“Forty years ago, The Beatles asked the world a simple question. They wanted to know where all the lonely people came from. My latest theory is that a great many of the lonely people come from hospitals. More precisely, the surgical wing of hospitals. As surgeons, we ignore our own needs, so we can meet our patients’ needs. We ignore our friends and families, so we can save other people’s friends and families. Which means that, at the end of the day, all we really have is ourselves. And nothing in this world can make you feel more alone than that.
“Four hundred years ago, another well-known English guy had an opinion about being alone. John Donne. He thought we were never alone. Of course, it was fancier when he said it. “No man is an island, entire unto himself.” Boil down that island talk, and he just meant that all anyone needs is someone to step in… and let us know we’re not alone. And who’s to say that the someone can’t have four legs? Someone to play with, or run around with… or just hang out.”
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