I sat in on a hearing test on a young man in his mid twenties who had lost most hearing in his right ear after a few years of working in a saw mill with only occasional use of hearing protection. Afterwards, the audiologist took out the file for the next patient.
"This next patient is a very interesting lady. Now, just take off your medicine hat for a minute. Other than needing hearing aid, Mrs. S____ is in exceptional health. She told me her secret on her last visit. There's something she drinks every day to keep her health, and she swears by it. Whatever ails you, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, anything, her drink cures it. She gave me a small bottle of it."
Okay, it must be another one of those juice of the month that claims to do everything for you. I waited for him to pull out some exotic juice from a far-away land.
Beaming, he opened a drawer and pulled out a clear bottle with a red label containing some clear fluid. The label proudly declared "Stolichnaya Russian Vodka." "Vodka?" I said incredulously. "Yup." Well, I guess you could call Russian vodka an exotic juice from a far-away land.
The audiologist opened the door. Mrs. S____, an elderly woman walked in and sat down. "Did you drrrink the vodka today?" she asked the audiologist in her thick Russian accent. "No, not today," the audiologist confessed.
Giving him a disapproving look, Mrs. S____ then turned to me and asked, "Do you drrrink?" "Not vodka," I answered. "Why you don't drrrink? It make you strrrong! One cup a day, I drrrink."
After the session, Mrs. S____ turned to me as she walked out the door and said, "Next time, I brrring you some."
Where else but in primary care would patients offer health advice to their doctors?
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Tonight's dinner: broiled salmon with Chinese five spices on Chinese cabbage and blend of jasmine/brown rice.
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