7/27/2019 Ranjana Srivastava Melbourne Magazine November 2013

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ranjana-srivastava-melbourne-magazine-november-2013 1/1

the(melbourne)

Ranjana Srivastava’s book Tell Me The Truth: Conversations With My Patients About Life and Death  is available at0penguin.com.au Also see0 ranjanasrivastava.com Contact Ranjana at feedbackrs

healt

Sunshine streams through her window

but she is oblivious to the light and her

visitors. I touch her hand gently as she lies

in bed. Through her drowsiness, I elicit that she

is in pain and a little confused.

“Why is she confused, doctor?” her son asks.

“A combination of illness and drugs,” I say.

“It’s not uncommon to see this as the body

winds down.”

After reassuring my drifting patient of better

pain management, I walk outside where her

five adult children have requested another

meeting. Concerned at their strained expressions,

I wonder which of them may have misinterpreted

yesterday’s talk about her grim prognosis.

Suddenly, the air feels smothered by hostility.

“How can I help?”

There are darting glances and uncomfortable

shuffling. I recall their mother’s proud words when

I had mentioned extra support as her health

failed. “You wouldn’t find a closer family”, she

had said. “We have never missed a celebration

in my 85 years.”

“I guess I will start,” a daughter says. “Is Mum

unconscious?”

“She is not entirely unconscious but, as you

saw, she is not alert either. I expect that the

periods of lucidity will diminish with time.”

“So is she mentally competent?” another

daughter asks.

“She recognised you today,” I say. “She is

calmer with you here and, though she may not

respond, she knows you are present.”

This is not new information.

“Can Mum sign stuff?”

A weight lands on my heart.

“Like what?”

“So here is the thing,” a son says. “Is Mum

competent to alter her will?”

They fall over themselves trying to diffusing

my visible shock. Then I watch in dismay as

a mini-war erupts. In snatches, I learn that my

patient had grown a modest inheritance into

a sizeable fortune. This week, acknowledging

her imminent death, she had shared details

of her will with all five children, trusting they

would appreciate her thoughtful selections.

One daughter appreciated art, the other loved

 jewellery. One son liked shares, another antique

furniture and so on.

But no one is grateful. Each one accuses the

other of peddling too much influence; no one

considers their share to be fair. Above all, they are

troubled, even irritated, by her donation to charity,

although they are all comfortably settled.

“What can you do to wake her up?”

The question incenses me. More memories

of her heartfelt revelations come flooding back.

A widow for 10 years, all she wanted was to fade

away comfortably. “I am not afraid of death – but

make sure I don’t see it,” she had jested. I think of

her now, thankfully unaware of the conversation

that would break her proud maternal heart.

“Could the morphine be stopped?”

I am incredulous.

“Your mother is dying. Her pain relief is

inadequate and you have just heard me say we

need to do better.”

Feeling under siege, I remind them gently,

“We have a duty of care to your mother.”

Their mother dies that evening, surrounded

by five children who could not bring themselves

console each other. I learn later that the patient’s

will was uncontested, but the rever

that fateful day continued. A once h

content clan now spends its days r

unfairness of a divided inheritance

needed. Their mother’s greatest ho

across generations never had a ch

The subject of money divides th

families, in life and death. Some ca

the ongoing cost of care, others ne

and beg for a funeral. Yet others ob

of their inheritance. Money has a w

the basest of human instincts, mak

the very worst about those whom w

most loved. When there is so muc

even noble about human nature, it

that it could also be tainted thus.

Part of the privilege of being a d

witnessing problems that are beyon

remit to solve. Medicine has discov

antidotes but none for the problem

among family members. Observing

makes it no easier to get used to it

Watching a princess movie, my

with wondrous eyes. “Mama, is it re

to be super rich?” Thinking of my p

I can only manage a tired cliche.

“It’s complicated.”

Time to say thank you and goodby

that we’ve opened an important dis

discussing the relationship betwee

and society. I have been overwhelm

generosity, thoughtfulness and enc

Your shared experiences strengthe

resolve to write a book on helping

navigate cancer, due out next year

continued privilege of working as a

But when I witness something that

a promising column, I must remind

that it must wait for now. I am optim

enterprising readers may well com

a great suggestion about how to c

our conversation. I welcome your i

When money changes everything. By Ranjana Srivastava.

 Doctoris in

Photography/Bonnie Savage

the

“Can Mum sign stuff?”A weight lands on my heart.

“Like what?”“So here is the thing: is Mumcompetent to alter her will?”

Dr Olivia Metcalf,

28, research assistant,

Australian Centrefor Posttraumatic

Mental Health

 

Your PhD looked at excessivevideo gaming?We know it’s a problem for

a small minority of gamers

 but we don’t know what

type of problem it is – a

symptom of depression oranother type of disorder. My

research supported a finding

that excessive gaming is an

addiction. I hooked up gamers

to electrodes and measured

sweat levels, heart rates and

 blood pressure during and

after gaming.

What did you find?We found that the way they

react physiologically is much

more elevated.

So, what is cyber psychology?It’s any way an individual

can interact with internet

technology – video, networking

or using the internet to get

therapy delivered. Technology

is so pervasive in our lives and

we know so little about how

it affects us. I’m interested in

what the risks are – so we can

 be more informed and make

 better decisions.

What do you do now?We synthenise trauma

research information. One

of the major organisations we

work with is the Department

of Veterans’ Affairs. One of

the consequences with a PhD

is that you get an extremely

narrow view of science for a

long time. It’s been exciting tolearn how science can be useful

in a more practical and policy-

driven setting.

What do you do outsidethe lab?I do a bit of gaming. But I’ve

lost my skills a bit. I’m also mum

to a four-year-old.

The Lab  Report 

This month’sscientist has

looked atthe brains of

video-gamers.

She also helps governmentsunderstand

trauma.