Water In and Water Out—Or Just the Opposite? The Need to Understand Our Patients’ Illnesses in Their Own Words

“I’m like a sink with an open drain,” my patient explained. “Water in and water out, continuously,” he elaborated. As his doctor, I knew the importance of translating our Latin expressions into layperson’s terms. This interesting description of his disease using the metaphor of a sink was indeed meaningful. It forced me to think of how this patient understands his disease and how he perhaps explained his symptoms to others.