July 14, 2014 Monday "Psalms"

First Words

      …thoughts of an anachronistic, solo pediatrician

                    by Glenn Feole, M.D.

July 14, 2014 Monday

Contact: ishmaelish36@gmail.com

Chief Complaint: (written on the chart before I go in the room)

     “Toddler’s body is rashed.”

Interesting Name:

     Psalms (first name)

Anecdote:

      Courtney was eight years old and a very pretty Oriental girl.  The Mother reminded us that as an infant, she used to scream so loudly during her visits that once I did the complete exam outside in the parking lot to make her happy.  Today, Courtney and her sisters had a great time and were perfect angels.  

     This reminded me of seeing another little girl, ten years previously in Westport, Connecticut, who just cried and cried as a toddler during her checkups.  I've taken care of her twelve year old sister, Siri, for probably a decade and it was Siri who was helping hold her wailing sister during one particularly loud exam.  

Siri looked lovingly at her sister and said very calmly,  "Don't worry.  You'll come to love Dr. Feole when you get older just like we do."  A very poignant and humbling moment for me. 

       

          Westport, Connecticut, 1990's

Poetry:

Coup d'essai:

PART XVI of XX: Migrant Health Clinic Journal

I examined a very shy, unkempt six year old white girl.  She had freckles, short red hair and light blue eyes – an Irish cutie.  The mother was overweight, loud, but had a caring quality about her.  The girl had cavities throughout her mouth, with all of her teeth capped or decaying.  I made her smile and we got to know one another.  It turned out that her father was in prison for abusing her.  She was also suffering form ADHD and bipolar illness.  Six years old. 

9/11/02: What can be said about the heaviness in my heart on this one year anniversary of 9/11?  I was in a pediatric practice in Richmond, at work, and recall watching in horror with a mother of one of the patients in Richmond as the first tower fell.  One year later, I feel that I am in a better place, examining migrant children and perhaps making a tiny stride in reaching out to the poor (the poor being myself now as well).  I need this reaching out to all the people of the world to increase my compassion for others.

I love seeing the ubiquitous medals of Our Lady of Guadalupe on my Spanish patients.  Today, two infants had earings which were of a delicate silver with the tiny imprint of Our Lady on them.  A fourteen year old Spanish girl came in and had a ring which had an outline of diamond-like stones around Our Lady’s image.  Also, I’ve seen toddlers with necklaces with the same medallion.  Very moving.  

     At lunch today, I hopped in the car and drove the few miles to the center of Newton Grove and went to the only Catholic church in this small town.  It is called, naturally, Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It was painted an immaculate white on this sultry, warm September day.  Next to it was a small trailer that someone lived in.  Outside of it was a sign that said, “Home of an Honor Roll Student.”  You usually see these signs back in my Virginia neighborhood with the SUV’s in the driveway, where the lawns are manicured and large.  Parental love is not limited by one’s material wealth.  

Favorite Musician/song:

Luther Vandross  "So Amazing"

     I just put this on when my parents, brother and sister, and three of my children just came to see the new house we are buying at Briar Chapel…filled with love and gratitude.  The voice, the funky, underplayed bass.  What I strive for.  I have been playing bass at an African-American Baptist Church in Laurens, SC and the drummer/preacher is a great, funky drummer; the keyboardist, Billy, is a  genius at the keys, with incredible cord changes and sensitivity.  I do stick out in the crowd but feel loved and appreciated.  I will play my heart out, all gospel/funk, my favorite, my ears ringing at the end, only to have one of the elders hug me, tell me he loves me and also my playing; then turns to the preacher and says, "But we just have to figure out how to get that bass louder."

Favorite Book/author:

Moon, Tom

     1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die

A comprehensive, interesting, eclectic compilation of all genres of music, including recommended songs and CD's.  

Favorite Movie/DVD:

     Waking Ned Devine

           If you are enamored with the rustic, quaint life in Ireland, with beautiful scenery of small villages and the ocean, this is a movie you will love.  Unforgettable Irish characters that are a re-incarnation of my Irish Father-in-law.