Sometimes experience reigns supreme over knowledge, and the perfect example of this was shared by Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, a Kerala-based hepatologist, on X (formerly Twitter). He recently shared a humbling experience where he was baffled and confused by a family member's symptoms and couldn't figure out the illness.
He wrote on X, "My adult family member had episodes of relentless low grade fever with chills and crippling fatigue and arthritis and a weird rash and I tested everything from viral hepatitis to covid-19 to Influenza and Dengue and Ebstein Barr Virus and nothing came back positive and it was frustrating."
"and I kept looking through tables in Harrisons and then my elderly maid comes in and tells me she has seen this rash in her grand children and it's called "Anjaampani" in local languge (5th Disease) and I don't have to worry and got checked for Parvovirus B19 and it came positive. 17 years of medical school and a Harrisons on my lap and my elderly maid got it in like 10 seconds. Everyone has something to teach. Just listen," he added.
The post has several comments from all across the internet praising the maid's quick thinking and experience. One person wrote, "Take away - Everyone has something to teach ‘Just Listen’."
Another person wrote, "For someone as accomplished as you, it takes lot of courage and humility to post this. Thank you for being you."