reminders

I went to the doctor this morning for a follow-up appointment. I feel tons better than I did a few weeks ago. She said all my blood work looks great, though I could stand to get my HDL up a little more. My blood pressure is good, my weight is reasonable, and she doesn't think I need to lose as much as I think I need to lose. I'm having few, if any, side effects from the medication, so she wants to keep me on that for awhile. She also gave me a referral to a cognitive behavior therapist, so I'll be trying that soon.

They were short-staffed today, so there was a longer waiting time. I was in the exam room waiting to see my doctor, and through the air vent, I could hear her with another patient. The poor woman is far worse off than I am. She's a smoker, she's got bronchitis and diabetes, she had a stroke about 10 years ago, and the residual effect of it is that she falls frequently. She's broken bones and hit her head because of the falls. Her husband is in a nursing home, and she goes to see him everyday. She's been recommended for physical therapy, but apparently, the therapist wants her homebound or else she can't have the physical therapy. She's an active woman, and she misses her husband, so being homebound would be horrible for her. She was asking the doctor for an override note so that she could continue to get the physical therapy and keep active and be out and about and visit her husband. There is an assisted living facility she could live in that is in the same complex where her husband is, but she says she's "not ready" to give up her independence yet. I can't say I blame her.

One good thing about being a writer is that you get used to noticing what and who is around you and taking notes. I know eavesdropping isn't nice, but it's the air vent's fault, not mine, and hearing the conversation at least took me out of my own problems to remember that they're not so bad as I think they are. You've got to give the woman credit for being a fighter despite her circumstances. Would that we all had that kind of pluck and perseverence.