Zed Med in N. Zed

What Have I Forgotton

This week feels like I've done most of the "do way ahead" (passport, documents, reservations) stuff, but its still too early to pack. It feels like I'm in limbo, and a little unreal. Because three weeks from today we start driving around NZ. I have this terrible feeling that I've forgotten something crucial.

The one cool trick I've found in the last week involves the mail. The post office will let us do a temporary "change of address" so I can forward all our mail for someone to check through while we are gone. They will only forward magazines for 60 days- and frankly I could miss most of them, but it seems a waste to just pitch them. I found that its a snap to change your magazine addresses on-line. You just go to the site- like Newsweek- and put in your old address. The magazine will find your subscription, and then let you change it to a new address. I guess like Rings of Power and nuclear physics, this trick could be used for evil purposes, but in this case I've sent the magazines to my mother-in-law who knows a lot of people who might like to read them. And she can save the Natural History magazine for me.

I've spent a lot of time in my clinics the last month talking to patients about "who will cover for me" while I am gone. While there is much bemoaning the statistics that show patients don't value "continuity of care" [one study showed patients would switch doctors for $5 difference in price!], I sure don't find this to be true. Some of my patients have been really upset. Goodness, its only 6 months, and it might mean 1 visit with someone else for many of them! I don't feel like I'm that special or irreplaceable. But then I think how I've missed some of the professionals I've seen for years- my optometrist from Quincy, my dentist when she injured her hand- and I can see their point of view. Its the security of seeing someone you know, versus the anxiety of having to meet a new person when you don't feel well. The most poignant visit was with one of my little ladies who is in her late 90's. We both knew there was a great chance I might not see her again at all, or at least in her current state of health. That will make me sad. I'm not sure I've done much good for her, but we've had some great talks about end of life care, and the death of her husband a few years ago. I imagine it must be very hard to lose so many people, and be one of the last survivors of your generation. She said goodbye with such grace and humor however; I only hope I can emulate her in my dotage.