Fortunate Friday: My Patients

A Thankful Moment

By Anca Lamse, MD

Today, I went to the bank to deposit some money.

Income money, that is.

While watching the bank clerk counting the change (pennies included), I had a wave of gratefulness wash over me.  Gratefulness for the patients who are helping me stay in practice.  Gratefulness for patients like the one lady who only makes $15,000 a year, yet she wrote me a check for $200 because her insurance did not cover her visits to see me. She chose to pay me for my services. Others don’t.  I usually don’t let it go to collection.

As a physician, I take whatever amount of money people give me for my services.  If they tell me they don’t have the money to cover their bill, what is there to do?  What will submitting their debt to collection going to accomplish? If they don’t have it, they don’t have it.

God will provide; He’s brought me thus far.

One Step…and Then Another

Watching the clerk count the pennies made me feel such tenderness for the people who work so very hard, who pay their bills even if it means counting penny by penny. They help me continue to help them (and others).

Not only that, but they help me continue to educate myself about cutting edge medicine (has anyone read Suzanne Sommer’s new book, Knockout: Interviews with Doctors Who Are Curing Cancer–And How to Prevent Getting It in the First Place (Hardcover); as well as learning about OLD medical systems, such as Ayurveda and the Chinese principles of energetic meridians.

I have patients who cannot afford to pay a $20 copay all at once, and I have patients who are financially comfortable.  However, even the people who are financially stable have worked hard to get there.  I respect people’s money because I know how difficult it is to make it.  Most people don’t inherit their wealth, and honest wealth doesn’t come easy (I think).

So, I prayed a blessing for my patients, as I saw the clerk go through the checks and the pennies.

It Changed Me

I was a different person by the time I left the bank. Somehow, I felt renewed, like my eyes had been opened.  It’s good to remember that we cannot make it on our own; let’s help each other on this journey called life.

Let’s pray for those who help us do what we love to do; let’s pray for those who sow, and harvest, and transport the food we put on the table. Let’s pray for those workers who keep the roads in good condition. Let’s be grateful.

Lamse Wellness Clinic

www.lamseclinic.com

to make appointments http://www.lamsewc.com

http://www.womenslifelink.com/category/health/

ph: 317-834-9304; fax: 317-831-0864

 

***Because we are Amazon Associates, should you choose to purchase the book Knockout from the link in this post, we will receive a small revenue.  Thank you for supporting Women’s Life Link.

 

 

Photo by Iam-Lcoholic