Saturday, October 02, 2010

On Sleep and Medics

Well, here goes nothing ...

It's well past midnight, but my sleep has taken a bad turn lately. Sometimes it does that — goes from not being good to being distinctly bad. Tonight, for example, I stumbled wearily to bed at ten o'clock. I almost went to sleep; in fact, I drifted off for a few minutes. I know it was only that long because I had some music playing, and I missed one short tune. After lying there for an hour and a half, however, I gave it up for a lost cause. I think what happens is that I drift and rest just enough to feel sufficiently refreshed to get up and do something or other for awhile before I try again.

It's most frustrating let me tell you. In my life, I have tended to be a guy who requires perhaps a little more sleep than average. Now, I get too much less than average. It's getting on my nerves.

So here I sit with a headache after completing a crossword puzzle and munching on a bowl of cornflakes. When the pills begin to take effect, I'll try again. Maybe I'll try the couch; sometimes I settle there. I have no idea why as generally I feel the need to sprawl, and one cannot exactly sprawl on a couch.

Well anyway, let me tell you about the highlight of my week, which once I tell it, you will rather pity me for having such an uneventful life.

You see, on Monday morning, I had an appointment at the Eye Institute near downtown Ottawa. Thinking I was clever, I decided to take the backroads in and avoid rush hour congestion on the expressway. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but in practice it was anything but, for once we neared the city, the congestion on the backroads was worse than it ever would have been on the expressway — much worse. Sigh.

I had set aside more than an hour and a half for the trip which should normally have taken less than an hour. And I was actually a few minutes late. Not that hospitals tend to run on standard time, but still it rather unnerved me.

But here's the highlight. The doctor. Once he got around to seeing me, he introduced himself and shook my hand. Can you believe a doctor shaking your hand: treating you with respect and consideration? When we parted, he offered his hand once again. Wow! I mean WOW!

Between handshakes, he didn't rush me and patiently clarified a point that had confused me a little.

After such positive treatment, I came out of there feeling good about the world.

I have since mused that the time difference between a doctor rushing you and not rushing you is probably less than a minute.

This guy should be training young medical students in client management.

That's my highlight.

It's been a dull week.

9 comments:

Bernie said...

AC I really don't give a new doctor much choice when I meet them, I hold my hand out first and say "nice to meet you" honestly I have never had anyone refuse to shake hands yet. Now my family doctor is special, he gets a hug..lol
Sorry you are unable to sleep, I could use a bit of your problem as I think I sleep too much. I'm not complaining though, I don't think I would like being awake through the night.
Have a great weekend....:-) Hugs

Donna said...

Sorry about the sleep issue Ac! Guess it's the changing of the season...
At our group Dr.'s office, they shake our hands...it's a nice thing to do....
hughugs

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

As I enter this comment, AC, Grenville is still sleeping. He's better at it than myself. Like you I sometimes have trouble falling asleep too. But I am a night owl who stays up until after midnight (often much later) and then only needs a few hours os shut eye.

Glad the doctor made the visit so much more personal. Too bad the back roads created more chaos than calm. Enjoy the weekend!

Anvilcloud said...

Cuppa's the sleeper in our family. As we age, she sleeps more and I sleep less. The trouble is I feel that I need more. Three nights in a row of ten hours would help to make up some of the deficit. That would be so nice.

Anonymous said...

How refreshing to hear of a doc who is willing to give a little time to his patients. It makes a good impression that is for sure.

Sorry about the not-sleeping business. Not fun, I know.

Unknown said...

A/C I know what is going on. You said Cuppa is a sound sleeper. Sleeps more soundly than you? Yes you said that. Now I used to be the one who stayed awake all night since HH slept so heavily. I felt I needed to be alert to take care if something happened. It is your natural manly instinct to protect your habitat and in my case the womanly thing. Now I am not worried about anything I just sleep through it all, not worrying about being womanly at all. LOL
QMM

Anvilcloud said...

That's it QMM. I'm on the alert. :)

Mary said...

AC, my week's highlight would have probably been even less exciting than yours if Brandon hadn't found out he was getting his honor roll award.

I'm glad the dr gave you his time and clarified everything. Sorry you got caught in the traffic jam. I detest the super highways and often take the back roads.

Take care and thanks for commenting on my post.

Blessings,
Mary

Kila said...

It's 1:43 am here and I'm still awake.

Wow, an amazing doctor you found! And yet what he did is so simple, it should be common.