88th Birthday

So we did something unorthodox yesterday.

A patient of mine, a dear old woman with diabetes, was turning 88. She mentioned when I saw her last week that she thinks lonely old women should have an expiration date of about 80 years, and there's no reason she should live to beyond.

I told her I'd take none of that. My role as her physician was to keep her until she was 100.

However it saddened me too to hear how her husband died 7 years ago, and with the exception of one son, her other kids didn't care.

And so after work yesterday, on the spur of the moment, Kristin and I packed up the kids, and went to the store to pick up a cake. And made a stop at her home.

She lived in a humble trailer home, surrounded not by material things, but by dozens of pictures of now-gone family. She wasn't expecting anyone to bring her cake, so in we went with the kids. We got the cake out and all, especially Alli, sang her Happy Birthday.

I swore to myself that she shouldn't have to celebrate her birthday without at least a cake.

I was glad we were able to do it for her.