Sharon's school for student doctors

Doctor's appointment this morning! Nice new student doctor lady saw me before my regular doctor got to me.
Oh, how I'd like to stop these kids and say, hey, who do you think you're talking to? Someone who just got off the boat?
It went something like this.....
So how long have you had diabetes?
Forever! (I smile.) Well, since the '80s.
And what medicine are you currently taking for it?
I rattle off the list.
Are they keeping it under control?
My thought - you've got the records right in front of you, you can answer that as well as I can. But I don't point that out, I just make a nice comment about it doing pretty good. Then I make the mistake of saying the Byetta isn't working as well at controlling weight as it did at first. I see the flags go up. We'll have to look into why that is.
Next point - Do you exercise?
Not as much as I should.
What do you do for exercise?
Walk.
How much do you walk?
From parking to my office every day and this on a campus with a major parking problem.
Could you walk some in addition to that?
Well, my back hurts if I walk too far. (It does. I wish it didn't but it does. And while I'm into no-pain, no-gain to some extent, I'm also into if it hurts, there must be a reason, so stop it. More often than not the second premise outranks the first... these days... for me...)
Do you smoke?
(Where the h... did that come from? Do I look like I smoke? Do I smell like I smoke?) No, never have!
Oh, that's wonderful, that's so good, especially for a diabetic! (She is practically leading cheers. Why does this offend me? This is no great accomplishment. Its not hard to never have smoked. Now, I believe it is very difficult to stop once you have but come on!)
Has anyone in your family had any heart problems?
(I'm beginning to get peeved. My doctor knows all about my family history of heart problems. I know all about my family history of heart problems. If you read the charts you would know the same thing. But why should you? You aren't my regular doctor.) Yes.
Who? What? (She is getting excited; she's made a huge discovery here. Like no one has ever explored this before.)
I explain the history.
She's listening to my heart, asking if I ever feel any chest pains. She seems quite let down when I say no.
Well, diabetics need to really be careful especially if there's any history of heart problems in their family.
Well, duh! I've never heard that before. Good grief! I'm thinking I probably know a lot more about this problem than my sweet little MD.
Next question: What have you been eating this summer?
I am completely dumbfounded. I sit with my mouth hanging open trying to decide how to answer that.
Fruits and vegetables?
I'm still searching for the appropriate answer to this. I may have muttered a Yes, when I'm thinking Yes, and anything else that comes my way.... Well, not literally. At least not everything that comes my way. But whatever is the food for the day. Its not that what I eat isn't important, but what I don't eat is also important and they never bother to ask that.
Do you check your blood glucose regularly?
Now we're into a touchy subject. Do I argue the point that it is my choice whether or not to live a perfect lifestyle and poke my finger every 8 hours to learn that I've been bad or maybe not so bad after I've already done it? Do I let her continue to push me? Or do I try to let her know that her patients, at least some of them (like me) will be more apt to poke their fingers if she cajoles or suggests or plants an idea rather than paint you as the dumbest person to have come to her office.
Student doctors need to be told that many, most of their patients know all the things they are going to be told. They could write the book. They are not going to take orders from a smart new whipper snapper. They actually are more apt to try to change their llfe styles for the better if they are treated with a bit of respect and empathy. As a promising young doctor is it possible they could have a lot to learn from their old patients?
Fortunately, my real doctor has lived long enough to know these things. But I suppose she once was a new save-the-world professional straight out of school too!

Post script to any student doctors who might read this: I'm sure YOU're not that insensitive! Sorry if I was rude!

The big week in Pueblo

Well, its been 5 days and I'm still not sure I can write about the week in Pueblo at National Little Britches finals. Partly because I can't do it without bragging and partly because its hard to sum up the disappointments! I know, a strange mix isn't it!

I traveled out with younger daughter, her hubby and 2 boys who lives in Kansas to see elder daughter and family who live in Colorado take part in the national finals.

First, about the rodeo! What a three-ring show it is! I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it. Some 800 kids (and their support teams- dad, mom, etc) brought upward toward 2,000 horses (I think they said) to town for 11 performances - 2 go-rounds and the short-go - over 7 days, and longer if you were in the queen contest which middle grand daughter was. The set-up is three simultaneous arenas at once being covered by a couple of announcers trying to cover all of it. If you sit high up in the middle of the grandstand you can watch it all.... sort of. You've got to stay on track to not miss what you want to see. And keep your head on a swivel. I'm thinking a regular one-arena rodeo is going to seem sort of slow after this.

Some heavy rain mid-week before we Kansans got there made for an uneven but interesting playing field. If you drew up on a muddy perf, you were competing against those who drew up on the fast ground that developed later. But that's what rodeo (and life) is all about. Luck of the draw!

My g-daughters had great hopes for the week, and it wasn't just based on wishes or pipe-dreams. Both the girls had proven themselves this summer and were not being big-headed when they dreamed of winning big! However, it was not to be. To win big against kids of this caliber you have to have a little good luck along with your skills, and this was not to be. But they gave it their all and were good sports and of course I'm really proud of them.

It wasn't all in vain! Oldest grand daughter won a buckle in break-away in 1st go and got to come back for Short-go. A barely broken barrier and a loop that jumped off instead of on stopped a couple of runs in the 2 second range. Wow! If only......

Middle grand daughter was name Miss Congeniality in the Little Britches Queen contest. She was so gorgeous! And that smile! How could she have not won the whole thing! But then I'm sure there are other grandmas who can explain to you why that was.

I didn't get my camera out.... I knew that others had theirs and I didn't want to miss anything because my eyes were behind a piece of equipment. However, for those of you who are still reading this, and really care, you can see proofs of the professional photos by going to Cowboy Images. http://www.cowboyimages.net/search.aspx
Put Moyer in the Search box. There are a couple of photos of the queen contestant from Kansas that are mislabeled - her horse has sunflowers - but the rest are my girls. Do you think I'm a proud grandma?