Defeating those tight-lipped doctors

The next time your doctor gives a vague answer to one of your questions, bear this neat idea in mind...(anecdote contributed by several kind friends and colleagues, none of whom are the original authors as far as I know, but hey - thanks anyway!)

A lady of a certain age, calling the local hospital, says, "Hello, dear, I'd like to talk with the person who gives the information regarding your patients. I want to know if the patient is getting better, or doing like expected, or is getting worse."

"Do you know the patient's name and room number?"

"Yes, dear. She's Sarah Smith, in Room 302."

"Oh, yes. Mrs. Smith is doing very well. In fact, she's had two full meals, her blood pressure is fine, her blood work and biopsies just came back as normal, she's going to be taken off the heart monitor in a couple of hours and if she continues this improvement, Dr. Robinson is going to send her home Tuesday at noon."

"Thank God! That's great! That's fantastic! Wonderful news!"

"From your enthusiasm, I take it you must be a close family member or a very close friend?"

"Friend? I'm Sarah Smith in 302. Dr. Robinson tells me squat!"

No doubt I'll be back before Monday, but in any case have a great weekend .... Sz.