October 7, 2014

October 7, 2014

To my readers: I will be traveling and won't have access to entering any posts for the next six days.  Sorry - I can't wait to return!

October 5, 2014 Sunday "47th"

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

October 5, 2014  Sunday

I asked one four year old, "What's your birthdate?"  
  She said, "September 47th."  

I turned to the Mother and said, "That's October 16, right?"
       Westport, Connecticut 1990's

October 4, 2014 Saturday "Cool"

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

October 4, 2014  Saturday

"How does it feel to be five?"

"Cool."

October 3, 2014 Friday "second years of Kindergarten"

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

October 3, 2014  Friday

"What grade are you in?" I asked the six year old.  It was the end of the school year.  

"I'm in the second year of Kindergarten."

October 2, 2014 Thursday "Not bad"

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

October 2, 2014  Thursday

"So, how does it feel to be four?"  

"Not bad."

October 1, 2014 Wednesday "at 6 p.m."

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

October 1, 2014  Wednesday

     Vanessa was eight years old and very sharp.  Her birthday was December 16 and I said, 

    "Wow.  You're 8 1/2 already."  

     She said, "No.  Not actually.  It's only the 11th.  I'll be 8 1/2 in five days...at 6 p.m." 

September 30, 2014 Tuesday "three again"

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

September 30, 2014  Tuesday

A three year old was having his check-up.

"How old are you?"

"Three."

"Is your birthday coming up"

"Yes."

"How old will you be?"

"Three again."  

               Westport, Connecticut 19990's

September 28, 2014 Sunday "my knees"

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

September 28, 2014  Sunday

     To my dear Readers: I am sorry that I haven't made a recent entry.  I have been in Chapel Hill, NC for the last four days.  Yoga, music, chess, family…

"Two Moons"  (from a detail of a ceramic plate)

     "How old are you?"

     "I'm two and a half but my knees are seventeen."

     I guess my recent entries, from my solo practice in Connecticut that started 28 years ago, seem to be about birthdays.  I actually compiled these anecdotes in chapter form about fourteen years ago and this chapter, titled "Birthdays and Other Math Problems" is one of my favorites.  

September 23, 2014 Tuesday

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

September 23, 2014  Tuesday

"How old are you?" 

"Six...just plain six."

September 22, 2014 Monday "ca"

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

September 22, 2014  Monday

     There are many ways to get a diagnosis.  

     Joseph, age two, was speaking but I couldn't quite understand him.  I asked the Mother if he was leaving the final consonant off at the end of words, which could be a sign of a mild hearing loss, i.e.  saying "ca" instead of "cat."  

     She thought for awhile but just couldn't remember.  Finally, she looked at little Joseph and asked him, 

     "Joseph, are you saying "ca" when you say "cat"?  

    He looked down and nodded yes silently.  

          Westport, Connecticut 1990's

September 21, 2014 Sunday

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

September 21, 2014 Sunday

     One five year old had chronic ear infections and it was pretty obvious that he had decreased hearing because of fluid in his ears.  I decided to check his hearing with the audiogram just to document the degree of loss.  The nurse would press a red button in her hand and then he would raise his hand if he heard the sound.  

To everyone's surprise, his hearing was perfect, which would be a miracle because of the state of his ears.  The Mother was suspicious and kept quizzing him.  

“Did you really hear those sounds?”  

He finally cracked under pressure and said, “No.  I just watched her hands push the button.”  We all laughed despite our disbelief.  Finally, the mother wanted to know why he would cheat like that.  He said, 

“I had to watch her hands.  I couldn’t hear the sounds.”

              Westport, Connecticut 1990's

September 20, 2014 Saturday "Forbes"

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

September 20, 2014 Saturday

            Only in Fairfield County, I thought.  
         Some of the scenarios in my office in Westport were a little different from my days in the Public Health Service in inner city Paterson, N.J. or my subsequent time at migrant health centers in the Carolinas.  And yet the underlying feeling is always the same: Mothers and Fathers doting over their children, with all of their innocence and affection. 

         I went into the examining room and found the Mother reading an article to her eight year old son. The glossy page had a colorful picture and seemed to have a lot of interesting facts.  What a pleasant picture: a Mother taking the time to educate her son.  Just to be together, reading and talking.  Idyllic.  

         I smiled and told them these thoughts and then asked, 

        “What are you reading?”  

 She turned the magazine over and the cover said, “Forbes.”  

                  Westport, Connecticut 1990's

September 18, 2014 Thursday "Yes, Dr. Feole"

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

September 18, 2014 Thursday

Anecdote:

     "Do you take your flouride every day?" I asked Will dubiously.  

     Will had a mind of his own and I wondered what he would say.  

    He nodded earnestly and then felt the need to explain this admirable activity that filled him with pride.  

     "Yes, Dr. Feole.  I take one pill every morning."  

     I was about to congratulate him when he continued, 

     "And I throw it in the toilet.

          Westport, Connecticut   1990's

September 16, 2014 Tuesday "Schmeeka"

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

September 16, 2014  Tuesday

Interesting Name:

     Schmeeka 

Anecdote:

The six year old bent over so that I could examine his back.  

"Is that a bat bite?" he asked.  

I peered at the tiny red mark: no break in the skin, slightly elevated, and miniscule.  

"No.  It's not."   

"Well, what is it?"  He asked me with consternation in his voice.  

I said, "Well, let's see.  How long has the mark been there."  

He threw his hands up in the air and said, 

"Ever since the bat bit me."

          Westport, Connecticut, 1990's

September 15, 2014 "Yair"

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

September 15, 2014  Monday

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

"spams in back"  (spasms)

Interesting Name:

       Yair

Anecdote:

     After the throat culture was done, I complimented Jake for being a brave little chap.  I said, "Jake, you're a great guy."  

     He turned to me and said, "You're not so bad yourself."

          Westport, Connecticut  1990's

September 14, 2014 Sunday "fall from haystack"

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

September 14, 2014  Sunday

from the NYT's, a musician in her home studio in New York City.

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

fall from haystack  (computer diagnosis when searching for "fall")

Interesting Name:

       Bethzabeth

Anecdote:

     The Mom had taken David to another doctor when I was off call.  He had a sinus infection and was put on Amoxicillin.  She said, "He doesn't usually do well with amoxicillin.  He usually is on suprax historically."  

     David, age seven, looked at her in a puzzled manner and said, 

    "Hysterically?"

          Westport, Connecticut  1990's

Coup de Essai:

"But you must take a poor man's word for it that I'm in greater need of plasters than of sermons,"  Sancho Panza to Don Quixote, Part I, Chapter 15, page 114.



Poetry:

North Star

In Hanko, Finland
a young woman boards
the vessel in the Baltic
for a ship across the Atlantic.
The North Star shines in the sky.
She's carrying in her valise
a change of clothes
a packet of seeds
and the sauna dipper.
Distance pours between constellations
between English words on her tongue
through storms and sun.
In New York City, she buys
a one way ticket
boards the train going
across the continent
arrives on an inland sea.
The winter ground underfoot
is familiar with frost
as she transfers to a northbound
along the Vermilion Trail
in Minnesota.
Ahead of her waits a man
a house to be built
and a fire that burns it down.
Ahead, eleven children
to bear, a few she must bury,
the cows in the barn
needing to be milked.
Unbroken ground only hers to till.
Above her, the North Star
inside the aurora borealis, northern
banners waving welcome —

     by Sheila Packa, 

     from Night Train Red Dust: Poems of the Iron Range. © Wildwood River Press, 2014. 

Favorite Musician/song:

Flim and the BB's  "Dream Boat"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP0OIEc4wdQ

    Jimmy Johnson, the exquisite and humble bass player for James Taylor…probably my favorite of all time.  Very sensitive, underplayed, thoughtful and creative bass.  This song is lyrical and transporting.  From their best CD, New Pants.

September 13, 2014 Saturday "prickly heat"

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

September 13, 2014 Saturday

At my favorite store in Boston, called Ink, they have post cards.  This is one of my favorite artists:
Michael Sowa from Berlin, Germany.  Web site: www.inkognito.de
This picture is called "Bayerische Sternsinger"

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

   "prickly heat"

Interesting Name:

     Layza

Anecdote:

     Shanice was a three year old sweet, very thin African American girl.  She was here for the first time with her new Foster Mother.  The Foster Mother looked like she was in her sixties.  She was immaculately dressed in a pharmacy technician jacket from Bi-Lo food store…she was very warm and compassionate.
     Shanice didn’t say a word during the exam and pretended to be asleep at first.  She had severe allergies, had a horrible sinus infection, and was wheezing badly.  She needed asthma treatments three times a day the Mother said.  
     She was extremely thin but the Mother said that she had actually put on a lot of weight since she got her a month ago.  She asked me with much concern if her stomach was alright.  
     “I know her stomach can’t be that big, but she’s always hungry.  She always goes to the refrigerator, and if there is no food, she steals food from the garbage.”  
     I told her to feed her as much as she wants.  She needs it.  

     I gave her a litany of prescriptions and told her to come back in two weeks.  She was going to get better no matter what, I said.  When I opened the door, Shanice and her new mother were giggling and teasing each other.  She walked out with her sneakers with holes in them, her pants dirty and worn, but I had a good feeling about her.  All would be well.

              April, 2008  South Carolina

September 12, 2014 Friday "my woman"

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

September 12, 2014  Friday

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

     "ha"    (headache)

Interesting Name:

   Excess

Anecdote:

       Jonathan, age three and one-half, motioned to me to bend near to him.  
       He whispered discretely, 

            "Do you know what my woman is called?"  

       It sounded like he had been watching a little too much MTV to me.  

            "No, I don't," I replied.  

        He leaned forward and said softly, 

            "Mom." 

                                       Westport, Connecticut  1990's


Poetry:
August

Just when you'd begun to feel
You could rely on the summer,
That each morning would deliver
The same mourning dove singing
From his station on the phone pole,
The same smell of bacon frying
Somewhere in the neighborhood,
The same sun burning off
The coastal fog by noon,
When you could reward yourself
For a good morning's work
With lunch at the same little seaside cafe
With its shaded deck and iced tea,
The day's routine finally down
Like an old song with minor variations,
There comes that morning when the light
Tilts ever so slightly on its track,
A cool gust out of nowhere
Whirlwinds a litter of dead grass
Across the sidewalk, the swimsuits
Are piled on the sale table,
And the back of your hand,
Which you thought you knew,
Has begun to look like an old leaf.
Or the back of someone else's hand.

      by George Bilgere, from The Good Kiss. 

September 11, 2014 Thursday "9/11"

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

September 11, 2014  Thursday

     September 11… thirteen years ago, and a time of grief and remembrance for me…for us all.  My only consolation today was a moving article in the New York Times (some of it is scanned in below):

     There were 3,051 children who lost a parent that day and about 300 of them were in kindergarden.  100 of them are now 18 years old and starting college, tuition free with full scholarships from the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund which was formed a week after the attacks.  
     I remember the feeling of love and compassion in the time just following 9/11... so many Americans reached out, wondering how they could help.  This fund was created with such generosity and compassion, initially with the help of President Clinton and Senator Bob Dole.  There were over 20,000 donors.  

September 10, 2014 Wednesday "Make that eight"

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

September 10, 2014 Wednesday

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

     "fusssy"

Interesting Name:

   Jaemayeoust  

Anecdote:

     I was lying down with my son John, age nine, at bedtime…the beautiful, magical time for a parent.  We were talking about what it was like being married and how Mom and I were so happy together.  

      I said, "Just think, John.  Somewhere in America right now there is a nine year old girl out there who is going to sleep right now whom you will marry some day."  I looked over and John was looking up at the ceiling with a big smile on his face.  

      He turned to me and said, "Dad, make that eight."

                                    Westport, Connecticut, 1990's