My father has a bad case of Bell's Palsy. He's currently on a couple of kinds of meds that I've already been told work "sometimes". So I took him in to see the acupuncturist who works with Bell's Palsy patients all the time and has a good rate of success.
So Nate (the acupuncturist) starts asking dad questions... How do you sleep? How's your appetite? etc. Of course dad tells him that he's fine and that everything is fine. I contradict (which annoys the hell out of dad) so Nate starts refining his questions.
"Jack, how many hours did you sleep last night?" Two.
"What do you usually eat during the day?" I drink two Ensures.
You get the picture. But then he starts asking about pain. I have to remind Nate that when dad broke his hip, he let us walk him up the driveway to a chair in the breezeway.
The good doctor is from Idaho. I remind him that he knows plenty of old guys like my dad. He's tough as nails and he's not a whiner. Nate chuckles and I can see him fondly remembering those tough old geezers with whom he worked side by side.
The nurse comes in and hands me a form to fill out for dad. I'm asking dad questions while the doctor is working on him. Yes, dad's had Scarlet Fever, Mumps, Measles, Whooping Cough, Chicken Pox and anything else they can think of.
The best question on the form was, "Have you ever had any trauma?" I laughed out loud. I asked Dr. Nate, "Does World War II count?" At which point Nate told me to quit filling out the form, "It's not for men like him."
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