You Are the Boss

A Grateful Return

At the hospital today for my biannual check-up, where I have been under consultant supervision for just over a decade, one can be grateful for good health and wellbeing.

Arriving with 20 minutes to spare before my scheduled appointment, the nurse was already coming to reception for me to take measurements of my blood pressure, height, and weight.

The Numbers Game

I seem to have lost a few centimetres in height, gained more kilogrammes than is comfortable in weight, and my blood pressure was unusually high. I put the weight down to winter clothing, though I could lose some, and my blood pressure could be due to the anxiety I sometimes suffer about getting to the hospital on time. This is even though I practised calming down when I realised my bus was running seven minutes late.

I must have been quite self-involved about my weight when the nurse taking my readings could easily tip the scales at about 50% more than the figures I was posting. In fact, her uniform was likely reinforced at the seams with Kevlar threading, because any exertion on her part could have her literally spilling out of her dress.

Observations in the Waiting Room

The lesson, as I sat in the waiting room to be called in by the lead consultant for my assessment, was that each person had a gait—from plodding to brisk—proportional to their bodies of various sizes. This suggested the quest for health and healthy bodies is a daily struggle, whether you work in healthcare or not.

One lady could also do with a change of shoes; the heel on the left foot was so worn from the outside to the inside that the bend alone could introduce a bow-legged, rickety condition due to wrong footwear rather than childhood vitamin deficiency.

An Evolving Consultation

In the consultation room, where the consultant knows me by name, we had the company of a pregnant doctor as an understudy. We went over the usual things: physical, mental, social, and other matters I needed to have in consideration. It is always easy banter, and for the first time I heard it from senior medical personnel without having to assert it.

I reckon it is a kind of maturation that visits veterans in their field—having experience but not using it as omniscience. To a recommendation that I was yet to be convinced of, she said, "You are the boss." I hope that meant, "You make the final decisions about your medical pathways," rather than, "You fool, I'm giving you the best advice and you're being stupid and obstinate."

In the process, I extended the blood profile to check specific elements rather than the broad indicators. The session with the nurse phlebotomist was easy, without complications, then I collected my six-month prescription before returning home for some much-needed bed rest.

Let us, with a gladsome heart, be thankful for health.