Not Healthy To Receive The News

(My husband is much older with slightly high blood pressure and a family history of cancer so I always worry about his health. I get him to go for his “annual physical” (he only goes about every five years) a couple days prior to him flying a thousand miles away to spend two weeks with relatives. The doctor’s assistant phones and I explain my guy is unavailable.)

Doctor’s Assistant: “Can he come in for a follow up appointment next week?”

Me: “You are asking him to cut his holiday short for this?”

Doctor’s Assistant: “Well, it’s important. Possibly he could find a doctor where he is. I could forward his records, and they could do the follow up appointment.”

Me: “I don’t imagine any doctor would have an appointment available very soon, but I’ll tell him to check. Can’t you just tell me what the news is and I’ll pass it on?”

Doctor’s Assistant: “That would break confidentiality.”

Me: “What if my husband calls you; could you tell him the news by phone?”

Doctor’s Assistant: “This needs to take place in person.”

Me: “Okay, I will have him come up with a plan.”

(This was right at closing time, of course, so my husband couldn’t do a thing until the next day. I was up all night crying, assuming he had something fatal. The next day he got a different person on the phone who told him “the news”: Because his blood pressure is borderline high he should try cardio. His blood pressure has been stable for decades and we are health nuts who do cardio and other exercise frequently, so it was really no news at all! But that first lady was so mysterious and made it sound so urgent, she put me through over 15 hours of thinking my husband was dying!)