Belly Full Of Bison

A new hamburger restaurant opened near my office. The menu is four pages long and takes more time to digest than the meal. The name is BareBurger, but the burgers are far from bare. Yesterday I did more work thinking of what to order than I did attending to patients. As each doctor walked in, we sat them down with the menu and had them write their order. You choose a protein, roll, cheese and toppings. The protein choices are beef, chicken, turkey, elk, wild boar, bison, ostrich, quinoa or black bean. I decided to do a three way split with my coworkers and have more taste choices. We ordered bison, turkey and portobello mushroom burgers on multi grain, brioche and tapioca rice rolls, with smoked mozzarella, blue and colby jack cheeses. We added on fried onions, raw onions, avocado, lettuce, tomato, garlic dill pickle slices and sauces. Sweet potato fries were a must. Each person paid almost $16 for this treat. Once a month we will allow this in our lunch budgets. This was the first time I had bison and I enjoyed it. It was a cross between the flavors of beef and lamb. I was so full that I never ate dinner.

Heads Up

As I was sitting in the hospital lobby last week, I noticed that people wear many types of head coverings. Most had a meaning attached to them. Since I had hours to spare, I decided to play a game and try to notice as many different types as I could. First, I saw a hospital worker in his scrubs, wearing a cloth OR type of hat.  I could figure out that he was responsible for some type of patient care. Next, I saw a woman with a shower cap type of hat. She was a food service worker. Next I saw a man with a bike helmet. He was delivering Chinese food. Then, I saw a man with a yarmulke. Since he had a stethoscope around his neck, I surmised that he was a doctor. I also saw turbans, baseball caps, grandpa hats, motorcycle helmets, head scarves and wigs. I never really paid much attention to what someone is wearing on their head, but each item held a meaning and was an important part of that person's daily life. Sometimes we just need to take a moment and notice the small things.

Disabled?

I was in 7-11 yesterday morning buying my lotto tickets. Ahead of me on line was a boy, around 20 years old. He seemed a bit mentally disabled by the way he spoke to the clerk. He spoke very slowly almost thinking about each word before he said it. He was with a crew of workmen and must have been starting his workday. After he paid, he must have realized that he left his wallet home. He took out his cell phone and called his house. Since I was standing on line waiting to pay, I overheard the entire conversation. This is what he said: "Hi Dad. Did I wake you? You sound a little tired. Did you sleep ok? I think I left my wallet at home. If you have a minute could you please look for it. Dad, if you are tired, you don't have to do it now. Only if you have a minute." Then I heard him say, " Thank you, Dad. Have a good day. I love you". The boy spoke so kindly and respectfully to his father. It was the nicest parent/child conversation I have heard in a long time. When I think of how most teenagers speak to their parents, it makes me think. Who really has the disability?

Don't Speak

After having a cold for one week, it finally settled in my throat. For the first time in many years, I got laryngitis. I had no voice. Literally and figuratively speaking. As usual, on a Saturday in the summer, I go to the town pool to spend the day with friends. Everyone sits and talks all day. Yesterday, I was only able to sit and listen. Every time I had something to add to the conversation, all that came out of my mouth was a high pitched squeak. It was almost inaudible, so most of the time no one knew I was trying to add to the conversation. I felt invisible. I finally gave up and just sat quietly. It was not easy to do. This morning, my voice is a bit better. I don't like being silent.

Words Offend

Late Thursday evening, I received a message from one of my night receptionists. She is an older woman and this is a part time job after she retired as a school secretary. She said she was giving two weeks notice and that the job was not good for her anymore. Her husband has been sick lately, so I understood why she was leaving. It turns out that her sick husband was not the reason. Early Friday morning, my daytime receptionist called me, quite upset. It seems there had been an argument the evening before and that is why the other woman quit. This is what took place. Wednesday afternoon, my boss was looking for an important file. No one knew where it was. She called the doctor whose patient it was and the doctor said she handed the file to the night receptionists. They said they had no idea where it was. The doctor was very angry. The next morning, she called my day receptionist and told her the chart was missing. She looked through every file and found it. It was filed in someone else's slot. When the two night receptionist came in Thursday evening, the day receptionist said, "Who am I going to beat up? The chart was filed in the wrong slot and it took me an hour to find it". The younger receptionist laughed, as she knew the day receptionist was kidding. The older woman took offense and said she would not be spoken to in that manner. The day receptionist said she was only kidding, but these errors happen frequently and they become her problem to fix. Words went back and forth and later that evening I received the message of resignation. My day receptionist felt so bad and must have called me ten times on Friday. I explained to her that what one person thinks is a joke, another person doesn't. I always use the saying, "It is only a joke if both people laugh".

Kind Word

A kind word goes a long way. I always knew that but it was reinforced yesterday. I sat for 7 hours in three different hospital waiting rooms. My father's surgery went well and he was able to go home and sprint up the front steps. He did better than most 50 year olds. Each hospital staff member I encountered was so kind and caring. It started with the housekeeping staff. I watched as worker, Carlos,  meticulously scrubbed down a gurney. He saw me watching and stopped to talk. He said, " I wash the gurney very well, because maybe one day I will be a patient in it". We chatted a bit and he told me about how he loves working at the hospital. As it turns out, when my father left the hospital this man walked him to the car and settled him in. He hugged my father as we left. The next encounter was in the holding area. A nurse named Theresa came over to tell my mother how beautiful she was and how pretty her outfit was. She remembered my mother from the previous week's surgery. She was from Trinidad and kept referring to my mother as "beautiful mama", in her wonderfully lilting accent. In the recovery room, we met Kate. She came over to me and addressed me by name even though no one knew my name. She said she remembered my parents talking about me the previous week and asked how my sister was, also by her name. When I told Theresa how good she made us feel, she said something similar to Carlos, in housekeeping. She said,"We are people too, and one day we might be a patient here. We treat you as we would want to be treated". Thank you, the staff of Beth Israel Hospital, for all that you did for my family. 

Stretched

As if the summer wasn't hard enough, I just found out that my father needs another surgery and the date was bumped from next Thursday to today. Plans had to be rearranged, doctor appointments rescheduled and a day off from work. All of this is done with the warmest heart, as there is nothing in the world I would not do for my parents. I usually do well with spur of the moment changes, but this one blindsided me. On top of all this, I am getting over a cold and have not slept for 2 days. Just yesterday, one of my doctors told me the origin of the term Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Although in this case nothing is really wrong, it still is not right. I have packed a cooler bag with breakfast and lunch for my mother and me and hopefully the surgery will be over quicker than last weeks. After I tuck my parents safely back at home, I will be babysitting my grandson until 10pm. I am thinking of changing my name to Taffy. I am being stretched very thin and hope I do not snap.