Como Explicar o Impossível

A Dra. Margarida Vasconcelos era médica neurologista no Hospital de Santa Maria, em Lisboa. Tinha quarenta e dois anos e passara a carreira inteira a explicar diagnósticos complexos a doentes e famílias. Sabia que explicar a medicina era uma arte — não bastava ter conhecimento, era preciso saber como explicar de forma que as pessoas percebessem sem ficarem com ainda mais medo.

Dr Margarida Vasconcelos was a neurologist at Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon. She was forty-two and had spent her entire career explaining complex diagnoses to patients and families. She knew that explaining medicine was an art — knowledge alone was not enough; you had to know how to explain in a way that people understood without becoming even more frightened.

Naquele dia de fevereiro, tinha de explicar os resultados dos exames ao Sr. António Ferreira, um homem de sessenta anos, e à sua filha Catarina. Os exames mostravam sinais precoces de esclerose múltipla — uma doença que a Dra. Margarida explicava frequentemente, mas que nunca deixava de ser difícil de ouvir.

On that February day, she had to explain the test results to Mr António Ferreira, a sixty-year-old man, and his daughter Catarina. The tests showed early signs of multiple sclerosis — a disease Margarida explained often, but which was never easy to hear.