching things back home, but maybe my observations about them will also benefit from the perspective that distance offers.

In commemoration of the Christmas holiday and its emphasis on kindness, I want to start with one story from Dr. Kate Cherry, an infectious disease specialist here.  Several years ago, she was treating a patient named Harry for AIDS, and he had entered the paliative care unit at Alfred Health, housed in a separate structure from the main hospital.

Harry was near death, and Kate asked him that all-important question: “Is there anything else that I can do for you?” Harry mentioned that he would like to have the company of a cat.

Kate went to the charge nurse in the palliative care unit, a person known for being a stickler about rules and also for being a bit gruff.  She asked about bringing in her own cat, Harvey, to visit Harry.  The charge nurse paused and thought and responded, “Well, I guess if you brought in a cat, we'd be unlikely to notice it.”  Give this authorization, Kate brought in Harvey and put him on the bed with Harry, at which point Harvey relaxed and started purring loudly.

Harry, though, could no longer hear very well and could not detect the purring. So Kate took his hand and put it on Harvey's back so he could feel the purring. Harry's face lit up and his body relaxed.

Kate asked Harry if she could share the picture, and he insisted that she do so, and widely.  I'm happy to help honor his request.