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Greetings!
Good morning! I would love to share a story with you this morning. A story of a celebrity who passed away in 1995 yet saved a life last month.
Outside of the October air being a touch more cool and damp than usual (oh great, here we go again), it was a typical Wednesday morning in the Chest Pain Unit. The ticking of the second hand was audible all the way across the nurses' station. I looked up to, I gather, grade myself on my morning's efforts to get out of the house. 6:58 a.m., not quite starting time. Perfect.
The first case I was to see on this morning was a non-emergent patient admitted overnight with atypical angina. Non-Sharpied Starbucks in hand, I perused her electronic medical record. Good - nothing terribly alarming. Setting the cup down and picking up my black stethoscope, I head into room 11 (actual room # changed for HIPAA).
Our patient "Nancy" (her actual name is Betty Jo Miller of 1745 Stoneridge Court, but to be HIPAA compliant let's just call her "Nancy".)
"Nancy! Good morning. My name is David (Unlike "Nancy", I'm not protected by HIPAA) Sabgir and I'm a cardiologist here. Would you mind telling me your story?"
"Hmmm, Sabgir. What nationality is that doctor?"
"It's a blend of Irish and Comanche Warrior - please continue."
Pregnant pause.
"So, Doc my regular exercise is with Bob." I assume she is referring to Bob Harper, the popular trainer on Biggest Loser. You know what happens when we assume.
Let me also add, Nancy is not a small woman (5'2", #237).
"I was halfway through Bob and I'll be darned if my right arm didn't start aching. Then, it started going into my left arm!"
"Excuse me. Bob?"
"Yeah, ya know, Bob Ross (also not HIPAA protected is this scenario). I paint everyday with Bob. Been doin' it for as long as I can remember. Years!" she proudly announces with a smile that lit up the room.
"But last night, halfway through, my arms started hurtin'. I had heard on the TV that women can have different presenting heart symptoms than men. So, I called 9-1-1, chewed 4 baby aspirin (atta girl), and changed the cats' litter."
She pauses, and tilts her head to the right, awaiting my wise Native American judgement/approval.
"Atta girl," I confirm. "With your cardiac enzymes (Troponin, CK-MB) being normal overnight, we are safe to proceed with a stress test this am."
"Will the stress test be done with oil based paints?"
"No ma'am. It'll be done with a treadmill"
"I can't do the treadmill one because of my knees. Got Ol' Arthur. I need the medicine one."
"That's okay, but unfortunate, because we collect a lot of beneficial information on the treadmill and of course you wouldn't have to deal with the medicine's side effects."
Long story short (too late fake Comanche Warrior), the woman has a positive stress, and ended up proceeding to the Cath Lab. She was found to have 95% blockages in both her LAD and circumflex arteries and received two drug-eluting stents.
She is now enrolled in our cardiac rehab program and doing extremely well - painting to her heart's content (pun not intended but left in after it was realized).
That night, after I had tucked the kids in bed, I stood in my front yard. I stood in that yard gazing into the deep azul sky searching for and finding one or two happy clouds.
I thanked Bob Ross, saver of lives, and wept a single tear before heading inside. I felt complete.
Then, I laid in bed for over 2 hours trying to figure out how it's possible that Will Ferrell has never portrayed Bob Ross in a skit or movie. Anyway, that's part of what makes life so exciting, always full of mysteries.
 | | Bob Ross Remixed | Happy Little Clouds | PBS Digital Studios |
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Taking steps
Be like Davy
Would you like to be known as a pioneer? A good lookin', coonskin cap wearin', rifle totin' hero like our buddy Davy Crockett?
Of course you do and here's the deal.
The number of Walk with a Doc locations is currently in the low 90's.
Sooner than you think, there will be several thousand WWAD sites.
Would you like your community to be known and recognized as one of the Original 100 locations?
Our leaders around the country are literally saving lives every week.
Look to your left and look to your right, unfortunately only one of you is going to be remembered as part of the Original 100.
We would love for you to contact us now, because this deal ain't gonna last.
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You're amazing!
Really, you are. We are so glad/proud that you have taken ownership in Walk with a Doc. Let's continue to grow this thing together and watch all the great things 20-25 minutes/day can do.
Respectfully,
David
614.714.0407
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