Clinic Stories
On a Monday, the clinic received an email from a mom whose 13-year old son had hurt his arm on Saturday. She did not take him to the emergency room because it would cost too much money. In her email, she asked if we would see him because she wanted to find out if the arm was broken. We agreed to do an X-ray but weren’t sure what other help we could be since the clinic does not have a volunteer orthopaedist. The X-ray showed that the boy’s wrist was broken at the “growth plate.” We called a Houston medical center hospital hoping they would take care of him, but they wanted several hundred dollars “up front.” The clinic physician took the X-ray to a local orthopaedic doctor to determine what needed to be done. He explained that it would probably need to be pinned, but again he would need some money first. After calling one other physician who was not in the office, the patient advocate called Shriner’s Hospital in Houston. We faxed the records so that their doctor could determine if they would be able to help. They agreed to admit the boy. The next morning, the mother found a ride to Shriner’s. Fortunately, the wrist did not need to be pinned; the doctor was able to “pop” it back into place.
A FIFTY-THREE YEAR OLD WOMAN came to the clinic with what the nurse practitioner described as the worst case of psoriasis she had ever seen. We called a dermatologist that one of our volunteers had told us about to ask if he would agree to see her. He was getting ready to go out of town for the weekend but said he would see her on Monday. Her condition actually looked like a third degree burn. The standard of care for a bad case of psoriasis is hospitalization with I.V. antibiotics and fluids so the nurse practitioner sent her to Methodist Hospital at Willowbrook. She was admitted to the hospital and received the care that she needed. The dermatologist is following up with her care.
A FORTY-SEVEN YEAR OLD WOMAN came to the clinic having difficulty breathing. She was a long-time two-packs-a-day smoker and had developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. At Christmas, she decided that she would quit smoking. For the next six months, the clinic provided medication, breathing treatments, and encouragement. The patient has successfully stopped smoking and with the medication is amazed at how much better she feels and breathes!