Laughter is the Best Medicine

I have nothing new or cheerful or optimistic to post today, so instead I’m going to share a funny exchange I recently had with a patient.  It still makes me laugh, even when I'm not feeling all that happy.     

Mr. S is a patient of mine in his early 70s who I've known for at least 3 years.  At his visit a few weeks ago, we talked about his diabetes for a while, and then he asked me a question.

Mr. S:  “Were your ears burning last month?”

Me:  “Should they have been?”

Mr. S:  “Yeah, I met a couple of your other patients, and we were all sitting around talking about you.”

Me:  “Really?  Did you all complain about how mean I am?”

Mr. S:  “No, we talked about how good looking you are!  You’re the best looking doctor any of us have.”

Me(insanely flattered): “That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me in weeks!  Where was it exactly that you met up with these guys?”

Mr. S:  “We were all patients at the VA Hospital for the Blind.”