Report of 1 July '07
Hello from the Carmel library -
A new month is on us! And soon it'll be August and I'll be heading homewards.
The week has been good. Particularly memorable because I had a married couple in to see me - both were 80 years old and had been married for 60 years. The wife had a touch of dementia coming on, and the husband was a most attentive and loving caregiver - it was magnificent. I am very used to seeing single mothers, and men who have had children by 3 different women, and think nothing of it, but by golly, when I saw this couple, I said to them, "Ahhh, this is how it ought to be." It was as therapeutic for me as it might have been for them to be in my office, and I can only hope that Scott and I will be similarly blessed and fortunate. For various reasons, I have to ask about intimacy, and when I asked the standard, "Are you sexually active?," the couple looked at each other, said, "When we feel like it," and laughed. It was a nice moment.
And there were the usual folks needing to get checked for STD's. The medical assistant (MA) handed me a much larger probe than usual to check a male patient, I told her the probe was normally smaller, she assured me I had the correct one and I thought to myself, "Oh, I guess things have changed since I last worked here." So I proceeded w/ the exam, the patient nearly jumped off the table, we finished the exam and then the MA told me she'd double-checked w/ the lab and the correct probe was indeed much smaller. I had her apologise to the patient and we repeated the exam. The guy in the next room was there for the same thing, had heard the entire exchange outside and had very nearly left, but we found the correct size probe and he stayed.
I was privileged this week to get together w/ Dr. Ruth Stevens, prior CEO of our clinic, Jan Dallas, nurse manager here, and Dr. Whitney Moore, dentist here, at Jan's house. I completely enjoy getting together w/ other women, and Dr. Stevens is a visionary physician and administrator who incidentally has a phenomenal sense of humor. So the evening was wonderful, and we ate Dr. Stevens's lovely salad, and talked and laughed. It was invigorating.
My new home now is c/o Carolyn Scanlan-Craighead, pastor at St. Luke's Methodist Church, and her husband, Will. It is as warm and loving as the Tabers' home, and I have the run of it. It is in a nice neighborhood also, so my morning workouts and evening walks are fun. Yesterday, I went w/ Carolyn and Will to a wedding reception and we wanted to dance, but the evening wore on and soon it was time to leave. My idea of a great time on Friday and Saturday night is to be in bed by 8.30 PM, preferrably w/ a book. And I continue to eat salads out the wazoo; food is so affordable here, it's a treat. Most middle class Indians feel the pinch on their budget when a houseguest stays for more than 3 days.
The 3 Weiss men are fine and holding up. I will talk to them later this week. Today I missed them more, as I saw a movie they'd have enjoyed - Bruce Willis's "Live free or die hard," an ode to all of us who are aging. It was about 30 mins too long, but was the mindless entertainment I was in the mood for. Yesterday I saw "Ratatouille," and the animation was magnificent. I took a deep breath and also saw "A mighty heart;" the entire incident of Daniel Pearl's kidnapping and death continue to haunt me, and I had to brace myself for this movie. It was very good, and Ms. Jolie's performance was actually excellent. The movie played like a documentary. Of note to Indians, the chief of Pakistan police was played by Indian actor Irrfan Khan and he also held his own. It was heartening to see that at no point were any of the portrayals of the South Asians condescending or patronising. Friends want me to see "Sicko," esp as I'm a physician, and I look forward to it - it's another one I have to be in the mood for.
Hope you have a good week!
Unw -
R
A new month is on us! And soon it'll be August and I'll be heading homewards.
The week has been good. Particularly memorable because I had a married couple in to see me - both were 80 years old and had been married for 60 years. The wife had a touch of dementia coming on, and the husband was a most attentive and loving caregiver - it was magnificent. I am very used to seeing single mothers, and men who have had children by 3 different women, and think nothing of it, but by golly, when I saw this couple, I said to them, "Ahhh, this is how it ought to be." It was as therapeutic for me as it might have been for them to be in my office, and I can only hope that Scott and I will be similarly blessed and fortunate. For various reasons, I have to ask about intimacy, and when I asked the standard, "Are you sexually active?," the couple looked at each other, said, "When we feel like it," and laughed. It was a nice moment.
And there were the usual folks needing to get checked for STD's. The medical assistant (MA) handed me a much larger probe than usual to check a male patient, I told her the probe was normally smaller, she assured me I had the correct one and I thought to myself, "Oh, I guess things have changed since I last worked here." So I proceeded w/ the exam, the patient nearly jumped off the table, we finished the exam and then the MA told me she'd double-checked w/ the lab and the correct probe was indeed much smaller. I had her apologise to the patient and we repeated the exam. The guy in the next room was there for the same thing, had heard the entire exchange outside and had very nearly left, but we found the correct size probe and he stayed.
I was privileged this week to get together w/ Dr. Ruth Stevens, prior CEO of our clinic, Jan Dallas, nurse manager here, and Dr. Whitney Moore, dentist here, at Jan's house. I completely enjoy getting together w/ other women, and Dr. Stevens is a visionary physician and administrator who incidentally has a phenomenal sense of humor. So the evening was wonderful, and we ate Dr. Stevens's lovely salad, and talked and laughed. It was invigorating.
My new home now is c/o Carolyn Scanlan-Craighead, pastor at St. Luke's Methodist Church, and her husband, Will. It is as warm and loving as the Tabers' home, and I have the run of it. It is in a nice neighborhood also, so my morning workouts and evening walks are fun. Yesterday, I went w/ Carolyn and Will to a wedding reception and we wanted to dance, but the evening wore on and soon it was time to leave. My idea of a great time on Friday and Saturday night is to be in bed by 8.30 PM, preferrably w/ a book. And I continue to eat salads out the wazoo; food is so affordable here, it's a treat. Most middle class Indians feel the pinch on their budget when a houseguest stays for more than 3 days.
The 3 Weiss men are fine and holding up. I will talk to them later this week. Today I missed them more, as I saw a movie they'd have enjoyed - Bruce Willis's "Live free or die hard," an ode to all of us who are aging. It was about 30 mins too long, but was the mindless entertainment I was in the mood for. Yesterday I saw "Ratatouille," and the animation was magnificent. I took a deep breath and also saw "A mighty heart;" the entire incident of Daniel Pearl's kidnapping and death continue to haunt me, and I had to brace myself for this movie. It was very good, and Ms. Jolie's performance was actually excellent. The movie played like a documentary. Of note to Indians, the chief of Pakistan police was played by Indian actor Irrfan Khan and he also held his own. It was heartening to see that at no point were any of the portrayals of the South Asians condescending or patronising. Friends want me to see "Sicko," esp as I'm a physician, and I look forward to it - it's another one I have to be in the mood for.
Hope you have a good week!
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
1:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home