He was my last patient of a long day. Fueled by a second cup of coffee, I opened the door to a pleasant gentleman with medical issues that had markedly impaired his quality of life for decades. His prior testing and treatment had not elicited clinical improvement or a straightforward diagnosis, which is a frustratingly frequent situation in gastroenterology. These are the challenging, yet frequently most rewarding, cases that doctors face.
My patient provided expansive answers to questions about his symptoms as well as his many stressors, so I quickly learned a lot about the life of this recently widowed, retired mathematics professor.
As I stood up to examine him, he offered a unique observation.
“So I see you’re not a fan of Pythagoras,” he said. “This is my first visit in years not from a right angle. Usually the doctor is facing the computer with his gaze fixed ninety degrees to mine.”
It was true. When talking to him, as with most of my patients, I had positioned myself directly across from him. Being a lifelong math nerd, I laughed and tried my hand at an appropriate response to continue the geometry banter.
