Picking Apples

As of this morning, first test of the year, check. Now, how many to go?

I had my fill of being measured (the exam) this morning so I turned the magnifying glass around and spent the evening doing the measuring. I measured heights, weights, muscle tone, bulk, strength, blood pressure, and so on. Today, I went out with a rural med doctor to do visits to the migrant workers in upstate, NY. They come every fall, the fruit pickers from Mexico, to the finger lake region to pick the bounteous harvest of apples, peaches, and such that blanket the area.

Did you check out that link? Because, really, that might be the point of this post...

And the other point...to report that it is awesome to be back in the patient setting. We were doing school physicals for children who just moved up to the region for the picking season. I love riding around the trailer park neighborhoods like I'm some kind of an ice cream/medical truck dude. The kids were actually really excited about their physicals. These exams were less examination and more celebration. One kid, RH, couldn't stop laughing during the hernia check. Whatever; I'm having fun if they are. The kids loved it so much, we hugged me as I and the doc split!

I left the house feeling some kind of a euphoria. It is a feeling that is hard to describe. Cautious joy?

The visit is great, you find that the kid is mostly healthy, you talk about the sports they are going to do in school, all the fun that awaits them, you tell them how great they are, because it's true, you can feel it; but what does the future really hold for the kids? What is the life of a migratory worker? The dinner table is decorated with a big jug of Sunny D and a 12oz can of Coca-Cola at each place mat (we interrupted their dinner). I leave wondering did I counsel them enough about brushing their teeth? Will they really reduce the soda in the diet? Why did I talk about this with the seven year old and not the mom? UGH! So I'm just learning, but is it right for me to chalk up someone else's health care to my learning? It is likely that another year passes before the kids or the parents are seen by a health care provider. Another year may pass without understanding the role their diet plays in their future health. Is it just another year closer to diabetes, or did the visit mean anything more than a formality required by the county/state/fed board of Ed. Only time will tell?