Lady Chatterley
The Lady Godiva heads back to the community bench harkening the Lady Chatterley to my bistro table.
The Lady Chatterley bounces to the table, smiling and chatting along the way. Her conversation is pleasant and bubbly. Her corpulent body bounces with her as she quickly covers the ground from where she was waiting to our small, round bistro table. Atop this bistro table, there is no French-press coffee or croissants, but rather a notepad, stethoscope, and sphygmomanometer.
Her conversation is pleasant and bubbly, but she readily gets down to business. "I got a problem. I'm worried about my blood pressure. It run high." As she speaks, her teeth that remain host flying buttresses of yellow plaque that appear to provide functional support.
The Lady Chatterley drives the conversation. "I worry all day about my blood pressure. Sometimes it go wayyy high. I been in the hospital a few times and dey give me medicine in da vein for it. It bad."
The discussion continues like a Model-A Ford tearing down a bumpy, winding dirt road. I try to keep us between the ditches while The Lady keeps her foot jammed on the gas pedal. Finally, I manage to ask, "Do you have medicine for your high blood pressure?" She pauses, then answers, "No." Immediately, she jams the gas pedal back down to the floor. We shoot off bouncing along as the wheels occasionally touch the ground.
We continue through our conversation roughly following a History & Physical but taking numerous tangents. On physical exam, she has a prominent S4 harkening elevated blood pressure. The Lady has already expounded to me her worries about strokes and heart attacks. But alas, the blood pressure cuff malfunctions. She comments, "I didn't take my pills this morning. It probably high."
Her comment prompts me to ask again, "Do you have medicine?"
She answers, " Yeah."
"I'm sorry, I thought that you didn't have medicines."
A surprising pause. "I do, but not here", as she gestures to a heap on the ground of her worldly possessions. She breaks eye contact and begins shifting nervously in her seat.
The awkwardness lands like a felled oak between us. The reason for the sudden evasiveness is unclear. Moving along...
"I'm concerned about your blood pressure. I'll bring another blood pressure cuff tomorrow. Can you be here at 5 p.m.?"
The Lady explains, " I be here all day. The Lady Godiva works at Zack's, but I'm here all day. I be here at 5. Thank you. Thank you. " My payment is a hug and a jovial, "I see you tomorrow!"
The following day at 5p.m., The Lady Chatterley is nowhere in sight. I wait for an hour with no success. I inquire of a gentleman on the bench who just saw The Lady Chatterley in the area, "Did she look well?" The gentleman answers, " Yeah."
He continues, "I don't know why she didn't come, but I need some help, Doc."
Episode 5: Count of Monte Cristo
more to come…
We encourage you to take to the streets and get to know the people, the struggles, and the stories for yourself. Bring food, socks, and an open heart.