My wife, Jeanne, was in her doctor's office in Westport, CT for her yearly exam. There were four secretaries behind glass windows in the spacious waiting room. That's where I sat waiting during her hour with the doctor. Then, when I blew my nose, my left nostril began to bleed. I went throught an entire box of nearby tissues. There was no stopping the blood flow.
At least eight people on average were waiting to see other doctors who shared the offices behind closed doors, except for the visible secretaries always on their computers and telephones. Once in a while a doctor, with a stethoscope riding side saddle on his or her shoulder, would appear behind one of the secretaries.
Although the secretaries, waiting patients and doctors behind the glass wall all saw me bleeding profusely, NOT ONE PERSON SHOWED ANY INTEREST IN MY DILEMMA AND OFFERED ASSISTANCE!
How often do the television medical ads say CALL YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY? They all do. Now, in doctors' offices, I'm bleeding and not one of these hypocrits is responding to the sight of a bleeding man. Yes, my nose overflow had spilled on to my jacket and was quite visible to everyone. Nor did those waiting express the slightest degree of compassion, not to mention the four secretaries who had a clear view of me with piles of bloody tissues on the chair next to me.
After an hour of bleeding, now slowing down gratefully, my wife appeared with a clean bill of health. She has been my unregistered nurse during the months following my operation to replace a faulty heart valve. Jeanne went to the first secretary and ordered her to supply six ice cubes in a wash rag immediately. The middle aged woman responded like a scared rabbit evading an automobile.
The ice pack on the bridge of my nose, plus additional pressure on the bleeding nostril, finally stopped the bleeding. We sat together for another half-hour to be certain, then quietly departed for the drive home. That hour ride was not welcome because the braking and road curves produced another minor flow of blood. When we reached our house in Southbury, CT there was complete stoppage.
So, folks, there were doctors in the office. I counted at least six who visited one of the secretaries. None responded. Nor did any waiting patients respond to the national battle cry: IF YOU SEE SOMETHING. SAY SOMETHING AND DO SOMETHING!
Perhaps the lack of action on the part of strangers in the waiting room was due to the upscale nature of Westport today; i.e. don't be bothered by anything that doesn't concern you or produce income. That seemed to be the name of the game.
