Gratitude Day 7

I am grateful for the patients I work with that make me laugh every day. We have some pretty funny patients - some a little strange - and some a little stranger - but seriously I love them. I love my job and a great deal of that is because of the people that I get to meet. Because this area isn't that large and we are a pretty small doctors office we get to know our patients pretty well. I have a avoided blogging about them because of HIPPA and all that crazy stuff but am thinking that if I don't tell names it should be ok. Seriously I have had some pretty funny experiences. We have this one patient who has since moved on to a new doctor since moving into a care facility and I miss her like crazy. I wish I could describe her to you - she used to call 2-3 times per week and it was always always hilarious. She was in in late 60's and I would say she has probably never been completely normal - like she has asbergers or something of that nature. She has a deep southern accent. For the sake of a HIPPA violation lets just call her Jo(obviously not her real name!). Here's a typical phone call from Jo.

Me- "Dr. Hopkin's office - this is Karin - how can I help you?"

Jo - "Hello - my name is Jo and I'm a patient of Dr. Hopkin" - Seriously without fail every time she called no matter how long she had been our patient!

Me -" Well good afternoon Jo - what can I do for you today" -

Jo - "Well you know its been pretty nice the last few days and since I don't have a whole lot of money I decided to walk down to the senior center for lunch. I got there about 10:30 ya know i don't walk real fast so it takes me about 1/2 an hour to walk there. Then I played some games with some of the other folks down there and then lunch was served about noon. We had Shepard's pie - ya know the stuff with beans and mashed potatoes and gravy and cheese on the top? Well we had salad too and some kind of fruit which I didn't eat and dessert. Well I was gettin' kind of tired at this point so I decided that even thought I don't have alot of money that I would take the cart bus home. While I was on the bus the veins in my neck started to hurt a little - now what ingredient in that Sheppard's pie was it that you think might have made the veins in my neck hurt?" - keep in mind that she barely took a breath before she said all of this.

Me - silence - "um - well - actually I don't really know if there is anything in Shepard's pie that would cause that - can you tell me a little more about the pain?"

Jo - "Well - you know - it's just a pain that I feel in my veins - in my neck - haven't you ever felt that way?" - well no!

Me - "Would you like to come in a talk to the Dr. about it?"

Jo- "Well no, it's gone now I was just wonderin' if there was something in that pie that might have caused it. I'll let you know if it happens again. Bye now."

Another Jo call -

Jo - "Hello, My name is Jo and I'm a patient of Dr. Hopkin."

Me - Well hello there Jo - what can I do for this morning?"

Jo- "This morning I walked down to Broulim's to do some shopping and I walked around for quite a while while I as there thinking I could get some exercise while I was out and about. Ya know I don't really have that much money - so I usually only ride the cart bus one way. So I did my shopping and I bought me some tuna fish. Since I don't have a can opener I buy the kind that comes in a bag- have you ever seen that? Well then on my way home I got kind of hungry so I just opened that tuna fish right up and ate it right there on the bus. I had been home about 20 minutes when I started to feel nauseated. - Now do you think I feel that way because I ate that tuna fish with my fingers?"

Jo again -

Jo - "Good mornin' My name is Jo and I'm a patient of Dr. Hopkin - this morning while I was on the bus ridin' to see my physical therapist I was sitting by this young lady. She and I got talkin' and she told me that she was a nurse. And she said that if I would just drink a glass of orange juice every mornin' that I could cure my diabetes - do you think that might be true - ?"

I swear she always sat by some young lady who claimed to be nurse and was always telling her some weird thing - never true things - One day she came in just paranoid that she had tuberculosis. She said someone she knew a long time ago had it and now she just couldn't quite coughing and she was sure she had it. We tested her pretty much to humor her but to our surprise of all the patients to test positive it would have to be Jo. She had her return visit and we scheduled her with the District office in Idaho Falls where all TB patients are sent and called it good. A few days later of course I get a phone call-

Jo - Good Mornin' my name is Jo and I'm a patient of Dr. Hopkin"

Me - How are you today Jo"

Jo - "Well let me tell you. I was ridin' the cart bus this mornin. Ya know it's been real nice the last few days but even though I don't have a whole lot of money I decided I would ride the bus down to the senior center for lunch - well I sat by the real nice young lady. We got to talkin' and since she told me she was a nurse I decided to tell her about my Tuberculosis - well she told me that maybe I tested positive because of how you tested me - do you think I might have tested positive because of the angle with which you used to put that needle into my arm?"

Seriously she was so funny - but she was alway very serious about her questions and you always had to come up with something to tell her.

We have other funny things happen and sometime I might just tell you a little more about them but today I have been thinking about Jo and wondering what she might be up to. I miss her! And I am so glad she helped me find reasons to laugh.