(I work as a tech. I’m going up front to hand a file to the receptionist for a check out. There is a man about 20 years older than me talking to the receptionist.)

Him: “Hey…” *does that smile that says ‘heeeyyyy’*

Me: “Hi. I hope you haven’t been waiting too long. Do you need anything or are you waiting for the doctor?”

Him: “No, I am juuuuusst fine.” *creepily looking me up and down*

(I leave, do some things in the back and come back out to get the next patient which isn’t him. He is still standing there. The receptionist pulls me aside and hands me a note that has his name and number on it.)

Me: “What is this?”

Receptionist: “He is into you. He wants to know how old you are and if you are single.”

Me: “He is way too old for me. I’m not interested.”

(I hope he’ll just leave me alone if I don’t talk to him unless necessary. He waits around for a good hour. Because of the layout of the hospital, I have to cross the lobby a number of times. Each time, he stands in the doorway so I have to walk past him.)

Him: “Give me your number.”

Me: “No, sir, I’m sorry.”

(I keep walking. I’m not very good at telling people straight out that I’m not interested. A few days later… he has come back once on my day off and left when he finds out I am not working.)

Receptionist: “I’m glad you didn’t give him your number. This guy is crazy!”

Me: “What happened?”

Receptionist: “He sat and waited in the parking lot to see if you would come out. When I did, he got my husband’s number off the truck.” *he sold diet products from home and had an advertisement on her truck*

Receptionist: “He called me every day for three days asking if you were going to give him your number!”

Me: “I’ll take care of it. I’m so sorry!”

(I called him from the work phone, so he wouldn’t have my number, and told him to leave us both alone. We never heard from him again.)

(I have just given birth, and have been transferred from the labor ward to the maternity ward. A nurse is going over my medications. I take an individualized thyroid medication, only available from a compounding pharmacy. My doctor has directed this medication is not to be stopped under any circumstances.)

Nurse: “I don’t recognize this thyroid medication.”

Me: “It’s compounded.”

Nurse: “You won’t be able take this while you’re staying at the hospital because we don’t have it in our supplies.”

Me: “That’s why my obstetrician has noted on the chart that I will bring my own supply.”

Nurse: “You can’t do that. We have to manage all your medications while you are here. And it will take three days for us to get it from a compounding pharmacy. I don’t want to deal with the paperwork. Do you think you can just not take this medication while you are here?”

(I’m stunned, but within a split second I decide how I want to respond.)

Me: “Sure.”

(The nurse left the room. I got out my supply of pills and took my usual dose. The next time I gave birth at that hospital, I made sure I took two separate bottles of my pills, paranoid that they’d try to forcibly make me hand them over to stop me from taking them. They did a little better that time. They took my bottle of pills and dispensed the daily dose to me each day – and billed my insurance under the line item of ‘Self-Administered Medication!’)

(I am at the reception office, updating my record. I’m 24.)

Receptionist #1: “So, the person to call in case of emergency is still [Father] at [address]?”

Me: “Hmm.. no. Can you keep the same address but change the name for [Mother]?”

Receptionist #1: “Oh! Mrs. kicked out Mr.!”

Me: *in shock* “Hum… no… It’s more like… he’s dead.”

(Receptionist #2 turned her head to the first one, more in shock that I was. Needless to say, Receptionist #1 kept quiet for the rest of the procedure.)

(My mother is the in-house lawyer for one of the hospitals in our city and always makes sure to say hi to people in the hallways. This occurs with a woman that she has seen several times pushing another woman in a reclining wheel chair who is clearly completely disabled to the point that she is unaware of her surroundings.)

Mom: “Hi, there!”

Woman #1: “Hi, didn’t I see you at the Bar Association outing this summer?”

Mom: “Yes, I bet you did.”

Woman #1: “Yeah, I thought so. I haven’t kept up my license but I always like to go and see everyone.”

(They talk for a few minutes about the types of law they’ve practiced and where.)

Mom: “I see you here frequently. Do you volunteer with hospice?”

Woman #1: “No, this is my wife.”

(It turned out that Woman #2 had advanced stage Alzheimer’s and her wife, Woman #1, took her for a walk everyday even though Woman #2 didn’t have any clue who she was. Love isn’t always romantic but it is always beautiful.)

(My mom has a hysterectomy so my dad and I go to visit her in the hospital. It must be noted that she is given morphine for the pain and she hates ‘The Jerry Springer Show.’)

Me: “Hey, Mom.”

Mom: “Hi…”

(The TV show changes to ‘The Jerry Springer Show.’)

Mom: “Ugh, change the channel… There’s not enough drugs in my system for this…”