The Lighter Side

The Lighter Side

Adam Lehotay, CP

9/10/2001

Several months ago I provided an AK temp to a patient with a beautiful floral print finish. There was much ado about cheerfulness and uniqueness. Recently, the clinic team recommended a cover for the prosthesis. Since the patient's volume and activity level had remained fairly consistent, this seemed the appropriate course of action. When the patient came in to see me, she seemed anxious and full of questions as to how high the cover would envelop the socket. Since I was very proud of the socket, I reassured her that I could keep the finish very low in order to allow as much exposure of my art work as possible. Her eyes got big, her throat tightened up, and her entire body seemed to shrivel before my very eyes. Being sensitive to subtle body language, I asked her if there was a problem that I had missed?

In a small, nervous voice she asked me to allow the cover to come up to her ears if possible. In the evenings, sitting on her back porch with her children, she had gotten tired of having to rush into the house when the bees swarmed around her leg.

Adam Lehotay, CP