My father never does well around needles, blood, surgeries, or doctor visits. Ever since we were kids, he would always have to stand outside of the room when my sister or I had to get our vaccines. Usually, he will get very queasy and have to look away. Though ironically, he doesn’t get sick whenever he is the one receiving the medicine or whatever.
My little sister, Cameryn, had to get dental surgery to fix some problems with her teeth. Normally, my father never comes to surgeries unless it’s to drive someone home from the hospital. However, he decided to come with my mother, mostly because my sister wanted him there. So the surgery went fine and my parents were allowed to come into the room as my sister was slowly waking up from the anesthetics that they gave her. Her mouth was kind of bloody from the surgery, and of course my father doesn’t do well with any of that stuff. Long story short, he ended up passing out and cracking his head open and had to be taken the hospital.
Now you may be wondering why I’m telling you all this information. Well, it turns out that my father forgot that happened just before he walked into the room after the surgery to the time he was in the hospital bed. When I first called him after it happened and he was able to talk, I asked him what he remembered. He basically said he didn’t know how he got in the hospital room. Crazy right? He hit his head in just the right spot that it caused him to forget passing out and going to the hospital.
This happened a little less than a year ago. Today, if you’d ask him what happened, he will tell you a different story. My Uncle Frank, who is my dad’s older brother, told my father that he had a slight heart attack and that’s what happened. He implanted the memory that my father didn’t pass out due to the blood, but rather he had a small heart attack. The weird thing is, my father agrees with the heart attack story and the passing out story. He tells me all the time (when I ask) that he knows it wasn’t a heart attack, but his memory reminds him of “how his chest hurt” and “how he remembered the pain in his arm.” Just like the little boy, Chris, my father created this story that never actually happened. So not only did my uncle implant memories, but my father now believes in a false memory that never actually happened. Moral of the story, don’t listen to your older brothers and don’t go into surgical rooms if you’re afraid of blood and doctors.
I completely understand what you are talking about. I watch a lot of crime shows, and I see that a lot on television. Obviously, that is used for dramatic purposes but the concept is still the same. It has been explained before that you are supposed to ask general questions.. so you’re completely correct on that. I don’t know how my uncle managed to convince my father about the heart attack. I wasn’t obviously in the ambulance with him or the doctors room. I think what happened to Chris is really seen with my father. He is the youngest of 7 children, and he’s the closest with Frank. So I think that my father also trusts Frank more than doctors, which lead to the implanted memory. That is really awesome that you’re going to be an EMT and Doctor! Hopefully you won’t be seeing my dad anytime soon.
I don’t have any specific examples, but this reminded me of something that they teach us in first responder/search and rescue training, and apparently to people who care for children. When you ask someone about events, like a hunter how they got lost and ended up dehydrated and exposed where they are, you never direct the questions like “Did you slide down a hill and get confused?” you always ask something like “How did you end up off the trail?” because it prevents a memory being implanted, like what happened with your father. It definitely helped me understand why first responders and EMTs interact with patients like that rather than directing the questions, which will be critical when I become an EMT and then a Doctor.