Mrs. Carehome: "A friend of mine is a doctor, and he wrote down some questions for you about my condition."
(hands over a folded piece of paper)
Dr. Grumpy: "Ma'am, this makes no sense. It's just a random jumble of words and letters, and they don't relate to anything. Are you sure your friend is a doctor?"
Mrs. Carehome: "The nurse said he used to be. We both live over at Shady Hills, though he's in the Alzheimer's unit."
Well, sounds like some of the requisitions we receive for imaging.
ReplyDeleteVOLUNTEER AT A NURSING HOME, LONG TERM CARE FACILITY, OR ALZHEIMER UNIT.
ReplyDeleteI HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
IT'S ONE OF THE FEW LIFE EXPERIENCES WHERE YOU CAN POTENTIALLY SEE YOUR FUTURE, AND BENEFIT DIRECTLY FROM SOMEONE'S PAST.
IF YOU'RE REALLY LUCKY YOU MIGHT HEAR THE PERSPECTIVE OF AN AFOREMENTIONED 18 YEAR OLD, DESCRIBING CLIMBING OVER HIS FORMER BUDDIES, TO GET TO A FIRE RIDDEN BEACH.
Aw! That could be me someday! (I mean the dr with alzheimers)
ReplyDeleteThe day my grandfather died he was fiddling with the bedsheets in his hospital room in a semipurposeful fashion...the nurses asked him what he was doing.
ReplyDeleteHe replied, "I'm performing a cholecystectomy."
Maybe he wrote it in code to sneak it past the Shady Hills authorities?
ReplyDeletemaybe you just needed a pharmacist to decipher it.
ReplyDelete@brent +1. that was brilliant
ReplyDeleteThere was a former Assisstant DA on the unit I did my long term nursing rotation on. Would argue old cases all the time. Another guy was a former personal aid to General (later President) Eisenhower. Thankfully that was one of the few memories he retained, and I got a few stories out of him.
ReplyDeleteThis post and these comments brought a smile to my face. After this day I needed it. Thank you all so much!
ReplyDelete@William. I love it. Great memory.
@Brent. Spot on!!!
aren't doctors writing as a general rule indecipherable?
ReplyDeleteOh I care for my dad who has the dreaded Alzheimer's. He has found a new friend at his day care unit. The new friend was our general practitioner many years ago. They both have a wonderful time together.
ReplyDeleteYour story made me laugh.
Did you ever see "Proof?" Loved it.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Euphamisms: After my husband had a heart attack he had some difficulty with side effects of blood thining medication. He told the cardiologist that it still worked but he couldn't hang a hat on it. Doc replied, "Have you considered a visor?" and cut the dosage. All is well in the missle department now...
ReplyDelete