The pain doctor’s clinic was very pleasant and there was a poster about pain that really caught my eye. The doctor’s assistant, Bev, was most accommodating when she led me to the inner sanctum of the clinic, the doctor’s room. I was surprised upon seeing the doctor. I was expecting an old, stern looking woman. Instead, I found an amiable looking guy who looked like he just graduated from medical school wearing a very hip white gold wedding band. That was the day I met Dr. Henry Lu, head of the pain control clinic at MMC.
I showed him my X-ray plates and he asked me what my problems were. In a charming Visayan drawl, he asked me about my daily activities. As I rattled them all off, he asked: "Are you a worrier?" I told him I’m the type who doesn’t sleep till the job is done. He seemed so sincere, so interested and so friendly as he closely checked my X-rays. He unhurriedly explained to me that my pains were due to some severe muscle spasms coupled with cervical spondylosis.
He did some routine checking and prescribed hot compress and some medication to ease my pain. He gave me a relaxant to improve the quality of my restless sleep. He advised me to keep up regular exercise and pointed out the importance of proper stretching. He further assured me that this degenerative change is an inevitable one and part of the aging process (Ouch, hello midlife!). He, however, wisely said, "You must not be afraid of aging because it is part of life that like youth, must also be enjoyed. With age comes wisdom and a wealth of experience." I immediately liked his calm and unhurried demeanor. For someone who had been in pain and sleepless for the past two days, I was starting to feel like a zombie but this doctor made me feel so cared for and relieved just by him listening to my fears and reassuring me that everything would be okay.
Because Dr. Lu was very personable, I took the opportunity to engage him in a "pain" conversation. "About 90 percent of pain that people feel can be controlled by the right medication," the doctor said. "Our culture dictates that we must endure pain to become a better person. I don’t subscribe to that. I don’t believe in just offering my pain to God. You hardly can pray when you’re in pain. You pray better when you are not in pain."
So passionate is Dr. Lu about his crusade against pain that he is the active president of the Pain Society of the Philippines. Their thrust is to practice and promote pain management. He believes that dealing with pain should be a priority from the very start of any illness. Both emotional and physical pain should be dealt with. "Because closure is so difficult when seeing a patient in so much pain. The trauma of seeing your loved one in pain and not being able to do anything about it could last a lifetime." In fact, Dr. Lu invited me to the Second Global Day Against Pain to be celebrated today, Oct. 16 in Rajah Sulayman Plaza in front of Malate Church, Malate, Manila to be participated in by children and their families. This year’s focus is Pain in Children. There will be entertainment, storytelling, magic shows among other activities that kids enjoy. A free clinic will be set-up for consultation where the various specialties dealing with pain in adults and children alike like anesthesiology, neurology, rheumatology, rehabilitation medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry and pediatrics will be available. (Please call 721-2700 for more details.)
"I was the type of guy who didn’t go to school on a daily basis. I was carefree and happy go lucky back then. I didn’t go to school on time. But when I studied for exams, I somehow managed to get high grades. I surprised a lot of people who never thought I would one day become a doctor," he said.
For him, the best part of medical school was meeting his wife, rheumatologist Dr. Josephine Yap-Lu. Together, they decided to go to the Big Apple to pursue their post-graduate training. They were blessed with three handsome boys: Justin, 10 and twins Julian and Judd, nine. The amazing thing is they all have the same birthday which is Sept 27.
Dr. Lu said his work experience at the Veterans Administration Hospital in New York made him decide to become a pain specialist.
"As a senior neurology resident at the Veterans Hospital, I was involved in initiating a pain program," he said. Here he saw cancer patients in pain; some were in pain for many weeks but he found it very rewarding that their pain could be alleviated in just a few hours without even using fancy gadgets. He learned that 90 percent of pain can be controlled with the right dose of medication. He winces at the memory of seeing a tiny six-year-old child who had a brain tumor. When the child screamed in pain, the mother would grab his hair and bang his head on the wall.
His being more compassionate was brought about by his experience at Sloan Kettering in New York. "At Sloan Kettering, patients are so cared for. The medical staff was concerned about every aspect of the patient’s life. You see in the other hospitals I worked for, patients were given impersonal attention and doctors attend to their patients for four minutes. At Sloan Kettering, we spent as much as two hours with the patient. We would even call up patients to check on them. It is so different when you have a personal relationship with patients and it is so rewarding," said Dr. Lu who completed his residency in Internal Medicine at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens in 1993. He also completed his residency in Neurology at New York University Medical Center in1996 and his fellowship in Pain and Pallative Care At The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York in 1997.
After eight years of living in New York, however, the couple became concerned that it was not a good environment to raise their children in and so they opted to go back to the Philippines. In Manila he met a senior neurologist, Dr. Martecio Perez, who saw his potential and wasted no time in getting him into MMC to head the Makati Medical Pain Control Service.
When he’s not donning hospital scrub, Dr. Lu enjoys watching movies, playing tennis and mountain climbing. He recently conquered "midlife crisis" by backpacking through Sabah and conquering Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. He climbed the mountain with his wife and a team of 10 other doctors.
"If you don’t climb it now, you will never do it," Dr. Lu said.
In my mind I was saying: "If I don’t have my pain treated now, this midlife crisis might remain forever. Thank God, 90 percent of pain can be controlled."
(Have a pain-free Sunday! Would love to hear from you at miladayjewels@yahoo.com)