Report of 24 July 2005
Hello from Indy!
Hope all are well. It is hot here, but not unbearably so.
The week has been very good. We had a variety of cases, including a very drunk man who cut his finger when he was throwing his "bike" away (he said) and came in holding a newspaper to his wound. I took him back to my exam room and roped in to accompany me the gentleman who cleans our facility - he is big-made and provides an element of safety for me as it is completely unpredictable how drunk folks can act. We examined the patient, dressed the wound, administered a tetanus shot and then sent him w/ the security supervisor to Wishard as the wound needed to be sutured.
One of my patients was a young female stripper. She came in for a routine exam and was soft-spoken and gentle. I value the opportunity to ask questions, esp of folks in professions that are not usually seen by me, and this young woman and I chatted. She said she is not paid by the places she dances at, makes all her money in tips and is, in fact, expected to pay a portion of her income in tips to the DJ. As we talked about the fact that her mother disapproved of her occupation and that the 2 of them did not discuss it any more, it struck me that the young lady was just so inordinately sweet. We talked a bit more, and she said she was gay, thus could view her profession as just that, without getting attracted to her male customers.
Our housing project clinic goes well, ably aided by my colleagues there. One of my patients came in for follow-up of her high blood pressure, and brought in all the medicines she was on. I was delighted, and thanked her profusely: it is easier to look at the meds than it is to hear "I take a little yellow pill" and wonder what that could be among the thousands of meds now in existence. We finished the visit - I tell you, it is absolutely lovely to have the knowledge to handle routine clinic questions - and the delightful patient went on her way.
I was privileged to spend some time talking w/ Dr. Massoumi, one of the staff physicians at St. V, who is from Iran. It was fun and we spoke of work in India, life here, etc. She is a great lady to be in touch with. It was also nice to get together for burgers w/ the Lovely Ladies of Medical Education (Llome's) at the home of Ruth Ranalletta. My colleagues, Dr. Williams and Dr. Butler, took me out for "soul food" (Black American cuisine) and I enjoyed their company. I also managed to speak on the phone with med school classmates Garrett Matsunaga and Jeff Wu; they are now married and Jeff is also a father ("I am taking a nap here w/ my beautiful daughter," he said). It is lovely to see these great young men become fine husbands and fathers. My friend, Carol, whom I have known since I was 10 and who gave me a lot of advice as "cool kids" and uncomfortable situations came into my life, flew me out to Oregon and we had a whale of a time. Life has dealt us different hands but we remain the same underneath - similar tastes in food, finding humor in the same situations (like childhood crushes and being befuddled by those now), sharing how cruel all of us were as children in our private school, enjoying her impeccably-behaved children. We enjoyed the magnificent Oregon outdoors (so up my alley) and walked and walked, and laughed incessantly. Part of this kind of friendship is raiding each other's closet, and since mine was unavailable, the raiding was from Carol's closet and I returned to Indiana w/ a whole new wardrobe and plenty of memories to put a smile on my face years from now.
Trust all of you are well. Keep those msgs coming!
Renu
Hope all are well. It is hot here, but not unbearably so.
The week has been very good. We had a variety of cases, including a very drunk man who cut his finger when he was throwing his "bike" away (he said) and came in holding a newspaper to his wound. I took him back to my exam room and roped in to accompany me the gentleman who cleans our facility - he is big-made and provides an element of safety for me as it is completely unpredictable how drunk folks can act. We examined the patient, dressed the wound, administered a tetanus shot and then sent him w/ the security supervisor to Wishard as the wound needed to be sutured.
One of my patients was a young female stripper. She came in for a routine exam and was soft-spoken and gentle. I value the opportunity to ask questions, esp of folks in professions that are not usually seen by me, and this young woman and I chatted. She said she is not paid by the places she dances at, makes all her money in tips and is, in fact, expected to pay a portion of her income in tips to the DJ. As we talked about the fact that her mother disapproved of her occupation and that the 2 of them did not discuss it any more, it struck me that the young lady was just so inordinately sweet. We talked a bit more, and she said she was gay, thus could view her profession as just that, without getting attracted to her male customers.
Our housing project clinic goes well, ably aided by my colleagues there. One of my patients came in for follow-up of her high blood pressure, and brought in all the medicines she was on. I was delighted, and thanked her profusely: it is easier to look at the meds than it is to hear "I take a little yellow pill" and wonder what that could be among the thousands of meds now in existence. We finished the visit - I tell you, it is absolutely lovely to have the knowledge to handle routine clinic questions - and the delightful patient went on her way.
I was privileged to spend some time talking w/ Dr. Massoumi, one of the staff physicians at St. V, who is from Iran. It was fun and we spoke of work in India, life here, etc. She is a great lady to be in touch with. It was also nice to get together for burgers w/ the Lovely Ladies of Medical Education (Llome's) at the home of Ruth Ranalletta. My colleagues, Dr. Williams and Dr. Butler, took me out for "soul food" (Black American cuisine) and I enjoyed their company. I also managed to speak on the phone with med school classmates Garrett Matsunaga and Jeff Wu; they are now married and Jeff is also a father ("I am taking a nap here w/ my beautiful daughter," he said). It is lovely to see these great young men become fine husbands and fathers. My friend, Carol, whom I have known since I was 10 and who gave me a lot of advice as "cool kids" and uncomfortable situations came into my life, flew me out to Oregon and we had a whale of a time. Life has dealt us different hands but we remain the same underneath - similar tastes in food, finding humor in the same situations (like childhood crushes and being befuddled by those now), sharing how cruel all of us were as children in our private school, enjoying her impeccably-behaved children. We enjoyed the magnificent Oregon outdoors (so up my alley) and walked and walked, and laughed incessantly. Part of this kind of friendship is raiding each other's closet, and since mine was unavailable, the raiding was from Carol's closet and I returned to Indiana w/ a whole new wardrobe and plenty of memories to put a smile on my face years from now.
Trust all of you are well. Keep those msgs coming!
Renu
posted by Renu Weiss at
7:59 PM
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