First Words
…thoughts of an anachronistic, solo pediatrician
by Glenn Feole, M.D.
"Be careful too that the reading of your story makes the melancholy
laugh and the merry laugh louder," Cervantes, Prologue to Don Quixote
Contact: ishmaelish36@gmail.com
Blog site: ishmaelish36.blogspot.com
June 30, 2014 Monday
Chief Complaint: (written on the chart before I go in the room)
“referred to optamology”
Interesting Name:
Anecdote:
Thomas, six years old, was a gentle soul. He had come in with a horrible sore throat, a high fever and very large, painful glands. Despite this, he kept a sweet smile on his face and would softly stifle an almost imperceptible giggle whenever I felt his neck or checked his ears.
I explained to him that I would have to do a throat culture. We practiced gently, just to get him used to the idea. When I said I would actually do it, he interrupted me, “But Dr. Feole, what if I laugh?”
South Carolina, 2007
I explained to him that I would have to do a throat culture. We practiced gently, just to get him used to the idea. When I said I would actually do it, he interrupted me, “But Dr. Feole, what if I laugh?”
South Carolina, 2007
Poetry:
One Woman
Oh, the old love song again and again
devotion and desire without end,
a woman half dressed somewhere and
being admired, or dressed and being admired.
These men go off alone into their rooms
and write it down: she was this and she was that.
Every man says she's the woman above all,
on a pedestal, though no one says pedestal,
that would be crazy,
and there's a thousand of these poems,
and by that I mean a million declarations
of this singular love of this one of a kind woman,
so rare, an absolute phenomenon which
many times rivals the moon or the oceans,
or the wind in the trees or night or any of the
furniture of night or day.
You see what I mean:
big unknowable things.
What are we to make of it? This:
it's true. Each man is telling the truth.
Each woman puts all the other women second.
It's the way. The strap of her gown off her shoulder,
and the paradox prevails. These poems are
all true. Each woman stands alone
in the doorway or on the pedestal
in the perfect light.
devotion and desire without end,
a woman half dressed somewhere and
being admired, or dressed and being admired.
These men go off alone into their rooms
and write it down: she was this and she was that.
Every man says she's the woman above all,
on a pedestal, though no one says pedestal,
that would be crazy,
and there's a thousand of these poems,
and by that I mean a million declarations
of this singular love of this one of a kind woman,
so rare, an absolute phenomenon which
many times rivals the moon or the oceans,
or the wind in the trees or night or any of the
furniture of night or day.
You see what I mean:
big unknowable things.
What are we to make of it? This:
it's true. Each man is telling the truth.
Each woman puts all the other women second.
It's the way. The strap of her gown off her shoulder,
and the paradox prevails. These poems are
all true. Each woman stands alone
in the doorway or on the pedestal
in the perfect light.
by Ron Carlson
Coup d'essai: …
PART VII of XX: Migrant Health Care Journal
I was telling the nurses that I had just seen a patient named Carlos Santana, aka the rock band. One nurse said that she had seen Jennifer Lopez. Another piped in that she had seen Elizabeth Taylor.
I’ve gotten the lowdown on the eateries in Newton Grove. Taco Rico makes the best burritos, especially "el grande". Eddies has all fried food, is big on hot sauce and barbecue. Also, on Sundays, if you go north on 96 (I actually know where that number is now, having traveled it in vain many times), there is a restaurant 5 miles up that has a great Sunday Country buffet, “great fat back, all Southern food. It’s a delicious grease pit.”
Can’t wait.
Terry M----, the African-American behaviorist at the Salemburg clinic, is a funny guy. He speaks and acts with the comic mannerism of Bill Cosby and does so unself-consciously. He is a very gentle person also and works with children with ADHD, trying to avoid medication. He takes them off medication in the summer “so that they can be kids again.” He is tall, of a solid, athletic build, with a slightly roundish face that always has a smile, bordering on a smirk.
I referred a depressed Hispanic girl to him who had all the somatic signs of a major depression. He came to see me immediately with a blank prescription. “Let’s start her on paxil.” He was concerned. Back in Connecticut I wrote only one prescription for an antidepressant in a teenager. The family was destitute and couldn’t afford to see a psychiatrist. At the clinic here, I’m not sure if a psychiatrist is even available for these uninsured people. So, I wrote my first antidepressant for her.
Favorite Musician/song:
Carole King "Home Again" from Tapestry
Atmospheric and filled with love. A kindred spirit with James Taylor, my favorite.
Atmospheric and filled with love. A kindred spirit with James Taylor, my favorite.
Favorite Book/author:
Istvan Banyai, "Zoom" and "Re-Zoom"
For my artistic patients, I often point out that, in my opinion, this is the most creative art book I have seen for children. An inspiration and beautifully drawn, challenging, thought provoking.
For my artistic patients, I often point out that, in my opinion, this is the most creative art book I have seen for children. An inspiration and beautifully drawn, challenging, thought provoking.
Favorite Movie/DVD:
Inspector Morse, "The Remorseful Day"
I love this BBC series and have watched most of the episodes dozens of times. A cultured, sometimes abrasive, insightful, poetic British detective who does crossword puzzles. This episode, the last of the entire series, is poignant for just that fact. A moving tribute to Morse's relationship to Inspector Lewis, a heart wrenching ending and a stirring poetic quote in a crepuscular setting by Morse, quoting "the remorseful day." Very moving.
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