Muted Medicine

The narrow hallways of the building were quite dark and claustrophobic. It was a far cry from the ultra-chic doctors’ offices in The New Medical City that I used to frequent just a few months before. But what could you expect. This was at the heart of old Binondo.

I counted at least three "turn off your cellphone" signs on the way to the doctor’s office. And as we were greeted by the doctor’s secretary to have our names listed down, she again reminded us to turn our cellphones off. Putting it on vibrate mode wasn’t enough, she reminded. It had to be strictly turned off. Gosh, they’re really serious about it. But why? I had to wait till a little bit later to satisfy my curiosity.

The waiting area was a shabby four-by-six meter room right adjacent to the doctor’s clinic. People who were already waiting were sitting on plastic chairs scattered all over the room. A 21" television was hanging by the ceiling in front. Two industrial fans served as ventilation. Talk about bare essentials.

Some people tried to watch the TV. I wasn’t interested. First, because it was showing a cartoon show. Second, because the volume was set very low that one can barely hear what Barney was saying on TV. Third, I had a stiff neck and watching the TV hanging from above would only force me to strain my neck muscles even more.

And so I just tried to relax sitting by my plastic stool. I was observing the room and the other people beside me. Hmmm. The four walls of the room were covered with paddings. And those paddings were the type used in sound-proofing.

The turned off cellphones, the almost-muted TV, and the sound-proofed walls. Something told me that they were all connected. And I would get some explanations in a while.

As we had our turn to consult with the doctor, I experienced the weirdest way a doctor diagnoses his patient. He touched the pulse from my left wrist using his fingers. Intently. Then he did the same thing with the pulse from my right wrist. That was it. He just listened, or should I say felt my pulses.

So that was what the strict rules about unnecessary noise and interference were all about. So that the doctor’s concentration wouldn’t be disturbed. (Yes, he knows if there is a cellphone turned on as one patient who didn’t turn off his discovered.)

Then, in the best Tagalog a pure Chinese can dare to speak, the doctor told me his diagnosis. And I was surpised that he was able to tell me various diagnosis about my health that I knew were true.

I won’t go into the details of the diagnosis and his prescription of herbal medicine. I won’t even convince you to believe in the way this doctor practices medicine. But when modern medicine fails to cure some illness of our modern times, it may be worth the try to go back to the basics.