AGAINST THE DOCTOR'S ORDERS

It is 18:42 hours and I am sitting at the bar drinking my Castle lager while watching a repeated soccer match between Spain and Norway. Sitting next to me is a man drinking Sprite from a can. Like me, this man is a regular in this bar and I have never seen him drinking sprite before. 

A man walks in and goes straight to the counter and buys a beer for himself.  As he moves away from the counter, he sees the man drinking Sprite and comes over to greet him.

“How are you? Feeling better now?” he asks.

“I am much better now, “replied the other man.    

“But why are you here? If you keep coming to the Pub you’ll forget about what the doctor told you and start drinking before you’re fully recovered.”

The Sprite man laughed and said. “You’re right.  Almost did that on Saturday when Zambia beat Lesotho by four goals to nil. Everyone was celebrating and there was so much fun that I almost bought some beer so that I celebrate with the others.”

“You see?” his friend said. “That’s why if the doctor tells you to stay away from alcohol for some time, you must also avoid going to the pub.  If you keep coming to the pub you will cheat yourself that you’re now okay and start drinking instead of waiting for the doctor to tell you that now you can drink beer.”

The Sprite man replied, “But some of us are not used with staying at home. It is so boring.”

Wait a minute, I said to myself. Did he just say home was boring? For someone who lived alone that would make sense but this man looked like a family man. He must have a wife and children at home. How can home be boring when you have a family? Even if he was a bachelor, a widower or a divorcee living on his own, I can’t imagine how your own home can be so boring that you spend time in a pub even when you’re not drinking beer.

There was a time when I was living alone and the last thing I wanted was to be bored. I made sure that I had all the entertainment that I needed. I collected enough movies, music, comic books, magazines, including games just to keep me busy when I was alone. 

Anyway, my intention of writing this article was not because of boring homes. That could be a topic for another day. I want to talk about why some people take doctors’ orders lightly. This man was ordered by the doctor to stay away from alcohol for a ailment which I do not know. When a doctor tells a patient to stay away from alcohol, it simply means he is trying to preserve your health.

Alcohol can be harmful to your health when taken in large quantities and frequently.  Alcohol is the world’s third largest risk factor for diseases burden. It has causes about 2.5 million deaths each year. Although the degree of risk varies with age, sex and other biological characteristics of the person drinking it, the level of exposure and context in which the drinking takes place also plays a role. The more you are exposed to it, the higher the risk.

Even though alcohol is considered culturally and socially acceptable in certain situations, abuse can lead to addiction with serious health consequences and this is where the doctor may come in. If one is addicted to alcohol, that person cannot control the drinking. These are the people who find it hard to stay away from beer even under strict orders from a doctor.

Like the man in this story, this person may try to stay away but they still fell like something is missing so they will still be frequent visitors to the pub. I have seen people in a pub drinking a soft drink and when you ask them why they are not drinking beer, they will tell you that they are resting. What they actually mean is “I am not feeling too well.”

There are many reasons why a doctor may tell you to stay away from alcohol but all of it is to preserve your health.  If you value your life, then it is important that you follow those instructions strictly. Avoid going to the pub when you have been told to stay away from beer. Buy movies to watch at home and do things that will not remind you of beer.

It is not only people who drink that go against doctor’s orders. In 2008, Tiger Woods was reported to have ignored his doctor against playing golf after a knee injury. This was even after the doctor had warned that it could worsen the injury. But since he could walk, he played despite wincing throughout the tournament. He later announced that he will not play again for the rest of the year as he had to undergo surgery on a torn ligament.

"Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with surgery and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee." he said.

Beyonce is also reported to have taken to the state at Sportpaleis Stadium in Antwerp against her doctors' wishes. 

"I just have to say, I feel so good to be on this stage," she told the audience. "I have the best fans in the world ... Now, my doctors told me not to perform tonight, but there was no way in the world. I just have to say that you all have given me so much inspiration. And i just want to thank you guys."

Going against the doctor's advice frustrates the doctors because what is the point of helping someone to get better if he refuses to do the things that he is required to do? 

The man at the beginning of this article may have been following the doctor's advice of not drinking alcohol but he was taking an unnecessary risk by going to the pub. One may feel strong and conclude that they are okay and should just do what the doctor told them not to do but after some time, the ailment they had may just be worse.