Wednesday, September 23, 2009

My Daily Dose of Sympathy

Yesterday afternoon I was seeing a lady who'd called for an emergency work-in for her back pain.

Dr. Grumpy: "So, how did you hurt your back?"

Mrs. Snob: "My cleaning woman left me. Just left me. I've had the same cleaning woman for 10 years. So on Sunday I had to clean the whole damn house myself. And I wrenched my back. I've always had a bad back, that's why I have a cleaning woman. Then, yesterday, my husband and I were at a funeral, and there was no place to sit. You'd think they could have chairs or something. And standing for the whole thing made my back even worse."

Dr. Grumpy: "I'm sorry to hear that. Was it a relative's funeral?"

Mrs. Snob: "No, it was the cleaning woman's."


I was surprised she even went.

37 comments:

Suzanne Lucas said...

Well then. That cleaning woman should have given two weeks notice. That's what we require.

MOJITOGIRL said...

I have a mother like that. That's why I live FAR AWAY....

The Lonely Midwife said...

I think her kids go to my kids school. Ugh--that would be I would be in the parking lot late so I don't have to speak to those people. Least you can bill for it--

Grumpy, M.D. said...

Yeah, usually these are the people who will gladly mow down my kids in the Costco parking lot so they can get a good space for their SUV.

Unknown said...

RIP Cleaning Lady.

The Good Cook said...

I agree with Evil HR Lady - two weeks notice would have been nice. I think that woman was a former boss of mine. Emphasis on FORMER.

Anonymous said...

She went to the funeral to see if there were any other potential serfs available.

Ed said...

Doc, you should totally be paying your patients. Material like that is priceless.

MomNurseWife said...

People like this make me want to spit. On them. What a despicable excuse for a human being.

moppie said...

*play's world's tiniest violin for Mrs. Snob*

Grumpy, M.D. said...

Ed- Yeah, I can see a Mastercard ad:

Office co-pay: $40

Brain MRI: $800

Entertainment provided: Priceless.

Doris said...

You know, I think that cleaning woman died on PURPOSE!

>:p

Liz said...

That's just breathtaking.

Andrea said...

Wow. I bet that cleaning lady is thanking her lucky stars that she escaped Mrs. Snob. Holy hell.

P.S. Found you through a twitter link yesterday and have been thoroughly entertained in your archives since. I really enjoy your perspective! And snark. Maybe I'll even learn how to be a better patient myself. At least not one that puts my foot in my mouth.

The D-Bag Daily said...

She could've at least cleaned the house before she "left."

Unknown said...

Wait...your on Twitter now Dr. G??

Grumpy, M.D. said...

No, I'm not. Someone else must have posted me.

Fordo said...

I wondered if your patient may have had something to do with her cleaning lady's death. Kind of like, "Yyou can't leave me. You'll pay!"

The Imscon Man said...

"There were three quarters missing from the little change dish on the kitchen counter, and I was going to ask the cleaning woman about them when she came back the next week, only she didn't come back because she died. So I thought the funeral would be a good opportunity to just check her pockets quickly, only I couldn't because it was closed casket and they wouldn't let me open it even though I told them I'd close it again as soon as I checked her pockets. All of her relatives that I asked during the service claimed that they didn't know anything about the quarters, and her daughter was very rude when I asked if I could go to her house and look through her things to see if I could find them. I don't know what these people are trying to hide, which is why I reported them to the FBI."

Suzanne Lucas said...

I agree with Imscon Man. That is definitely what happened.

rxgirl said...

and you worked her in? should have let her suffer a few more weeks of back pain.

Grumpy, M.D. said...

Rxgirl- when I agreed to work her in I didn't know the whole story.

The Good Cook said...

I think Imscon Man should get the award for the best funeral scenerio. That is sooo what happened. Now my husband, the FBI man is going to be late for dinner what with the investigation and all.

modestypress said...

Doc,

Do you have a medication for irony-deficiency?

Serious Replies Only said...

Well. The least she could have done was find a replacement before she died. Some people have no consideration.

thegooddrlaura said...

What Dr. Grumpy left out: "That bitch. I hope she's burning in hell right now for leaving me and making me actually pick up after myself."

Seriously, I feel so bad for the cleaning lady. Rest In Peace. In Heaven or The Next Life, or whatever her equivalent is, I hope she has someone waiting on her, taking care of her.

Anonymous said...

Um... Wow...

After reading that, did anybody else have the thought that the dude from Flipping Out would probably react the same way Mrs. Snob did if his housekeeper died?



L.

Anonymous said...

Damn....you just can't get good help these days...

Liz said...

Thank you Imscon Man, since Dr. Grumpy didn't post anything new I dejectedly checked the comments and you made everything alright again! That was just great!

Anonymous said...

Is Mrs. Snob related to Mr. Jackass?

Grumpy, M.D. said...

Liz, hang on! I'm writing one right now!

Brittani said...

I still can't believe they didn't put out chairs... how rude.

Lipstick said...

How in the world did you avoid doubling over in side-splitting laughter?

John said...

That cleaning lady is definitely in a better place, now.

MOJITOGIRL said...

You are a man of many talents. Forget Grumpy---the new dwarf in the group is SNARKY!!!

REALLY, ever thought of making a living in Vegas at the poker tables. Because you've got to have the straightest poker face known to mankind to be able to DEAL day in/day out with these village idiots.

Fiz said...

it's a shame you aren't a chiropracter - you could break the biatch's neck!

Bez said...

Haha, that reminds me of an episode from Better off Ted: #8, "You Are the Boss of Me". Watch it if you have a chance.

 
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