Thread by @gradydoctor

1/
#HumanismAlways, Day 3

Me: "Hey there. Came by to check on you."
You: *nods*
Me: "I just ran into the Cardiology fellow. He said you said no to the echocardiogram?"
You: *nods*

*silence*

You scratched your arm, yawned, and fished around for the remote.

You: "That it?"

2/
Me: "I just wanted see if we could talk about it some more."
You: "Talk about what? That heart test?"
Me: "Umm, yes."

You gave your eyes a tiny roll.

You: "I told you I just did that test."
Me: "You did?"
You: "Yeah. At the other hospital."
Me: *squinting to remember*

3/
You: "And I told you." *chuckles* "Wait. I take that back. I tried to tell you."
Me: *looking puzzled*
You: "But you was in a rush. So you kept interrupting me. Like, you was acting like you wasn't interrupting me. But you was interrupting me."

*silence*

Me: "I was?"

4/
I reflected on the earlier exchange. I remembered listening to you talk. And then explaining some things, too. Honestly? I didn't recall interrupting you.

I replayed that last part:

"Like, you was acting like you wasn't interrupting me. But you was interrupting me."

Hmmm.

5/
Me: "Tell me what you meant by 'acting like I wasn't interrupting you.'"
You: *shrug* "You know. That thang folk do when they front like they listening but really all they doing is plotting out what they got to say next."

Ooph.

6/
You: "That's what you was doing. You was slick with it. But I knew you ain't heard what I said. So I just told myself I'm gon' send 'em right on back where they came from. I don't want that goo squirted on me again for nothing."

You jutted out your lip and shook your head.

7/
Me: "Dang. I'm sorry."
You: "Doctors always do that. They used to just talk on over you. Butt in soon as you say two words. Now they think they smooth. Nodding they head even though they ain't listening. Specially when they busy like you was."

Damn.

8/
You words made my face burn. I knew that, had this not been true, I wouldn't have felt embarrassed at all.

Nope.

With your permission, I connected to the shared network of hospital EMRs. And just as you said, there it was. A transthoracic echocardiogram. 2 weeks ago.

Yup.

9/
You: "You married, Miss Manning?"
Me: "I am."
You: "Don't do that in your marriage neither. Listen when it's your turn to listen, hear? Then talk when it's your turn to talk."

*silence*

Me: *sigh* "That's a whole church sermon."
You: "Ain't it, though?"

*laughter*

10/
Listen when it's your turn to listen, hear?
Then talk when it's your turn to talk.

Whew. Med school never ends, man.

Damn, I love this job.

#7daysofHumanism