· ICU (intensive care unit)
· Progressive illness
· Curable illness
· Chronic illness
· Life-threatening illness
· Terminal illness
· Hereditary illness
· Miracle
· To be an optimist
· To be a pessimist
· Life expectancy
· Prognosis
· Diagnosis / Sickness and You
· What was a serious illness you or your family members once had? How did you react to hearing the news that you or your family had this illness?
· Try to name some of the following: one progressive illness, one curable illness, one chronic illness, one life-threatening illness, one terminal illness, and one hereditary illness.
· What are some of your personal fears about getting sick? What kinds of things might you worry could happen?
Different Kinds of Healing
There are different kinds of healing. Talk about a time if, and when you have seen family or friends experience:
· healing in relationships (e.g. two people fought and were angry for a long time, but now are reconciled)
· healing from sickness – whether minor sickness or major
· healing in their spiritual life – did you/s/he at one time feel alienated from God, and now feel close? Why? What changed?
· healing for something you thought was impossible to change
Do you think some of these kinds of healing are impossible? Give reasons for your answer. / Things that Help Healing
· Do you think you are an optimist, or a pessimist? Give reasons for your answer.
· How would being an optimist help people heal more quickly and live longer lives? How would being a pessimist make it more difficult for people to heal?
· Think of other things that people should do in order to help their bodies get healed (e.g. give up smoking, laugh more)
· Do you think prayer helps people heal? Why or why not?
· Have you ever prayed for someone who was sick? What was it like to pray for someone you really cared about?
Doctors and Healing
· What kinds of diseases can doctors heal now, that they couldn’t heal 100 years ago?
· What kinds of diseases can doctors still not heal, and why?
· Do you think people will ever find the cures for every kind of disease, and so we will never get sick again? Give reasons why or why not. / Traditional Medicine and Healing
· What are some traditional medicines or medical practices from your first culture you think can bring about healing? How might they help heal a person?
· Have you ever seen a time when traditional medicine didn’t work? How about a time when Western medicine didn’t work? Talk about these times.
Copyright Kristin Chong, 2011. www.eslsheets.com.
At the Doctor’s Office
Jake: Hello, Dr. Brown. I’ve come to your office as you’ve requested to hear my diagnosis. Thank you for doing all those tests for me.
Dr. Brown: That’s my job. Mr. Blue, please have a seat.
Jake: Thank you.
Dr. Brown: Jake, I have some bad news for you. When the tests came back, they showed you have diabetes. It’s a chronic illness – you will have it for the rest of your life.
Jake: Really? My grandmother had it, too. I guess it runs in the family.
Dr. Brown: Some kinds of diabetes are hereditary illnesses. Some are caused by your lifestyle.
Jake: Oh. What do I need to do now?
Dr. Brown: Well, I’m going to put you on a special diet. You won’t be able to eat as much sugar and salt as you did before, and you will need to take some medication.
Jake: Is diabetes terminal?
Dr. Brown: Not if you manage it properly – you can live for many more years.
Jake: So, as long as I take care of my diet and do things like exercise and take my medications, the prognosis is a good one, although I’ll always have diabetes?
Dr. Brown: That’s right.
Jake: Thank you, Dr. Brown.
Dr. Brown: You’re welcome.
Copyright Kristin Chong, 2011. www.eslsheets.com.