SUCCESS!

During my first week here a 17 year old girl came in to the clinic with her mom to be treated for headaches. The mom-child scenario always poses as a tricky situation, because we’re all in one room. What ALWAYS happens is the mom ends up answering all of her childs questions, yelling them across the room. Then everyone in the room knows about the kid, who resorts to sinking deep into her chair and not coming back for further treatment. And no, it doesn’t matter how quietly you make your interpreter talk, if you were thinking that. I’ve tried it. 

So the girl comes in, moms yelling from the other side of the room where Dr. Joey is trying to get HER intake and I just resort to scooting my chair back so we have a whole room collaboration going on. The girl has had migraines her whole life. They are temporal headaches and extend deep into her eyeballs. She describes her eye muscles feeling like they are straining deep inside.. Especially when shes reading. *DING* 

“Have you ever been to see an eye doctor?” I ask, trying to be as non-assumptive as possible. Some people have never seen a primary care doctor their whole life, which means its totally possible. “NO!” her mom yells. “Why would she?” The whole room of older ladies has erupted in discussion over the topic, like a farm of cackling hens. “Well, the headaches may be due to poor vision.” The mom is very skeptical, sizing me up with glaring eyes and insists that they don’t have enough money. So we settle on acupuncture for a few weeks to see if that will help first. Weeks had gone on like this, where I would insist that a trip to the eye doctor is probably the key to her childs pain. But Mrs. Skeptical says no, time and time again.

And then.... Yesterday I saw this beautifully cute girl peer into the treatment room with brand new shiny glasses on, shooting me a little coy smile. 

No more headaches. Success! (Now on to "gastritis")