Let me practice this on you...
My 4 year old daughter (hereby known as DD2) gave me a check-up this morning.
When Dad was leaving for work she ran and got her Dr. kit and came up to see why Mom was still in bed. This morning Mom was in denial and had a sinus headache. I was hoping somehow that the leprechauns would magically bring me a couple more hours of sleep and DD2 would somehow be occupied. No such. Instead I got an almost complete physical. My ears, eyes and nose were checked. Then my heart and my teeth. She said she was just a beginning Dr. but she was doing a pretty good job up till this point. Then she pulled out the reflex hammer and proceeded to give me a couple of hearty wacks. Needless to say, I was awake now.
DD2's technique with the reflex hammer is not unprecedented though. For the last eight years Dad's been gently experimenting on us with check-ups etc. His one weakness in all this is the reflex hammer. I'm not sure if it is because we are family and he is too gentle or what, but (and he really hates when I tell people about this) he cannot find our reflexes to save his life. When this first happened he said, and I quote:
"You have slightly unresponsive reflexes, you must me a-reflexive..." (ok, something like a-reflexive)
Then he checked DD1, hmmmm, she also was a-reflexive. He hammered away for a while on both of us until we couldn't take it anymore. Well, it must be genetic mustn't it? It worried me a little since I have hypothyroidism and this can affect reflexes. However next time I went to the Dr. she was able to find my reflexes with one try, each leg, no problem. Same with the girls.
When I came home and told him about this he was in denial. This was actually 5 years ago and I think he is still in denial. (Did I mention that he REALLY hates it when I tell people this?) (Hi Sweetie!) I'm sure if he tried now he would hit it right on. Not that I would let him try, medical egos are reactive things. (more on that another day)
But aside from that silly reflex hammer, everything else seems to work well. So well, in fact, that the girls and I have all learned various techniques. I now know what walking pneumonia sounds like in the lungs, how to use the ear flashlight and what an ear infection looks like, the names of countless skin infections and their causes and various other procedures. I have read journal articles to Robb while driving in the car, thus expanding my knowledge to the point where I could correctly spot a carcinoma in a co-worker which she did need to have removed. And DD2 knows exactly where to put the head of the stethoscope to hear the heartbeat. Cool.
In case anyone was wondering, he never tried to draw blood or give us shots. That's what other med-students are for.
As I mentioned, medical education is a family affair. Except for the reflex hammer.
When Dad was leaving for work she ran and got her Dr. kit and came up to see why Mom was still in bed. This morning Mom was in denial and had a sinus headache. I was hoping somehow that the leprechauns would magically bring me a couple more hours of sleep and DD2 would somehow be occupied. No such. Instead I got an almost complete physical. My ears, eyes and nose were checked. Then my heart and my teeth. She said she was just a beginning Dr. but she was doing a pretty good job up till this point. Then she pulled out the reflex hammer and proceeded to give me a couple of hearty wacks. Needless to say, I was awake now.
DD2's technique with the reflex hammer is not unprecedented though. For the last eight years Dad's been gently experimenting on us with check-ups etc. His one weakness in all this is the reflex hammer. I'm not sure if it is because we are family and he is too gentle or what, but (and he really hates when I tell people about this) he cannot find our reflexes to save his life. When this first happened he said, and I quote:
"You have slightly unresponsive reflexes, you must me a-reflexive..." (ok, something like a-reflexive)
Then he checked DD1, hmmmm, she also was a-reflexive. He hammered away for a while on both of us until we couldn't take it anymore. Well, it must be genetic mustn't it? It worried me a little since I have hypothyroidism and this can affect reflexes. However next time I went to the Dr. she was able to find my reflexes with one try, each leg, no problem. Same with the girls.
When I came home and told him about this he was in denial. This was actually 5 years ago and I think he is still in denial. (Did I mention that he REALLY hates it when I tell people this?) (Hi Sweetie!) I'm sure if he tried now he would hit it right on. Not that I would let him try, medical egos are reactive things. (more on that another day)
But aside from that silly reflex hammer, everything else seems to work well. So well, in fact, that the girls and I have all learned various techniques. I now know what walking pneumonia sounds like in the lungs, how to use the ear flashlight and what an ear infection looks like, the names of countless skin infections and their causes and various other procedures. I have read journal articles to Robb while driving in the car, thus expanding my knowledge to the point where I could correctly spot a carcinoma in a co-worker which she did need to have removed. And DD2 knows exactly where to put the head of the stethoscope to hear the heartbeat. Cool.
In case anyone was wondering, he never tried to draw blood or give us shots. That's what other med-students are for.
As I mentioned, medical education is a family affair. Except for the reflex hammer.
posted by Emotenote @ 2:10 PM
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