WRITER * ARTIST * DOCTOR * PATIENT * MOTHER
“That’s no Brooklyn spider!” I thought. When an extra moment, another question, a chat about a spider brings the truth. Read all about it in my latest piece in Academic Medicine – a short but memorable lesson from the ward when I was a medical student If you’d rather listen than read, you can hear it…
“Another nosebleed?” I sighed to the nurse. “Yup, just one good old nosebleed, now stopped of course,” she replied. “Room 7 – Lucas*. Cute kid, but nervous.” The emergency department was filling quickly. Thankfully, this could be a quick in-and-out patient. Nose generally bleed from harmless causes – too much picking, or dry air, or…
“And oh, um, I feel like I’ve been gaining weight,” I said hesitantly. The doctor was about to exit, her hand on the doorknob, “But it’s just in my belly.” After the usual questions and admonitions, a brief listen to my heart and lungs, a feel of my neck, and orders for a…