Last night I listened to the most painful one end of a phone conversation... ever! A cardiologist was sitting next to me at my desk on the phone, and for over an hour, I heard her desperately try and convince her patient that there was nothing wrong with her, and the "bump" on her arm was nothing! Because I listened for over an hour, I deduced that the patient had some serious mental issues. She was convinced that something had gone terribly wrong, the "bump" was going to kill her, she didn't trust 2 separate ultrasound reports that saw nothing, or the physician who couldn't even feel a bump, or the vascular surgeon who also said it was nothing.
I then began to think of myself. I can be a little hysterical sometimes myself. Perhaps this stomach pain I've had for the last week is a tumor, or maybe an obstruction, or cancer. I always joke that I'm one rational thought away from insanity. It can't be an obstruction... positive bowel sounds in all four quadrants, abdomen soft, non-tender, etc. My rational thoughts, explain away my crazy ideas that I know are crazy. Sometimes the more you know about how the body works the more you wonder if something is wrong with yours.
My point is... I'm one lack of an explanation away from being the crazy bump lady. And really, aren't we all? Don't we all have our crazy moments? "Was that a polar bear on the side of the road?" So I really shouldn't judge, I should be able to understand her, really.
I would also like to say for all of my other complaints... annoying phone calls, momentary lacks in critical thinking skills, or just plain dumb mistakes of other people, that I am far far far from perfect. Sometimes I say things to get them off my chest because they really wore me down. But most of the time, I like to learn from these stupid things that other people do because I'm one step away from making them myself. So I'd like to think I'm learning by not doing, instead of just making fun of other people. So I guess I owe a couple thank you's. I will never microwave a unit of blood, overdose a patient with 8 pills, give someone laxative induced diarrhea, not trust a respected physicians opinion that I'm healthy, and hopefully, many more to come!
I then began to think of myself. I can be a little hysterical sometimes myself. Perhaps this stomach pain I've had for the last week is a tumor, or maybe an obstruction, or cancer. I always joke that I'm one rational thought away from insanity. It can't be an obstruction... positive bowel sounds in all four quadrants, abdomen soft, non-tender, etc. My rational thoughts, explain away my crazy ideas that I know are crazy. Sometimes the more you know about how the body works the more you wonder if something is wrong with yours.
My point is... I'm one lack of an explanation away from being the crazy bump lady. And really, aren't we all? Don't we all have our crazy moments? "Was that a polar bear on the side of the road?" So I really shouldn't judge, I should be able to understand her, really.
I would also like to say for all of my other complaints... annoying phone calls, momentary lacks in critical thinking skills, or just plain dumb mistakes of other people, that I am far far far from perfect. Sometimes I say things to get them off my chest because they really wore me down. But most of the time, I like to learn from these stupid things that other people do because I'm one step away from making them myself. So I'd like to think I'm learning by not doing, instead of just making fun of other people. So I guess I owe a couple thank you's. I will never microwave a unit of blood, overdose a patient with 8 pills, give someone laxative induced diarrhea, not trust a respected physicians opinion that I'm healthy, and hopefully, many more to come!
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