L.O.L. et. al.

It’s not what you think. Keep reading. L.O.L. Little Old Lady. You are guaranteed to walk out of the room with a smile. Hardly the perfect patient, they will make you pull your hair out if you have any left. Patient’s blood pressure reading: 170/82, a whole 40 points above the last reading, not good. I questioned, “What happened with your blood pressure?” I didn’t expect to know the answer; I was just throwing it out there just in case. Through her thick glasses and gentle grin, she retorted, “I started taking them every other day.” Obvious reply from any doctor, “Why?” She looked down at her slow swinging feet with curiosity as they were too short to hit the ground from the chair and spoke with soft authority, “It made me gassy.” Although I’ve never heard of such a side effect from her medications, I wasn’t about to argue with her, and I could barely keep a straight face. This is the same woman who at the age 94 years old presented me with a ten step water-tight plan to squeeze another walker out of Medicare (for good reason mind you), informed me that she has already out lived three husbands, was in the process of writing an autobiography, would not let me exam her feet, and with a lean and whisper informed me that she sneaks half of a chocolate candy bar every day despite her diabetes, not that it would be a point of contention in the presence of a doctor. This lady absolutely made my day. She somehow found the spice of life and kept hold with a grip that would make a cliff climber jealous. Her happiness didn’t come from being a millionaire or wearing the latest fashion; it came from staying in the moment and keeping perspective.

In one breath worth of words, a patient can shock you, make you smile, bring tears, or make you walk away in complete disbelief at the potential variables of stupidity. I remember one recent Friday where I had just had enough and was ready to go home. After seeing my last patient before I left for the day, the patient’s roommate, not my patient, called me as I left the room. With a deep breath before I turned around, I went to his roommate’s bedside. An older gentleman who appeared comfortable but very tired in a sickly kind of way, a poster child of the infirm, but just perhaps on his way back from hell. I softly put my hand on his shoulder and asked him how I may help him. He responded, “Bless you. You do for others. Bless you.”

Over my too quiet Thanksgiving holiday with the world in a state of madness brought on by greed and with people still prioritizing the wrong values (one of many examples: the Wal-Mart worker killed via stampede on Black Friday), I have been thinking…a lot. I have a lot of hope for us, but what will it take? How many will have to die? How many will have to suffer? How many good men and women will it take standing tall against the devil? When will we realize happiness exists not in ideals of power and greed? How long until we realize that we don’t need to be under the very worst to see the very best? Or will we ever? Let us take a take a lesson from the two individuals I just spoke of. Let us be thankful for each other. Let us be thankful for that extra piece of pumpkin pie and that extra glass of wine. Here is to peace and happiness. Cheers.