Monthly Archives: September, 2012
Honesty. . .The Overrated Virtue
patientswewillneverforget ♦ September 22, 2012 ♦ 5 Comments
I had just completed an annual physical on Miss Ruby, a feisty eighty-year-old retired nurse, when she turned to me and snapped, “Dr. Sally, why have you let yourself get so fat? If I had let myself go like that, you’d be all over me. You need to lose weight.” Ouch! I wanted to slither …
Trashy and cheap
patientswewillneverforget ♦ September 17, 2012 ♦ 1 Comment
Trashy and cheap. The two words flashed through my mind as Joanna, a lanky woman with over-teased platinum-blond hair, enough eye shadow to paint a house, and skin-tight jeans ambled her way into my exam room. Her huge breasts, heaving through a tight, low-cut top screamed, “Boob job” like a Vegas neon sign. Her voice, …
How bad is your pain?
patientswewillneverforget ♦ September 9, 2012 ♦ 2 Comments
We had it all worked out, my medical partner and I. She would fly off and lounge on the beach for a week while I held down the fort. Then she would return rejuvenated and ready to cover my one-month maternity leave. Since my due date wasn’t until November 4th and she’d be back by …
My most embarrassing mistake
patientswewillneverforget ♦ September 2, 2012 ♦ Leave a comment
In my first year of practice, a college student came in because she hadn’t had her menstrual cycle in two months and this was very unusual for her–she normally came on like clockwork. Of course, my first question was, “Is there any possibility you could be pregnant?” Absolutely not, she insisted, shaking her head. “I …
I’m pregnant
patientswewillneverforget ♦ September 1, 2012 ♦ Leave a comment
Madeline, a seventy-four year old grandmother, came into my office complaining of an increasing waistline, bloating, nausea, intestinal cramps, fatigue, and maybe even breast tenderness. “I feel just like I did when I was pregnant,” she insisted. I laughed. “Well, at age seventy-four, we both know that’s not the cause! Not unless God himself told …
Patients I Will Never Forget 