Doctor’s Diary September 3, 2018: Abe

(Snippets from the frontline)

Abe

It was a panicked phone call to the office:  “My father has an appointment this morning, and he is going to ask for….viagra!”

Abe was 90, and a decade before had cared for his ailing wife.  He was loyal to her needs bringing her to appointments in a wheelchair.  Despite his loving care, her life ended and eventually he became my patient.

He drove a Cadillac and wore a pen in his shirt pocket with an insignia of his car.  Always dressed immaculately and toting a pearl handle cane, adjustment to his loss was difficult. 

On that morning, Abe sat impatiently in the examining room.  Once I entered and closed the door, he slapped his hand on the table and said “I want viagra!”

Looking at his medical chart for a moment and finding no reason not to write a prescription, I asked why?

In a calm yet sad voice he stated “I met someone, and we like each other.  If we become intimate, I would like to be prepared.”  I wrote the prescription and warned him of side-effects.

After he left, I called his daughter and calmed her down. 

Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.