Operation successful?
This week I visited cardiologist samer somi and took a look at the Leefstijlcentrum in The Hague. After years of dreaming and persevering, this center is finally a reality, with a clear goal: to promote health through lifestyle change. Because although everyone feels the importance of prevention, setting up business cases for prevention proves extremely difficult in practice.
During the tour, Samer was suddenly paged for a complex heart operation. To my surprise, he asked, "Would you like to watch?" Curious and slightly nervous, I agreed. Before I knew it, I was standing in surgical clothes, with lead aprons on and clogs on, ready to witness one of the most intense medical procedures up close. What I saw there made an indelible impression on me and gave me insight into the deep frustration experienced by Samer. The number of surgeries that could have been avoided if people took better care of themselves is staggering. Samer and I share that determination to reverse this trend. Besides prevention and being future fit, it turned out that we also share a fascination with technology. Because what an extraordinary technological feat that was.
I looked my eyes out and saw:
> care with human touch The patient was not a "case," but a human being, and was treated that way in every step of the operation. (Patient was with during surgery)
> Teamwork makes the dream workEvery member of the operations team was indispensable, working seamlessly together. Technology acted as a silent but indispensable partner. Despite the sterile environment, still a warm human atmosphere.
> Craftsmanship in actionIt was breathtaking to watch Samer and his fellow cardiologist work with endless patience, extreme precision, and feeling. Brimming with anatomical-, technological-, and much more-, knowledge and skill.
> The power of technology The technology used during the operation was phenomenal. It saves lives, but is only as effective as the people operating it.
Operation successful? Partly. Unfortunately, the patient has to go under the knife again. For me, the operation is only truly successful when everyone takes action before problems arise. Becoming Future Fit is what I call it. It requires conscious choices now so that we end up in the operating room less often in the future.
PS: What do you do to stay future fit? And... the photo was taken by my tech buddy ChatGPT, by the way, because obviously my mobile was not allowed to come into the operating room with me :) Thanks Samer for this special experience!
