Archive for April 2021

Mr. Eggert Caloss was complaining about severe pain in his upper back. He walked along the office hallway very slowly, hunched over his cane. Except for mild hypertension, he is in good health. In fact, one would never guess he is 90 years old. His mind is sharp, and he still drives a car. He…

I spent extra time today with Rita*. She told me she “just can’t handle it anymore”. She is 45 years old, divorced, and worrying terribly about her 22-year-old daughter, who just moved out on her own and refuses to take care of her own diabetes. Rita works very hard 7 days a week running her…

Today I performed a DOT ( Department of Transportation) physical exam on a 6’2″, 237 lb truck driver who except for the fact that he can’t shave and his voice is high, looks like a man. If I obtained a chromosome test on him though, he would technically be a she. You see, he has…

Being a family physician means taking care of the whole family. I truly do love this, and that is why I believe in maintaining all the family charts in one folder. It still is sort of funny though, when patients like Betty* come in with their own list of problems as well as separate lists…

I visited Susie Powers in the hospital today before going to church. At least today she was able to talk, and was alert and oriented to where she was. Yesterday, she was comatose after having had seizures secondary to hyponatremia. Her sodium level was extremely low (110 mEq). The normal level in the body is…

I admire my patient “Ace” Akers very much for his determination and perseverance since he has had his stroke. “Ace”, as his friends call him, was and is an avid golfer. Unfortunately, 2 years ago he had a stroke, which paralyzed his left side. Since then he has undergone carotid endarterectomies, to clean out the…

The tragic events of September 11, 2001 definitely brought great sadness to the nation. The whole world was affected, everyone in different ways. Witness my patient, Mrs. Vail, who, even though she had no direct connection to the tragedy, was so distraught that she presented to my office with hives all over her body. She…

Donna was quite embarrassed today when she told me how she injured her hand. Last night she discovered a bat flying around her house. (Bats are relatively harmless, except for rare cases of rabies, and do a lot of good by eating insects.) Panicking like most people do when they see a bat, she began…

I always try to emphasize to my patients that test results are only one part of making a diagnosis. Still, I do marvel at the technological advances that medical science continues to achieve. We must always be careful how we use these inventions because often the technology far precedes the science of how best to…

With snow on the ground, my thoughts often turn toward skiing-one of my extra-curricular passions. This week, a wonderful medical story, one that comes from my ski travels, popped into my head. It was 8 or 9 years ago when our pastor and his wife asked my wife and me if we wanted to go…