Megan is my cardiology RN - and a very, very good one.  She is also one of our WWAD Nurses. 

Megan and I recently had an office visit from a patient in their late 80's.  To stay HIPAA compliant, let's name this patient "Pat".  Pat had driven through difficult weather all while leaving their ill spouse at home. Our patient sat on the exam table with their walker in front of them.  Pat's EKG showed a HR in the high 30s.  Pat also had a systolic pressure in the 80's and despite claiming to be asymptomatic, our patient appeared a little woozy (forgive the medical jargon).  We decided something needed done and within 25 minutes, Megan had reassured our patient, written orders, wheeled Pat to the ER, gave report to the emergency nurse, called the spouse, and then Pat's son to explain what would need to be accomplished from his end. 25 minutes!! (I was playing Angry Birds) 

 Our patient received the needed pacemaker and returned to our office the following week feeling like a new person.  "Pat" was tearful to the point they could not get their words out on how happy they were with Megan.  This is just one example of the many great things we witness everyday with our WWAD nurses.   

Quick addendum to the story. As mentioned, our patient returned to have their pacer interrogated. They mentioned if there was ever anything they could do - sky's the limit. I shared that, ironically, my racquetball partner had just canceled due to the inclement weather.  I winked and shared that this left me without an opponent that evening.  Pat smiled nervously and asked if the walker or recent surgery would be a hindrance (honestly I think Pat was just trying to get out of it).  I told Pat that I knew of no rule against walkers being allowed on the court and there were certainly no electromagnetic fields. I'll cut to the chase.    

I absolutely schooled Pat.   

I don't like to brag, but I won all 3 games; 21-2, 21-0, and 21-11 (Pat started to wear me down in the third game, but I hung tough). If you talk to our patient, Pat will argue that I held onto their walker repeatedly - not allowing them to move. And okay, yes, this may have happened once or a few times, but was almost never intentional.  It was a great evening.  Not sure Pat enjoyed it as much as I did - heeeheeeheee.  

Take home message: Megan, you're a hero. 

Huge turnout(s) last week with great questions.  In addition, Kathryn figured out the average pedometer read was 5086.  That's over 2.5 miles a person and over 450,000 steps by our walkers at Polaris alone.  Wow! Thank you! 

Dr. Wendy will be leading at Eastland Mall.  She's a champion - you'll see why everybody loves her. 8:30 and we will be meeting in the Food Court.

Dr. Scott - our shaman of the wilderness. Blendon Woods at 9:00 a.m. He wishes to share that all Packer fans are welcome.  Dr. Scott hails from Wisconsin and is a true Cheesehead.  Now you have a better idea (Green Bay) why he is leading our outdoor lovers.  Great, great guy.

Dr. Stafford is leading the Tuttle Mall group from the Food Court at 8:30.  Tuttle is kindly opening the doors for us at 8:15.  We have another compassionate leader here with Dr. Stafford.  What have we done to be so fortunate? Wow!

There will be no organized walk at Polaris this week, but we will be returning on Feb. 12th with special treats  - a lot of them.  

All corrections will be posted to www.walkwithadoc.org by 12 noon. 

The newest member of our family!  Dr. Steven Thiry of St. Joe's has come forward as a fantastic physician leader.  Those of you familiar with the intense OSU-Michigan rivalry are aware that team loyalties run deep.  A matter of fact, 3 times in the last 7 years we have drawn blood from patients (OSU grads) only to find the vial filled not only with scarlet, but gray as well.  We are fired up to have Ann Arbor as our teammate.  Thank you for making it happen Dr. Thiry.