MEDICALEXAMINER
RULE #1
THE EASIEST PATH TO GOOD HEALTH
An article about the importance of handwashing? “Great!” you might be thinking, “I’ll read this next time I have trouble falling asleep.”
Okay, so it might not be the most scintillating topic. But we wouldn’t ask you to invest your valuable time reading what follows if it wasn’t important. Our guarantee: if you read it and don’t learn something you didn’t know before reading, we will gladly refund your purchase price.
Here’s a rather astounding starting point: A single gram of human feces, which is
about the weight of a paper clip, can contain one trillion germs. As you can see, that’s trillion with a T. Fun Fact: when the CDC uses the word feces in the report we’re referencing for the facts in this article, they immediately add in parentheses, “poop.”
“If I got feces (poop) on my hands, I would certainly know it, and certainly wash my hands,” you’re probably saying to yourself.
Fair enough. But what if you didn’t know? Impossible, you say?
Don’t be too sure. Here’s why:
Please see RULE #1 page 8
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THOUGHTS ABOUT THOUGHTS THOUGHTS
POSTPARTUM PSYCHOSIS
Editor’s note: This series written by local mental health professionals will share thoughts about how people think and act in ways that are perceived as different and potentially harmful.
Riley is a 25-year-old first-time mom who just gave birth to a baby boy two weeks ago, and her worried husband has brought her to the emergency room.
She hasn’t been sleeping much, he tells the doctor. In fact, she seems to be only getting an hour or so a night — if that — and more than once he has awakened in the middle of the night to find her pacing the floor.
Today, she locked herself in the bedroom. When she finally opened the door, she was holding a Bible and a crumpled sheet of paper covered with scripture passages. She tells her husband that God has been speaking to her and that their baby has a special mission to care for people on Earth, and she must protect him no matter what.
While the family attends church, she’s never been particularly religious at home, he says. She’s also never had counseling, although there have been times in the past when she’s felt sad and depressed.
Many people think of postpartum psychosis in terms of
PARENTHOOD
by Dr. Warren Umansky, PhD
Your in-laws gave your children — six and eight years old — cell phones as holiday gifts. Their rationale was so they can stay in touch with the children. You have never limited your children’s interactions with their grandparents. But you don’t want your children to have cell phones at such a young age. What do you do?
A. Thank the grandparents and let them and the children know that the phones only will be used to accept calls from the grandparents at scheduled times before or after school and when at least one of the parents is there to supervise.
B. So many kids have phones at even younger ages. Don’t worry about it.
C. Have your spouse tell the grandparents that phones are not permitted until the children are older. You will hold on to the phones until that time.
D. Accept the gifts, then put the phones away. The children can continue to make and receive calls with the grandparents on your or your spouse’s phone.
If you answered:
A. It looks like you have been doing your research and understand that cell phones are a distraction for young children and often an instrument that yields bad outcomes. Or, you just want your children to be spending their time in healthier and more productive activities. In any case, they are your children and their welfare is your responsibility. Hopefully, the grandparents will understand this and still be pleased that they will have regular communication with their grandchildren.
B. Some children need access to phones to contact a family member to report health emergencies or to let the family member know when they are ready to be picked up from a friend’s house or from an extracurricular activity. Otherwise, we all should worry about the trend for so many young children to have phones.
C. The grandparents appear to have had good intentions in wanting to maintain communication with their grandchildren. You or your spouse can reassure them that this will occur, as long as that communication is healthy and supportive of the children’s best interests, but it will have to be on your terms.
D. You want to be up front with the grandparents. They should respect your wishes and appreciate your reason for withholding the phones from your children. They might just take the phones back and wait another few years until you think your children are responsible enough to make good decisions about phone use.
Grandparents mean well from their own perspective. But their choice of gifts to your children might be different from your perspective. It might not be a cell phone; it might be a BB gun (or even a shotgun) or makeup or some other gift you feel is not right for your children now or maybe never. Your kids, your decision. This is a time to educate your children and their grandparents about the values you and your spouse have regarding safety, education, and a vision you have of your children’s future.
Dr. Umansky has a child behavioral health practice in Augusta.
MEDICAL MYTHOLOGY
FLU SHOT MYTHOLOGIES
There are quite a few misconceptions about the safety and effectiveness of flu shots. Let’s see if we can dispel a few. And since we mentioned misconceptions, let’s start with conception.
I’m pregnant, so it isn’t safe for me to get a flu shot right now
Actually, it’s an especially good time to get a flu shot, since pregnancy can affect the body in many ways, including the immune system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says flu shots are safe in any trimester, and offer protection for both mother and baby for up to six months.
I live a very healthy lifestyle — I eat right and exercise regularly — so I don’t really need to be vaccinated
To borrow a line from those shingles vaccine commercials, the flu doesn’t care that you eat alfalfa sprouts or that you can do 50 push-ups. Living a healthy life does help the immune system do its job, but healthy people can and do get the flu every day of the week.
I got the vaccine last winter and got the flu anyway. Why bother?
Flu shots are not advertised as a means to prevent 100% of all cases. That’s not how vaccines work. They work in two main ways: they improve the chances of not getting the flu (or whatever the vaccine is for), and they minimize the severity of the flu for those who get it anyway. Some people are in poor general health to start with, so a vaccine can only do so much. But being in poor health is a great reason to avoid getting the flu on top of everything else.
I am terrified of needles. I would much rather have the flu than have a flu shot You don’t need to expose yourself to either one, needles or the flu. Flu vaccines are available as nasal sprays.
Why would I expose myself to antifreeze, mercury, and some of the other poisons vaccines contain?
First of all, every last ingredient in any vaccine dose is found in extremely minute quantities. The total volume of
a vaccine is about half a milliliter and only 0.2mL for nasal versions.
In addition, it’s easy to forget that most of the chemicals people protest as having no place in a safe product are chemicals naturally found in the human body already — just like in vaccines, in very small amounts. The human body even contains arsenic. Environmental mercury, which is officially known as methyl mercury, can definitely be harmful. The larger the concentration, the greater the health risk. A different form of mercury — ethyl mercury — is found in trace amounts of some vaccines and is used as a preservative in multi-dose vaccine vials. Ethyl mercury has a different molecular structure than methyl mercury and is quickly expelled by the body
Once upon a time some vaccines contained a nontoxic chemical called polyethylene glycol. It is used in various lotions and cosmetics, and is very different from ethylene glycol, the chemical in antifreeze.
There are also claims about tissue from aborted babies being used to create vaccines, which many people would naturally find objectionable. No flu vaccines available in the US use fetal cells for production; vaccines are created in a culture medium from chicken eggs.
Flu shots are for the elderly and the very young. I’m neither
Actually, public health experts recommend annual immunizations from the flu for all people age 6 months and up. Presumably you are in that demographic, so go for it.
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news stories they’ve seen. This is a true psychiatric emergency where a new mother often — but not always — wants to harm herself, her newborn or others. It also tends to involve:
• Disruption of a person’s sense of reality, either through hallucinations (seeing or hearing something that feels real, but isn’t) or delusions (things they believe even with evidence proving otherwise)
• Big mood swings, like feeling depressed and then manic. Depressed symptoms include anxious or panicky feelings, feelings of guilt, and loss of appetite or loss of enjoyment in activities they used to love. Manic symptoms include feeling agitated, irritable or aggressive, talking faster than normal, and delusions of grandeur.
• Not being able to sleep
• Out-of-body experiences where the person feels like they’re not in control of their actions but are just watching
• Disorganized thinking or behavior
Some people may worry that postpartum depression (which is very common after childbirth) can lead to postpartum psychosis, but they are actually two different conditions.
988 SUICIDE & CRISIS LIFELINE
24/7, free, confidential mental health hot-line that connects individuals in need of support with counselors across the United States and its territories. People do not have to be suicidal to call. Reasons to call include: substance use disorder, economic worries, relationships, culture and identity, illness, intimate partner violence, depression, mental and physical illness, and loneliness. +
Can postpartum psychosis be prevented?
Postpartum psychosis tends to be rare, but it is more common in women with bipolar disorder, whether diagnosed or not. If you have had postpartum psychosis in the past, you are at higher risk of getting it again with future pregnancies.
The stress of not being able to sleep for days or having no support can also trigger postpartum psychosis. For example, if a partner works nights and sleeps during the day, the new mom never gets a break. Or the partner may expect the new mom to handle everything she did before the baby arrived, plus all the new responsibilities of baby care, yet offers little or no help.
So preventing postpartum psychosis includes ensuring that women with new babies get as much rest and help as they can — good advice overall — and that they talk to their OBGYN if they experience any problems. For women who’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or who have experienced postpartum psychosis previously, it’s important for them to keep in touch with their psychiatrist and adjust their medications as needed.
Treatments and how they work
Women suffering from postpartum psychosis likely won’t believe anything is wrong and may not want treatment. But the first step is taking the mother to the emergency room, and if doctors suspect postpartum psychosis, patients will be referred to an inpatient psychiatric unit.
Ideally, patients would go to a mother-baby unit; unfortunately, there are none in Augusta at this time (the closest is the Perinatal Psychiatry Inpatient Unit in Chapel Hill, North Carolina). So treatment is doubly hard on the family since the mother will likely be separated from her baby, and the partner will have to manage work, household chores and childcare. Depending on the mother’s symptoms, doctors might prescribe a combination of antipsychotic medications, mood stabilizers and benzodiazepines (for anxiety and insomnia). For cases that don’t respond to medications, doctors may advise ECT, or electroconvulsive therapy. Using this treatment, a patient under general anesthesia receives a mild electrical current through electrodes to induce a mild seizure, which causes changes in brain activity to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of postpartum psychosis.
During her stay, the family would also receive education and counseling to make sure they understand the symptoms of postpartum psychosis, the best ways to support the new mom once she returns home, and what to look for in case of relapse. Doctors will also talk about the risks versus the benefits of breastfeeding, since breastfeeding moms tend to get less sleep overall.
Once they return home, patients — especially if they have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder — will likely need to remain on medications. A small study has found that 98.4% of women on medications for postpartum psychosis went into complete remission, and that 80% were still in remission nine months after initial treatment.
Treatment is the key: postpartum psychosis is not something that will go away on its own. But for patients who do get the treatment they need, they go on to be healthy mothers able to successfully bond with their babies.
Dr. Crystal McManus is a physician at Integrated Psych Solutions. IPS provides inpatient and outpatient mental health services, with or without a referral, to help patients and their families progress through the care journey. To make an appointment, call 706-204-1366 or visit integratedpsych.care.
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WHAT ABOUT “FIGHTING”
CANCER?
“Fighting cancer” is a phrase everyone has heard, along with all kinds of similar terms. Maybe its most common usage is in death, when an obituary or tribute says a person died after a courageous battle with cancer.
Ask your favorite cancer patient or oncologist what their opinion of such terms is. Viewpoints differ from person to person, but many doctors and patients alike despise the fighter analogy.
The reasons are many. Cancer has in recent decades transitioned from what was often a death sentence to what is now sometimes a chronic disease, one a person can live with for an extended period of time. So what happens to the person who succumbs to cancer? Did they not put up enough of a fight? Did they just give up the battle and die?
Many healthcare experts feel that the warfare analogies put an undue burden on the patient, as though his will to fight is the key to survival. Terminal patients can be plagued with guilt for not fighting hard enough.
There has been research published suggesting that positive, optimistic attitudes increase the chances of “beating” cancer, but those findings have been largely dismissed as pseudoscience. Morose cancer patients sometimes die (of course they do...they gave up!) and cheerful warriors sometimes live (of course they do... they battled!). But research says attitudes as they relate to outcomes are statistically irrelevant.
Every person is different, and every case of cancer is different. Doctors map out a treatment plan with or without surgery, with individually tailored treatment regimens for chemotherapy and/or radiation. Those are the mechanisms of a possible cure. The patient’s responsibility is to follow doctor’s orders to the best of their ability and let the medical team do its thing. We don’t fight to overcome asthma or battle against arthritis. We get treatment. Cancer is the same.
As one cancer patient put it, “I’m not the one fighting cancer; my medical team is. I’m just the battlefield.” +
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Who is this?
Although this man wasn’t a medical researcher by the strictest definition of the term — unless you consider “master machinist” to have a medical connection — his life’s work contributed immeasurably to the advancement of medical research and healthcare delivery in ways that continue to this day. Then again, many who have no relationship whatsoever with medicine still use his products regularly. His name is very well known more than two centuries after his birth.
He was also a pioneer in creating ideal working conditions for his fellow workers, setting an example worthy of imitation that continues to shine more than a century later. And in a way, he also was one of the earliest users of AI, artificial intelligence. We’ll explain.
He was born in Germany on the then-inauspicious date of September 11 (1816). He growing up in the exciting heyday of steam engines and locomotives, he was naturally drawn to the field of mechanical engineering. He worked through an assortment of jobs related to building everything from heavy machinery to scientific instruments.
Eventually he settled on making precision scientific instruments. A botanist friend mentioned more than once that he and others in scientific fields needed high quality microscopes. That idea took off and is still going strong today.
I n fact, the name of our subject — Carl Zeiss — is known by millions of people around the world. The Zeiss branding is on the microscopes and binoculars they use all the time. It’s on telescopes and cameras, including cell phone cameras. Zeiss is synonymous with superior quality, something born in November 1846 when Carl Zeiss opened his one-man shop. Business was so good that by early 1847 he already needed to move to a larger location, and on July 1, 1847 he hired his first apprentice, 17-year old August Löber, who ended up being an optical prodigy and worked for Zeiss until his death 65 years later
While many other microscope makers of the day designed and built their instruments using empirical methods (those verifiable only by direct observation or experience) Zeiss introduced theoretical calculations (what we could call AI) to explore progress and innovations. As a result, Zeiss microscopes offered more powerful magnification options than his competitors, but also pioneered basic innovations. One example: Zeiss microscopes were the first to focus using the optical column rather than moving the specimen. It was a small adjustment, but to the scientific community it was huge. Time and again over decades, Zeiss microscopes offered previously unknown image quality.
Working for Zeiss meant a 6 am to 7 pm workday, with a 15-minute midmorning break and a 1-hour midday break. For those days, those were dream hours. Zeiss established an impressive technical library available to all employees, and a health clinic offering free treatment by a doctor and free medications. If an employee couldn’t work, Zeiss offered full wages for six weeks, with an additional six weeks at half pay.
Carl Zeiss died in 1888 after a series of strokes. One of his last major milestones was a lavish party in 1886 in celebration of the 10,000th Zeiss microscope. +
ADVENTURES IN
Middle Age
BY J.B. COLLUM
Welcome back for part two of our ill-fated mountain vacation where I once again pushed myself beyond my limits. If you haven’t already read part one of this odyssey, I recommend that you do that, but here is the short version of it: we took our grandchildren to the Smoky Mountains, and so far in the story had a harrowing start at The Island in Pigeon Forge where I had to break up a fight and deal with someone running into our car in the parking lot. So now you are caught up.
Once the parking lot fracas was behind me, I headed back to the fun with the family as we took in the “7D” movie attraction. Without moving, you “ride” through a virtual landscape with laser guns, shooting bad robots who are attacking your crew. It was fun, but after we left, my oldest granddaughter could not find her debit card, so while the rest of the family went on to the next bit of fun, grandpa here, with my granddaughter assisting, got the privilege of retracing all our steps, all the way back to the parking lot, even looking in the car. We also looked in the 7D theater, but we did not find it. We even visited multiple information kiosks and the main ticket office to check lost & found with no success. Let me tell you, my feet were screaming for some rest. Spoiler alert: She found it in her jacket later that night at the cabin.
the vacation. We bought our passes online in advance to save time. When we got there, we still had to wait in a line for an hour to get our wrist bands. Then we stood in line for an hour and a half to get on the tram for the ride to the resort on top of the mountain. Try standing in line with cranky little kids for 2½ hours straight and tell me I’m not tough. Toward the end, the only thing that calmed my 7-year-old special needs granddaughter down was sitting on my shoulders pulling my beard out. I endured it because at least it soothed her.
2 OF OUR VISIT TO WAIT WORLD
We did enjoy the tram ride because of the views, and we could see out quite well as we were pressed against the glass sides of it by the other sardines sharing this tin can with us. Once we got to the top, it was time for lunch and we were all famished, so we stood in line for about 20 minutes to get some reheated frozen chicken tenders and fries. Once we had the food, we looked for a table and finally found one about the size of a Waffle House table and managed to fit all six of us around it. Well, sort of.
After our parking lot expedition, we reconnected with the rest of our party, did some shopping and the kids rode some rides. By this time I was thoroughly exhausted and looking to rest my poor aching feet. My wife suggested we go to the moonshine tasting while our daughter took the kids on more rides. Silly me, I imagined a table and chairs to sit at while we imbibed samples of moonshine. So I readily agreed. It was just my luck that this was a standup tasting, so we waited our turn, and finally got to taste their wares as we bellied up to the bar. It was still a lot of fun. After this, I got my wish and we sat down for supper. My poor feet would have cried tears of joy if they could have. Our supper was happily uneventful. Well, uneventful by family-with-a-special-needs-child standards, but I won’t go there today.
I say all this to tie back in to my introduction from part one of this story. Namely that we are getting too old for this kind of stuff. As a dad, I was always game for taking the children to a theme park and staying all day and into the night to get our money’s worth. I could walk from sunrise to midnight without any real issues and I couldn’t understand why some other dads didn’t want to go to these places. Now I understand. Maybe I was just too dumb to get it when I was younger or maybe I hadn’t grown up yet, but the facts are undeniable at this point.
That is why it is even more inexplicable that I agreed to take the kids to Ober Mountain (Ober Gatlinburg) on our final day of
Once we had some food in our bellies, we were in a better mood and looked forward to all the fun. We first took advantage of the carousel for our youngest, and then we all went out to the snow play area and the kids did have some fun slipping around in the ice and snow for a time. We had paid good money for the wrist bands that would allow us to take advantage of all of the rides though, like the mountain coaster, so we then headed to the line for that. After over an hour in the line, I could see where people were coming out of the top floor on the track and starting their ride. I started timing how long it took between riders and then multiplied that by how many people I could count in line in front of us and realized that we were looking at a minimum of another hour in line. Once I informed the family of this, we all decided that we needed to leave.
Since this was the last day of our vacation and it was a Saturday, I had earlier floated the idea of getting a hotel for the night and coming back on Sunday since we had already checked out of our cabin, but I got no takers. However, once we got back to the parking lot, my dear wife pointed to a motel across the street that was on a river and looked halfway decent and asked if we should get a room. I said yes, and then went to the other car my daughter was in and told her of our plans. She wanted to go ahead and drive home with the kids. I didn’t argue with her. We were ready for a break from the kids and I feared I wouldn’t make it all the way home anyway, since we wouldn’t get home until nearly midnight if we left right then. We said our goodbyes and when I got back in our car with my wife, she had already booked the room. It is difficult to describe how happy this made
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me, but I will try. Did you ever, as a kid, wake up on the first day of summer vacation and mistakenly think you had to go to school, only to be reminded that school was out for summer? Yeah, it was like that. I was dreading the long drive home through the night and dealing with the kids at some place we would stop to eat. Now, not only were we going to be lying in a bed within a few minutes, it would just be the two of us! We made plans to walk to a nearby pizza place we liked later that evening.
The motel was nicer than we expected and even had a balcony overlooking the river. It also had a mini fridge. After lying there for some time relaxing in the silence, we decided that walking across the street to a restaurant was too much work and we ordered pizza for delivery instead. I felt like a king.
To be fair, our trip had some high points too. I’ve mostly only shared the worst parts for their entertainment value, but we did en-
joy spending time with our grandchildren in a setting other than home. We enjoyed some good food, some beautiful scenery, like in Cades Cove, and even some fun shopping. All that said however, I am finally at the age where I get it. I get why some folks don’t want to go to theme parks or other crowded and boisterous places for vacation. My next vacation will be a lot more sedate, I am sure of that. Then again, as I mentioned in part one, sometimes my photogenic memory comes into play and I only remember the best parts of a vacation and find myself planning another “fun filled” vacation with the grandkids. Maybe that is for the best. I need to enjoy life while I can. I can sleep when I’m dead.
+
J.B. Collum is a local novelist, humorist and columnist who wants to be Mark Twain when he grows up. He may be reached at johnbcollum@gmail.com
#1 IN A SERIES
Who is this?
Not everyone in healthcare can be Florence Nightingale, right? Despite the long-running series to the far left, there are clunkers in medicine, and we will examine some of them in this brief series that should be briefer. Unfortunately, there’s enough material to keep this going for a while.
Aseries like this shouldn’t begin with someone who looks like the proverbial guy next door. No, it should begin with a guy who looks like the very definition of a serial killer. This guy fits the description so perfectly that his photo looks like the creation of a police sketch artist. But this is a real photograph of Michael Swango.
Born in Washington State in 1954, Swango was raised in Quincy, Illinois, where he graduated summa cum laude from Quincy Catholic Boys High School. After a stint in the Marine Corps (and an honorable discharge), he attended Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. He was considered a brilliant student, but not without some troubling marks on his record.
When not in class he neglected his studies in favor of working for an ambulance service, where it was observed that he had a fascination with dying patients. Even worse, it was discovered before graduation that he had falsified records during his OB/ GYN rotation in clinics. Still worse, many of his assigned patients in clinic suddenly had life-threatening emergencies, and five of them died.
Even so, he was allowed to graduate (although one year late) after completing a well-supervised OB/GYN rotation. Amazingly, he obtained a surgical internship at Ohio State University Medical Center in 1983. Nurses began noticing previously healthy patients suddenly and mysteriously dying, and Swango was the floor intern in each such case. They reported the incidents to management, but a cursory investigation cleared him. OSU did not offer a position to Swango when his internship ended.
He returned to Quincy, working as an EMT with the county ambulance service. Co-workers left and right began getting violently ill, seemingly without cause. An investigation by the Quincy Police Department resulted in an aggravated battery conviction for poisoning his co-workers with arsenic, and a 5-year prison sentence resulted.
Upon his release, he went through a succession of jobs from Virginia to South Dakota, even to Zimbabwe and Namibia, most connected in some way with medicine (from lab tech to physician), facilitated by forged documents and legally changing his name. Everywhere Swango went, he left behind a trail of dead or violently ill patients and co-workers.
On the run whenever he felt suspicions rising, Swango applied for a position at a hospital in Saudi Arabia shortly before the FBI arrested him in Chicago in June 1997. He was sentenced to 3½ years for defrauding the government, followed by a 2000 trial at which he pleaded guilty to three murders and lying about his involvement in a fourth. His sentence was life without parole. Swango is suspected in 60 or more additional murder cases (men, women, and children) and countless others he poisoned who managed to survive the experience. +
PAIN IS GOOD BASED ON A TRUE STORY
I woke up with my head twisted to the left. My 83-year-old brain functioned reasonably well. Up and at ’em, boy. Time to roll. Had my blueberry waffles and 3 strips of air fried bacon and juice. Out the door went I into a heavy rain-dripping mist. Across the way, I saw an older man struggling with his wheelchair going down his homemade wooden ramp.
offered to help. “Why, thank you, young man,” he said. Never mind that I was 15 years older than him. His wheelchair condition gave him a certain level of varia tion. We had done this be fore. But near the bottom, my feet lost grip with wet boards. His wheelchair shot forth in a semi-controlled manner with no damage done. He screeched, “I got it from here, young man.”
arms flailed about like a deformed granddaddy long legs spider on a bad day.
(most of the time) A series by Bad Billy Laveau
Right ankle and calf caught most of the trauma. Blood dripped in a couple minor places. I refrained from gush-
with the stability of Jello on a trampoline. Upper body was functional. Lower body was not. Cell phone was in a puddle of water. No help there. My right foot was rotated about 45 degrees laterally and ankle was too painful to function or evaluate momentarily.
I refused to crawl like a Saturday night drunk and braved through the pain
inviting. A half hour recovery
saying nurse things like “You gotta be more careful at your age.” Like I did not know that. She wrapped my right lower leg and ankle in a 6” ace bandage. Pressure helped, but not nearly enough. She put my cell phone in a bag of rice saying it would be good in a day or so. She rummaged through my medicine cabinet and found a 25mg fentanyl patch left over from my wife’s hospice care. The expiration date was 5 years ago. But when your brain screams you might go into seizures and die due to pain, who cares about the expiration date? Not me. Water has been here for 4 billion years, but bottled water has a 2-year expiration date? Put the patch on and stop reading fine print! Now!
she left. I offered to pay. She politely declined, knowing I was not broken, but most likely bent financially.
Sometime that night, I recalled a lecture in Medical School: Pain is a necessary evil. Pain tells you when you are doing something crazy or harmful so that you will stop. One muscle bound student asked about the gym dictum, no pain, no gain. The professor said, True. That is correct. But in the gym it is your pain and the gym owner’s gain. Orthopedic surgeons also gain by using your money to send their kids through college.
Not everyone gets paid to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
and 800mg of Ibuprofen went
called a lady nurse who came
Within 30 minutes, pain tapered down. Not completely gone, but noticeably less for sure. My mind oscillated as pain decreased, and I evaluated the effects of properly dosed (but out-of-date) fentanyl. No euphoria that I had heard so much about. No confusion. No hallucinations. No craziness. Just less pain, which is usually a good thing. I did note tranquility. Feeling of stability. No desire to move about. Peacefulness. Less anxiety. A slight warmness about my body. It was supposed to last 72 hours due to transdermal controlled release.
Next, Nurse fixed me lunch and later, supper. She napped on the couch while I thrashed about in my bed occasionally yelling when I moved wrong body parts in some obtuse manner. I was not the best of company. Nor was I social. Torn ligaments peel off a few layers of whatever civilization you might have. She allowed as how her significant other might not be in the mood for her to stay overnight, so
Pain is necessary for good health. It tells you to keep your fingers off the stove burner. To get bigger shoes when your feet grow. To protect your eyes from foreign objects. To obey traffic laws and stay out of wrecks. To turn on lights at night to avoid stubbing your toe.
Now that a day or two has passed I don’t hear any snap-crackle-pop when I limp about. The swelling is residing. My technicolor foot and ankle are returning to somewhat normal. In a week or so, I will decide if I need X-rays or MRIs to see if I have treatable ligament damage.
Meanwhile, I fail to see the great fascination with taking fentanyl as recreational drug or why anyone would chance dying from an “accidental overdose” because Pedro mis-compounded your medicine in the jungles of Mexico. Sounds stupid to me. Everybody has off days. Even dope cooks.
A little pain never hurt anyone too much, particularly when it prevents even greater pain down the road. +
TRYTHISDISH
by Kim Beavers, MS, RDN, CDCES Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Chef Coach, Author Follow Kim on Facebook: facebook.com/eatingwellwithkimb
BROWN BEANS AND DUMPLINGS
I love this simple recipe it is delicious and nutritious and reminds me of home.
Ingredients
• 1 pound pinto beans (cooked – see procedure for slow cooker method)
• ½ cup water for each cup of beans (about 3 cups)
• 2 tsps organic canola oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 3 cups no-added salt chicken or vegetables broth
• 1½ cups whole wheat white flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾-1 cup buttermilk
• 1 small sweet onion finely chopped
Directions
Pre-soak the beans overnight or do a quick soak. For overnight, soak the beans in a large pot; cover the beans in 3 inches of water. To quick soak the beans cover them with 3-inches of water, bring to a boil for 1 minute. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 1 hour.
After soaking, drain and rinse the beans and place them in a slow cooker. Add water to the cooker until the beans are covered with water by 1 inch. Cook for 6-8 hours until the beans are cooked to
the desired degree of tenderness.
Place large pot (Dutch oven) over medium heat and add oil. Once the oil is hot add the onion and, sauté for 3 minutes. Next add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds; add the cooked beans, 1 cup of water and broth. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer while you prepare the dumplings. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk; stir to combine. Drop dough one tablespoon at a time into the simmering beans and allow to cook for 15 minutes until the dumplings are done. This should
make 18-20 dumplings. Serve with chopped onion.
Yield: 6 Servings (size: 1½ cup)
Nutrition Breakdown: Calories 360, Fat 4g (1.5g saturated fat, 0.5g monounsaturated fat), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 440mg, Carbohydrate 60g, Fiber 20g, Protein 21g, Potassium 1000mg, Phosphorus 298mg.
Percent Daily Value: 8%
Vitamin C, 25% Iron, 10% Calcium
Carbohydrate Choices: 3 Carbohydrates
Diabetes Exchanges: 3 Starches, 3 Very Lean Meats
RULE
#1 from page 1
It’s important to remember that germs are microscopic (very small, as the CDC might add). It is not just possible, but quite likely that germs could be on our hands without our knowledge. But poop (feces)? Picture someone changing their child’s diaper with every intention of washing their hands immediately thereafter. But the split-second they finish the diaper change, the baby almost rolls off the bed or the toddler runs toward the stairs. By the time they’re done with that quick rescue mission, hand-washing can be forgotten.
Another less-obvious scenario is highlighted by the CDC: handling raw meats that have invisible amounts of animal poop on them.
RULE #1
If we’re being honest, not everyone reading this article washes their hands every time they use the bathroom. Worldwide, what do you think the estimates are for how many people wash their hands after going to the bathroom? Read on for the answer.
feces (poop). People cough and sneeze on their hands and then touch other objects, leaving behind contamination that we can come along and unknowingly pick up.
es involve mucosal areas: eyes, mouth, and eyes. The mucous membranes in these areas provide a welcome mat for germs that dry skin doesn’t.
Regular handwashing, according to research studies, can reduce cases diarrhea by up to 40%, and by almost 60% among people with weakened immune systems. Worldwide 1.8 million children under age 5 die each year from pneumonia and diarrheal diseases. Experts say regular handwashing could cut that number by a third. Studies show it reduces absenteeism in schools by up to 57%, Colds and other respiratory illnesses could be cut by 16-21%, says the CDC.
One benefit that few people think about is that preventing infections helps battle the rise in antibiotic resistance, a growing problem that has doctors everywhere quite concerned. Handwashing helps cut overuse of antibiotics, and helps people avoid getting sick from germs that are already antibiotic-resistance.
By contrast, everyone uses their hands non-stop all day every day. As we push open a door or hold a handrail going down a flight of stairs, we might pick up germs from other people. Handshakes are a common way to extend a greeting or seal a deal, presenting another opportunity to exchange hand-borne germs. Kids are not exactly known for their strict hygiene when they have colds and running noses, and that can turn their toys (and friends) into germ carriers.
And we are not talking solely about germs from
The constellation of illnesses we can acquire by such means — all of them preventable by handwashing — include colds, bronchitis, flu, sore throat, fever, pneumonia, pink eye (conjunctivitis), diarrhea, and stomachaches.
How is all of this connected with handwashing? Human beings touch their faces (cranial facade) constantly. Research studies have established an acrossthe-board average of 23 times per hour. Most of us are completely unaware that we touch our faces as often as we do. More significantly, almost half of our touch-
This is just a partial sampling of the reasons why you and I should not be among the estimated 81% of people worldwide (eighty-one percent!) who do not wash their hands after using the bathroom. Yes, the estimated rate of compliance is just 19%.
Regular handwashing is important because our hands are only perfectly clean until we touch something. There’s no need to wash compulsively, OCDstyle, but it is beneficial to wash them with soap and running water before leaving the bathroom, before and after handling food, and after petting or feeding our pets. Oh, and before touching our faces.
WE’RE BEGGING YOU
We’re never too proud to beg. What we’re begging for is “Everyone Has a Story” articles. With your help, this could be (should be) in every issue of the Medical Examiner. After all, everybody has a story of something health- or medicine-related, and lots of people have many stories. See the No Rules Rules below, then send your interesting (or even semi-interesting) stories to the Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903 or e-mail to Dan@AugustaRx.com. Thanks!
“And that’s when I fell.”
“He doesn’t remember a thing.”
“I was a battlefield medic.”
“It was a terrible tragedy.”
“I retired from medicine seven years ago.”
“She saved my life.”
“I thought, ‘Well, this is it’.”
“They took me to the hospital by helicopter.”
“Now THAT hurt!”
“OUCH!” NOTHING SEEMED TO HELP, UNTIL...
“The cause was a mystery for a long time.”
“The nearest hospital was 30 miles away.”
“He was just two when he died.”
“I sure learned my lesson.”
“It seemed like a miracle.”
“We had triplets.”
“It was my first year of medical school.”
“It took 48 stitches.”
“The ambulance crashed.”
“I’m not supposed to be alive.”
“This was on my third day in Afghanistan.”
“I lost 23 pounds.”
“At first I thought it was something I ate.”
“My leg was broken in three places.”
“Turned out it was just indigestion.”
“The smoke detector woke me up.”
Everybody has a story. Tell us yours.
EVERYONE HAS A STORY
The Uncommon Cold
by Pat Tante Augusta, Georgia
Oh, no! It was Thanksgiving and I had “come down” with a cold – runny nose and all the trimmings. Why couldn’t I have gotten it two weeks before when it rained all week, or the week before when we could not get four people together to play tennis? Or how about the day I had my semi-annual med check and the doc could have prescribed something besides an ineffective over-the-counter (maybe-this-willhelp) dru g?
The symptoms began to appear two days before. Of course, I was in denial. “This can’t be a cold, can it? Just a scratchy throat, right?” But just in case, what do I have to ward it off? I looked in my medicine cabinet. Hmmm. There’s lysine, vitamin C, zinc lozenges (I always thought that a funny word.)
Which reminds me of another story. One time I was out of town and felt a cold coming on (not coming down). I bought a box of zinc lozenges to ward it off and sucked one after the other all day, not realizing until the next day that my sense of taste was totally overcome by the zinc. Who knew that
was a thing?
Conversely, it has been determined, by the AMA or ASPCA or somebody, that patients who have lost their sense of taste may have a zinc deficiency and may benefit from a therapeutic dose of zinc. What?
Supposedly, taking zinc early might shorten your cold by a day or so. Very scientific, yes? Not really.
Let’s talk about lysine, AKA L-lysine, since I’ve already mentioned it. It’s an amino acid that is not made by the body which can reduce the severity of cold sores (aptly named), to which I am prone. So, maybe let’s take that too.
Then there’s vitamin C, a potent anti-oxidant immune booster, high doses of which shorten the duration of cold symptoms. I put it in the mix. I should be over this in twenty-four hours. I feel on the road to recovery already just looking at this pile.
As I surveyed what I had dug out of the cabinet, I realized that there was nothing for my sneezing, runny nose, fever, sore throat, cough and headache.
Hey, it’s Thanksgiving! I have a pie to bake and eggs to devil (my small contribution to my sister’s Thanksgiving table).
Off to Walgreens wearing my mask (I just happened to have several, you know). I found the cold meds aisle – probably the longest in the whole store. First off, I noticed that for every name brand (which are touted so often on television that the guy with a stuffy nose feels like a good friend), there is a matching store brand, usually much cheaper.
So, I peruse the offerings, trying to keep my nose from dripping onto the shelf. I’m reading the labels trying to decide which one lists my particular cold symptoms: headache-check, fever-check, cough-check, loosens mucus-check? No! Mine needs tightening (drip). Keep looking.
Okay, I think I have found one that can solve most of my current problems. I reach for the cheaper store brand, but questions run through my head. Should I take a chance that the store brand might be (horrors) sub-standard or even ineffective? Is someone checking on this?
I’ve got a pie to bake! Pick something! My frugal nature takes over and I grab a box of the store brand.
I get home, pour a glass of water, ready for relief. Wait! Oh, no! I’ve brought home the Do Not Take Until Bedtime formula.
CRASH COURSE
The most common illegal activity in the United States, probably the world, is speeding. Pretty much everyone does it, and almost everyone gets away with it.
When they don’t (correction: when we don’t), the results can be quite unpleasant. Across the country, more than 12,000 traffic deaths were blamed on excessive speed. That is almost 30% of all crash fatalities.
With those sobering numbers in mind, the less unpleasant consequences — things like speeding tickets and fender-benders — seem very minor by comparison.
of all fatal crashes are single-vehicle events; no other vehicle or its speed is involved or relevant.
In any case, variations in travel speeds are unavoidable. It’s unrealistic to think a semi or a dump truck will travel down the road at the same speed as a sports car. And even sports cars have to slow down to make turns and merge, or are driving more slowly before they completely merge and reach full speed as they enter a highway.
{ SLOWER IS BETTER
The faster a car is going, the farther it travels before the driver can react. The faster a car is going, the farther it travels before brakes can stop the car. The faster a car is going, the more likely it is that the driver will lose control. The faster a car is going, the closer the vehicle comes to losing its built-in abilities to protect occupants. Airbags and seat belts can only do so much before they lose their effectiveness and occupants will get injured despite these passive safety systems. A vehicle’s built-in crash protections, like crumple zones designed to absorb and dissipate collision energies, likewise can be stretched beyond their designed capabilities.
Some people say that the real issue isn’t speed; it’s the speed variations from one vehicle to the next. In other words, if everyone was driving down the interstate at 85 mph, it would be as safe as if everyone was going 60. The real danger, they say, is when the majority of cars going 70, let’s say, while some are going 55 and others are going 85.
There is a kernel of truth in those assertions, only because speed variations mean an increase in lane changing and passing maneuvers. Those actions create more risk of crashes.
However, the true risk of death or injury in a collision has nothing to do with the differences in speed from one vehicle to another. It is directly related to the vehicle’s speed at the moment of the crash. In addition, nearly half
So no matter what the speed of other vehicles happens to be, each driver has the legal and moral responsibility to respond safely — and it should be said — patiently. It only takes a few seconds to be patient.
You might be wondering where speed limits come from. Traditionally, they were established by employing what is called the 85th percentile. Operating on the theory that with or without signs, the natural flow of traffic will automatically adjust to the safest speed for that road, traffic engineers conduct speed studies to determine the speed of most vehicles. Using the 85th percentile takes away the top 15% — the speediest speeders — and adopts the top speed of the remaining drivers as what should be the posted speed.
There is a problem with this method.
As mentioned in paragraph one, everybody speeds. Drivers tooling down a 60 mph interstate will probably be going closer to 70. But if suddenly the signs say the limit is now 70, manyof those same drivers will bump it up to 80. Sp when speed limits are raised to reflect the 85th percentile, a new, higher 85th percentile usually results.
Granted, it’s hard to avoid speeding. Maybe we’re running late. Maybe we try driving the speed limit, only to have jerks riding our bumper. Maybe it’s just trying to fit in with the flow of the other cars around us.
Whatever the reason, more speed means more danger. More speed might also mean getting to an emergency room faster. +
THEMEDICALEXAMiNERJOKESPAGE
NOTICE! EXAMINER + MEDICAL THE
More Americans have died on US roads since 2006 than in World Wars I & II combined
The blog spot
— posted by MinhTri Nguyen, MD on Jan. 15, 2025
FROM STRAWBERRIES TO STETHOSCOPES
I was born in Vietnam to a family of artichoke farmers. That is how my parents raised 16 kids.
After we moved to America, I picked strawberries and sold them on the sidewalk in Maine, always fearful that cops would arrest us for peddling without a license.
ONE OF HER CUSTOMERS
STOLE A BOTTLE OF LOTION
These days, we don’t grow artichokes, and I no longer pick strawberries. It’s been years since we’ve made long-distance phone calls to my sisters who were still in Vietnam. They have immigrated to the States, and instead of tending to artichokes, they now tend to a small, successful nail salon.
Last Thanksgiving, I caught up with one of them, Chi Quy. She told me they recently caught one of their customers on security footage stealing a lotion bottle. Infuriated, I told her she had to report this to the authorities. As I was going on about the logistics of how to report this to the police, I noticed my sister just nodding along in silence.
“I prepared another bottle of lotion for her,” she said. “I think next time she comes in I will give it to her as a gift.”
I was confused. She continued:
“Her life could become so much worse if I report her, but I think perhaps doing this may help her.”
Speechless, flooded with emotion and immediately in shame, I listened. Here I was, ready to act (my assessment of the situation followed by the plan) when Chi Quy reminded me how quickly I forgot the person, the history, and my humanity. Perhaps my medical training had hardened me to the point that I failed to recognize there was a story to this lotion thief just as there was a backstory to the little sidewalk strawberry salesman or the family of 16 who grew artichokes. I’m reminded of the cancer patient I took care of who didn’t want to hear, “We have chemo for that,” but rather, “It’ll be tough, but I’m here for you.”
In previous personal statements for residency programs, I wrote about how my artichoke past encouraged me to try and solve health care accessibility and affordability; how the cunning of my strawberry youth gave me the courage to speak up to then-President Obama on rebuilding our nation’s R&D budget. I am still all those things, but I also want to be the person who gives that bottle of lotion to someone—to be the person to reach out and connect with another human being who just needed someone to help them through whatever they’re going through.
I am mindful of my mentors who have walked their patients through their falling hair and aching bodies—those who held their patients’ hands after signing into comfort care. I am reminded that the compassion a nail technician has for her customer should be the same that an oncologist should have for his patients. I want to be the oncologist known for his clinical skills but remembered for his heart.
I wish to continue my education in a program that will support a strong, independent thinker who has had to dream of unique solutions his whole life. I wish to continue scientific research, but I also want to learn from my mentors and be inspired by things I’ve yet to discover. I am so excited to one day teach and train the next generation of smarter, better, more caring doctors. I hope to impart the values of my humble upbringing into my teaching; those colored by memories of artichokes and strawberries. More importantly: to remember that our hands heal — not by shellac, French tips, or clearcoat; not by pill, chemo, or stethoscope — they heal by the human touch.
Better that those hands be well-lotioned.
MinhTri Nguyen is a hematology-oncology physician
YOUR OBSESSION WITH THE BEATLES IS GETTING OUT OF HAND
by Dan Pearson
The Mystery Word for this issue: CAENVCTIA
Simply unscramble the letters, then begin exploring our ads When you find the correctly spelled word HIDDEN in one of our ads — enter at AugustaRx.com
We’ll announce the winner in our next issue!
1. Shrimp 6. Minimalist IV 9. Streetcar
13. Walker lead-in
14. Screen symol
15. Male lead in a book or movie
16. Office of a bishop
18. Place to make bread
19. Waist band
20. Abnormal breath sounds
21. Monthly expense
22. Type of balloon
24. Top book club leader?
25. Write hurriedly
28. Shoulder bones
31. Similar
32. Support
33. Eisenhower, in brief
36. Main part of a church
37. Lying face down
38. Not up yet
39. Coloring material
40. Augusta college
41. Angered
42. Fenway team
44. Only just
45. “The Blue Goose” briefly
47. Uterus
48. Having wings
49. ______ Park Ave.
52. First word of many a tale
56. Baseball glove
57. Brawl
59. Speed relative to the speed of sound
60. Surrounded by
61. Accustom
62. Wan; pale; gray
63. Nevertheless
64. Flexes
WORDS
DOWN
1. Derogatory term for an ordinary person
2. Forced intercourse
3. Indigo dye
4. Gated area neighborhood
5. Site of WTC
6. Unit of energy
7. Indicate a political preference
8. Singles
9. Jim, noted athlete
10. Like some jackets
11. Large performance venue
12. One of twelve
14. Apple product
17. By mouth
23. Female sheep
24. Lyric poem
25. Soil component
26. Soil component
27. Major area traffic artery
28. Northern borough of 5-D
29. Division of 27-D
30. Bandage type
32. Vigor in style or performance
34. Brooks, late of AU
35. Whirlpool
37. Ballet step
38. Aloft
40. M.D. reference book
41. Male counterpart to 23-D
43. Unrefined; natural; plain
44. Student ______
45. Third letter of the Greek alphabet
46. Assumed name
47. Green energy source
49. June 6, 1944
50. Georgia city
51. Single entity
53. Part of speech
54. Thin rope
55. Just manages to get by 58. Front part of an apron
DIRECTIONS: Every line, vertical and horizontal, and all nine 9-square boxes must each contain the numbers 1 though 9. Solution on page 14.
DIRECTIONS: Recreate a timeless nugget of wisdom by using the letters in each vertical column to fill the boxes above them. Once any letter is used, cross it out in the lower half of the puzzle. Letters may be used only once. Black squares indicate spaces between words, and words may extend onto a second line. Solution on page 14.
Use the letters provided at bottom to create words to solve the puzzle above. All the listed letters following #1 are the first letters of the various words; the letters following #2 are the second letters of each word, and so on. Try solving words with letter clues or numbers with minimal choices listed. A sample is shown. Solution on page 14.
THEBESTMEDICINE
ha... ha...
Aguy had surgery to transition from a man to a woman. After the recovery period, when everything had settled down to the new normal a friend asked, “Of all the things they cut, I’m curious...what hurt the most?”
“The salary.”
Son: Dad, what’s a forklift?
Dad: Food usually.
Teacher: Name a country that does not contain an R.
Student: No way.
Moe: What was your worst subject in school?
Joe: Math absolutely. How about you?
Moe: Greek mythology. That subject was definitely my Achilles elbow.
Moe: If the temperature in space is 450° below zero, how do they keep the space station warm enough for the astronauts to survive?
Joe: They use space heaters.
Moe: Why did you take your kid out of daycare?
Joe: They say they offer supervision for all the kids who go there.
Moe: Well, that’s a good thing, right?
Joe: Not when my daughter has been going there for more than a year and still only has regular vision.
Flo: You know, good husbands are like the finest wines.
Jo: Yes, they take years and years and years to mature.
Moe: Have you ever been to Europe?
Joe: A couple of times, yes.
Joe: So did you know that in Athens, nobody wakes up before noon?
Moe: I was aware, yes. Dawn is tough on Greece.
Moe: My wife and I were happy for almost twenty years.
Joe: What happened?
Moe: Then we met.
Moe: What did the epidemiologist name her twins?
Joe: Sam and Ella.
Moe: Man, some guy took all my money today, called me fat, and then stabbed me in the arm.
Joe: I hate doctor’s appointments too Moe, but they’re an important part of your overall healthcare program.
Staring at my phone all day has certainly had no Effect on ME!
By popular demand we’re making at-cost subscriptions available for the convenience of our readers. If you live beyond the Aiken-Augusta area, or miss issues between doctor’s appointments — don’t you hate it when that happens? — we’ll command your mail carrier to bring every issue to your house!
NAME
Choose six months for $24 or one year for $42 . Mail this completed form with payment to Augusta Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta GA 30903- 0397
Dear Advice Doctor,
The Advice Doctor
We’ve all been there. At least most of us have. Some people are just blessed with perfect skin, but the rest of us have had to deal with things coming to a head.
The worst thing about the pimple problem is that it’s worst at a time of life when most of us are dealing with self-esteem issues anyway, and we’re living in school environments where teasing and bullying seem to be everyday events. To make matters even worse, dermatologists say the typical response when things come to a head — PimplePopping, The Home Game — is not a good idea. Why?
Popping pimples can make a little problem a lot bigger, transforming that small head into a big blotchy red infection. The infection, in turn, can lead to still more pimples because sometimes the squeezing can push surface debris and bacteria deeper into pores. Sometimes pus can be pushed down into hair follicles below the skin’s surface, even rupturing the follicle wall. Permanent scarring can result.
It seems like a total hands-off policy would require a mountain of self control, but it is a good policy. It might not be necessary, though. A dermatologist can offer a lot of help in treating and preventing pimples and acne. Pharmacies have over-the-counter products that help pimples dry up and heal. These include small skin-colored hydrocolloid bandaids or pimple patches. Treated with a wound-healing gel, they help absorb pus and reduce the size of the spot, and they offer another added benefit: covering up the pimple prevents pimple-picking and pimple-popping.
Just remember, when things come to a head like they have in your family, there are solutions that can prevent a small problem from becoming a big problem.
There has been a problem simmering for the past three years among my siblings and I. It involves who will care for our aging parents, or if we are unable to do so within the family, how will we divide the cost. We’ve never been able to come to an agreement, always kicking the can down the road. Well, everything came to a head this week when my mother had a stroke and probably due to the stress, my father had a mild heart attack. Can you help us figure out what to do? — Suggestions Welcomed + Dear Suggestions,
I hope this answers your question.
Do you have a question for The Advice Doctor about life, love, personal relationships, career, raising children, or any other important topic? Send it to News@AugustaRx.com. Replies will be provided only in the Examiner.
THE MYSTERY SOLVED
The Celebrated MYSTERY WORD CONTEST
...wherein we hide (with fiendish cleverness) a simple word. All you have to do is unscramble the word (found on page 12), then find it concealed within one of our ads. Click in to the contest link at www.AugustaRx.com and enter. If we pick you in our random drawing of correct entries, you’ll score our goodie package!
SEVEN SIMPLE RULES: 1. Unscramble and find the designated word hidden within one of the ads in this issue. 2. Visit the Reader Contests page at www.AugustaRx.com. 3. Tell us what you found and where you found it. 4. If you’re right and you’re the one we pick at random, you win. (Winners within the past six months are ineligible.) 5. Prizes awarded to winners may vary from issue to issue. Limited sizes are available for shirt prize. 6. A photo ID may be required to claim some prizes. 7. Other entrants may win a lesser prize at the sole discretion of the publisher. 8. Deadline to enter is shown on page 12.
PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
ACUPUNCTURE
Dr. Eric Sherrell, DACM, LAC Augusta Acupuncture Clinic 4141 Columbia Road 706-888-0707 www.AcuClinicGA.com
L. Carter, MD 1303 D’Antignac St, Suite 2100 Augusta 30901 706-396-0600 www.augustadevelopmentalspecialists.com
116 Davis Road Augusta 30907
706-860-4048 Floss ‘em or lose ‘em!
MYMOST MEMORABLE PATIENT
Tth is story it’s not exactly about the patient that I loved helping. I never even met the patient, and it wasn’t even our clinic’s client really, but the experience I had warms my heart every time I think of it.
I was the office manager/vet assistant at a small animal hospital for a couple of years. We were much too
busy to take new clients, but were often called by people trying to get in with us. One day, I got a call from a sweet elderly lady about her bunny rabbit. All she wanted was to have its toenails trimmed, and of course we weren’t really taking new clients, and even if we made an exception (which we wouldd
have made ... we made a lot of exceptions ...) any new patient to come to us would need an examination to get established before having any other services. If the bunny had been in serious trouble it would have been another exception, but it would all be too much hassle for a simple bunny toenail trim.
But then she happened to mention that she did have cat claw clippers but was just very frightened to use them and mess something up.
Well, hey then. By chance it was a rare slow few minutes in the office veryconveniently, so I was able to spend about ten solid minutes on the phone with this nice lady. And that was the style of this practice: take enough time to really educate and teach people what they need to know and answer their questions and help them be self-sufficient.
So we went over how she was lucky to have a bunny that had all clear nails, no dark ones. I explained how to look for the little pink quick, and how to clip. “When you do clip, clip with conviction!” and all my other little tips. She thanked me profusely, and we said goodbye.
She called back again about ten minutes later, apologizing over and over.
“It’s just so silly, I keep almost tearing up, I’m so happy” because she was so delighted to be able to clip her bunny’s toenails by herself, and now she didn’t need to ask anyone to help her with that anymore. Now they could cuddle again and she wouldn’t get scratched and she was just so grateful.
We shared a happy minute over that, and as these things go, I never heard from her again.
I’ve seen and done some interesting stuff, and I most fondly miss things like surgeries and emergencies and the challenges they brought, but once in a while this story pops into my mind as one of the best things about being in any field of care -- teaching people the parts of care that they can do for themselves and their loved ones.
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