A Morality Tale About Two Patients

Dear George,

There is an oldish couple who live on Ludlow Ave.  The husband has been bothered by sore leg muscles for a year or so.  It makes his walking unpleasant, and consequently he does about 90% less exercise than he normally does.  This has resulted in weight gain, heightened a1C scores, and overall melancholy.  His wife suggested numerous times that he see the doctor.  His friends have encouraged him to see the doctor.  Even casual acquaintances have urged him to do so.  However, it makes the husband nervous to see the doctor.  He feels he can take care of this problem by himself.  So he’s stretched his legs, used a heating pad, taken Ibuprofen, meditated, elevated his legs, searched the Internet, watched a lot of Netflix.  All to no avail.  He recently mentioned his problem to his pharmacist who suggested that his cholesterol medication may be causing the problem.  At the pharmacist’s recommendation, the husband made an appointment with his doctor.  The doctor recommended stopping the cholesterol medication for a while.  That was two days ago.  The husband’s legs are already feeling better.  The husband wonders why he put up with pain and limping for a year when this could have been resolved a long time ago.  

His wife, meanwhile, went in for a gastroenterological procedure.  When she came home she felt terrible.  Fever, cold chills, a severe cough, sick sick sick.  The husband thought this was a normal reaction and was just a matter of needing some bed rest.  The wife instead called the doctor’s office.  The nurse suggested she go to the emergency room.  The husband thought this was ill-considered and unnecessary.  The wife insisted on speaking to the doctor, and, when the doctor called back. he suggested she go right away to the emergency room.  She went, was examined, was given an antibiotic for pneumonia, and was admitted to the hospital overnight for monitoring.  The doctor said it had been very important that she called and had stayed overnight in the hospital.  She’s, of course, doing much better and seems back to normal. 

These are different ways of being a patient.  The husband is to be admired for his self-sufficiency and confidence.  Unfortunately he is also stupid and dysfunctional.  The wife, more assertive, knows what she is doing and takes action.  Hopefully the husband will learn from her example (though he hasn’t seemed to do so in some sixty years).

Love,

Dave