Diary of a Resident’s Wife – When the Doctor becomes the Patient
I’m not sure about all of you, but I am going to go ahead and declare that doctors make THE WORST patients.
Can I get an amen?
My husband came down with some terrible illness this week, and I swear, anytime he gets sick, it goes down one of two ways:
1) He’s “only kind of” sick – not enough to actually do anything about it, walks around like a zombie, complains about being sick but refuses to waste a vacation day to stay at home and recuperate. “Why would I waste a perfectly good vacation day when I can still function in the OR!?” Remains “kind of sick” for what feels like five million weeks. Complaint meter is at about a 5 out of 10.
2) He’s “on his deathbed” – sick enough that he’ll actually call in (albeit growling about the “wasted” vacation day the whole time). This time, he’s actually pushed himself to the limit and the sickness pretty much takes over our household. We’re talking the apocalypse here, people. Complaint meter pushes a 9.5 out of 10 and creeps over 10 when the meds have all worn off. Yeee-ow.
Now, I’m not saying that I’m a peach when I’m sick. I’m probably the worst sick person known to man – however, I do think that this is a pot calling the kettle black type of situation, and makes me even more qualified to call out a bad patient when I see one. That logic works, right? Good.
All of this to say, if you or someone you know suffers from a bad patient husband during this awful sick time of year, please call me. Although I am unable to prescribe any actual medication for the situation, my extensive experience in this arena has proven that puppy chow and/or a glass of wine helps to alleviate the secondary symptoms we live with as the doc’s wives.
Happy (healthy) Holidays!!
I’m not sure about all of you, but I am going to go ahead and declare that doctors make THE WORST patients.
Can I get an amen?
My husband came down with some terrible illness this week, and I swear, anytime he gets sick, it goes down one of two ways:
1) He’s “only kind of” sick – not enough to actually do anything about it, walks around like a zombie, complains about being sick but refuses to waste a vacation day to stay at home and recuperate. “Why would I waste a perfectly good vacation day when I can still function in the OR!?” Remains “kind of sick” for what feels like five million weeks. Complaint meter is at about a 5 out of 10.
2) He’s “on his deathbed” – sick enough that he’ll actually call in (albeit growling about the “wasted” vacation day the whole time). This time, he’s actually pushed himself to the limit and the sickness pretty much takes over our household. We’re talking the apocalypse here, people. Complaint meter pushes a 9.5 out of 10 and creeps over 10 when the meds have all worn off. Yeee-ow.
Now, I’m not saying that I’m a peach when I’m sick. I’m probably the worst sick person known to man – however, I do think that this is a pot calling the kettle black type of situation, and makes me even more qualified to call out a bad patient when I see one. That logic works, right? Good.
All of this to say, if you or someone you know suffers from a bad patient husband during this awful sick time of year, please call me. Although I am unable to prescribe any actual medication for the situation, my extensive experience in this arena has proven that puppy chow and/or a glass of wine helps to alleviate the secondary symptoms we live with as the doc’s wives.
Happy (healthy) Holidays!!
Emily is a part-time event coordinator/part-time puppy mama to Tater, an English Bulldog. She and her husband Paul (4th year Anesthesia resident) live in Iowa City and are getting excited about the next chapter in their lives – a Pediatric Anesthesia fellowship in Milwaukee starting in July!
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