Answering machine

[ellie]

So the message on our answering machine the other day for DH: "Hi, it's your neighbors next door. "M's (13 yr old son) is flying to Florida to visit his grandparents and he is going to be swimming a lot next week. Would you mind taking a peek at his ears to see if they're okay? And CLEAN THEM OUT?"

Now DH has helped out for emergencies in the neighborhood before, which he totally doesn't mind...but something like this?? This trip has been planned for months, they couldn't have made an appointment with their pediatrician?!

Anyone else have some good "could you take a look at..." stories?

Okay, I feel better now that I've vented. I'm just a grouch lately because I haven't seen DH much in the past month, and the last thing I want him to do when he comes home is to be checking out the neighbor's ears. :>

[DCJenn]

Our mover dropped one of the 45 pound barbells on his toe and my husband was THRILLED when I offered that he could take a look at it. In my family we have a game called, "I know you're not my doctor but..." and then they ask anyway.

Jenn

Most of our friends / family have been pretty careful not to overstep. My dh genuinely doesn't mind answering questions 99% of the time (goes back to wanting to feel like the smartest guy in the room).

The glaring exception to that was my weird friend / neighbor in Cleveland. She loved that dh was a doctor, and called several times in a panic for "emergencies" that didn't end up being anything of consequence. Of course, this is the woman who laid on my kitchen floor crying while I tended to her son's ripped nail. (Me - not DH - me).

Take a look is already crossing the line but CLEAN them out?

[SuzySunshine]

My DH doesn't get asked much, maybe b/c he's a brain surgeon they assume he doesn't know all the everyday stuff. Our neighbors do have a little girl that was born with a brain tumor, they ask questions all the time and will call when she is sick but they're very nice people and they don't abuse him.

[mommax3]

My husband knows the hormonal status (menstruating, perimenopausal, menopausal) of every woman (mom, aunts, grandmother ) in his family, and what meds they are taking. My mom asks him quite a bit about this stuff, too.

We have been out to dinner in a restaurant when we ran into a patient that DH had delivered about a month before. A graphic conversation about post-partum bleeding took place, and the sad thing is......I didn't even realize that it was kind of inappropriate (and annoying) until much later.

The scary part is when I am talking to female friends and hear of a medical issue they are having......and know the diagnosis and/or course of treatment. I don't say it, except to my very best friend, because I know she won't do anything based on what I tell her. But it is scary how often I am right.

Sally

[migirl]

Ummm ... since DH is a urologist, we don't get this too often ... which is probably a good thing.

[SueC]

Mostly, people are very respectiful of dh's time. We've had a couple of neighbors ask for advice, but it is seldom enough that it doesn't seem annoying.
Last week my uncle called and was profusely apologetic for calling to ask dh's advice when my aunt was in the ICU (she had a major back surgery and had some unexpected pulmonary issues). I had to really reassure him it was perfectly OK to call us, especially since ICU and lungs are my dh's specialty. We'd have been more upset if they hadn't called.
I'll bet pediatricians and general practitioners get bugged the most. I think I'd be a little irritated if one of my neighbors called upon my husband to clean out their kid's ears.

[SuzySunshine]

DH doesn't seem to mind when its immediate family. His grandparents have been ill and he finally got through to his grandfather that his current doctors obviously weren't communicating and he needed to come here. He and DH's mom will be here today for a week of tests. He also doesn't think that his grandmother got the proper neuro work up before they diagnosed her with Alzheimers so they're trying to convince her to come up as well. I guess sometimes its good to have a Dr. in the family.

[DCJenn]

Cheri-

It definitely can help when there are sick relatives. My husband's step-father had horrible care after complications from lung cancer surgery. Lo and behold when Rick and his sister Cindy showed up (she's a RN) and got into the chart things started to change. It was too late but at least the jackass doctor started returning my MILs phone calls. (and had the balls to admit out loud that if he had known their son was a doc he would have called back earlier.)

Jenn

[ellie]

The glaring exception to that was my weird friend / neighbor in Cleveland. She loved that dh was a doctor, and called several times in a panic for "emergencies" that didn't end up being anything of consequence. Of course, this is the woman who laid on my kitchen floor crying while I tended to her son's ripped nail. (Me - not DH - me).

Now I want to know what other kinds of "emergencies" she had!

[Meenah]

The funniest is my MIL, she thinks he walks on water because he is a DAWKTER. She calls and asks for advice, actually asks me to ask him whatever it is. I will tell her what I think (know) and she says oh, just ask Jory. He then calls her and says "let me ask Luanne"!!!!! I work in the ER and Endoscopy and she assumes I know nothing.

[Phoebe]

We have one neighbor who calls constantly about medical stuff for her kids. She has also started asking me questions like I have automatic medical knowledge because I live with a physician. DH gets very annoyed by her issues because she panics about small things, but she never asked him to clean out her daughters ears. EEWWW!

Jennifer

[BonBon]

Fortunately, we haven't had a problem with that. I think people figure he works in anesthesia so he's no use. I have had friends and family ask him questions about how does this or that work, etc. Never an ear cleaning though. Yuck.

Edited to add: Don't they sell those ear cleaning kits at the drug store? Sheesh.

[planet]

Ear cleaning? They need a doc to do this?

MIL wants dh to become her personal physician. Dh did just connect a friend's mother to someone who could help her out, but that is about as far as he'll go.