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"This patient is requesting a female provider," said Justin, my fellow OBGYN resident.
"I'll take her," I said. I quickly looked over her chart. She had a middle eastern/asian name - asking for a female provider was not uncommon. I scrambled to finish my calls and went into the patient's room.
Something wasn't right about this patient. She had long black hair, she was probably 26-28 weeks pregnant, and she obviously had been crying. As I walked in to her sniffling, I asked her "are you okay ma'am?" She couldn't even look at me and turned away to grab a tissue.
I started moving in to get a closer look and to comfort her. Suddenly, she whipped her head back around and looked at me straight in the eye. She had this weird nervous smirk on her face, but that wasn't even the most odd and memorable thing about this moment. She was easily the ugliest patient I had ever seen in my life. The mappy hair that covered one of her eyes, that big Asian flat nose, and overlyluscious lips.
Not a word came out of her mouth. After an awkward silence, she stood up. Not only was this woman ugly, but this woman was tall! At least six feet tall! And that nervous smirk had turned into a embarrassed smile. I started getting a bit nervous - what was wrong with this lady? should I call psych? should I call security?
As I instinctively started to backpeddle, this pregnant woman amazingly got down on one knee. *She* pulled out a shiny diamond ring, and said, "hey, babe. gotcha. will you marry me?"
And the rest is history.
Safety TipHospital facilities built today do not include asbestos, but many older buildings still have asbestos components in them. Steam pipes, boilers and furnace ducts were often insulated with an asbestos blanket or asbestos paper tape because of their fireproof and insulating properties. Resilient floor tiles were made from vinyl asbestos. Asbestos cement was employed in roofing, shingles and siding materials. The hazard of this carcinogen increases when the fibers become airborne, and untrained contractors can inadvertently increase risks by cutting, tearing, sawing, scraping, or sanding asbestos materials. Elevated asbestos levels can occur in hospitals where old materials are damaged or disturbed. It is best to leave undamaged asbestos material alone if it is not likely to be disturbed. Inhaling asbestos fibers is known to cause mesothelioma and other diseases. Be sure to use an experienced asbestos removal contractor when you need to get rid of old materials that might contain asbestos. |