Last week I wrote “An Ode to Mrs. E” as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, inspired by the always awesome FringeGirl. I sort of choked myself up with that post, and thought that it would be a nice thing to show to Mrs. E, to let her know her courage was appreciated and that she was admired. I called Mrs. E and left a message on her answering machine giving the address of my blog.
The always adorable Mrs. E left a message on my machine at work today. This is the message, pretty much verbatim:
“Hi, Dr. Altman! Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner, but last week was sort of crazy. I found your blog, and that was so nice of you! It was so sweet! Thank you so much for saying all of those nice things! But, er, I didn’t actually have breast cancer. I had ovarian cancer. It’s been gone for 6 years, and that’s really good! Anyway, thanks again. D has an appointment in December. See you then!”
Can you believe I am this dumb? It’s impressive. I’m considering changing my name and hiding in another country.
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October 13, 2009 at 8:56 pm |
It was still inspirational… Are you going to do another breast cancer post now?:)
October 13, 2009 at 9:00 pm |
Elizabeth: You’re too kind. It’s going to be too difficult to write another post when I’ve glued a paper bag over my head.
October 13, 2009 at 9:14 pm |
Oh lordy, sounds like something I’d do. Come to think of it, sounds like something we all do time to time!
October 13, 2009 at 9:19 pm |
Roin, here’s the address for the new Jon and Kate blog, that should go with your “Small Town Jon and Kate” link. Your link to my other blog is correct. I know it’s confusing!
October 13, 2009 at 10:08 pm |
It was still a good post. I’m sure she appreciated the kind words. Hey, at least you got the disease right?
October 13, 2009 at 10:49 pm |
I can’t stop laughing! It was such a sweet post too. It definitely counts because she did have cancer and it was even a female type of cancer, so everything you said still works.
October 13, 2009 at 11:19 pm |
Polly: Is there some sort of spaz award I could try for? There’s got to be something.
October 13, 2009 at 11:20 pm |
mrsbear: Yeah. Right. Breasts, ovaries, whatever. At least she didn’t have tooth cancer or something.
October 13, 2009 at 11:24 pm |
FringeGirl: Oh, sure! Laugh away! You got me into this pickle.
It’s actually OK. It gave me a great laugh today, and my secretaries almost peed their pants laughing. We all got our jollies.
October 14, 2009 at 3:43 am |
I do things like this ALL the time. I’d forgive you if you were just pretending you did it to make the rest of us feel better; the fact that you probably really did it just encourages me no end.
I used to coach a group of doctors on giving speeches and presentations at conferences. Out of thirty guys, there was one woman, Dr Harada. She bore a slight resemblance to another woman doctor I’d taught a few years earlier, an orthopaedic surgeon, who had a cat. Every single time I saw Dr Harada, I asked her about her cat. Every single time, she told me that she didn’t have a cat; she was allergic to them. By the time I finished coaching that group, Dr Harada must have thought I was a madwoman. And obsessed about cats. (Right one one count, anyway…ahem: the cat part.)
October 14, 2009 at 7:24 am |
Mary: I only wish I were doing it to make people feel better.
I love Dr. Harada and the cat! We are definitely twins separated at birth. Except I’m so dumb I’d probably have insisted to her that she had a cat, and berated her for not remembering the poor animal.
October 14, 2009 at 9:01 am |
LOLOL!
October 14, 2009 at 10:03 am |
Hmmm…both round…supposedly two of each. I think I can see how you could’ve gotten mixed up about that.
But you certainly didn’t go wrong on the woman’s attitude, and you rightfully waved a banner with her name on it!
October 14, 2009 at 6:26 pm |
Melanie: I knew you would appreciate this one.
October 14, 2009 at 6:27 pm |
Pearl: Thank you for putting a positive spin on this for me. I needed that!
October 15, 2009 at 6:59 pm |
Well, it was a lovely post anyways. At least you knew it was a “woman’s parts” kind of thing. Well, at least for the most part.
October 20, 2009 at 5:04 pm |
Um, it’s the thought that counts? Or something.
Have you changed your name yet? Your new country awaits you.