Tales from the Emergency Room Read Online Free PDF

(The genital area of the bodies were kept covered except when we were studying those organs.) A classmate and I went to a small store near our apartment where they were selling breads and pastries. On a top shelf there were long rolls. My classmate, a wag to begin with, announced to the clerk that he would like a Remus roll. That about finished me for the day. Even now, though we no longer think that this was funny, the two of us chuckle when reminded of the story.
    Alopecia Totalis
    One of my closest friends in college, the aforementioned tutor, Dick, and I would often go to his family’s house in Batavia, NY for the weekend. His mom and dad were wonderful people and very good to me. His mother had the most beautiful auburn hair imaginable which people often commented on. After college, he went his way and I went to medical school nearby. One day while roaming around the medical wards I came upon his mother standing just outside her room. She was wearing a kerchief-cum-turban around her head. We had a pleasant conversation—I did not know why she was in the hospital—and I continued on my way wondering what had become of her lovely hair. Later, Dick told me that she did not have any hair at all (alopecia totalis) but that she owned two very expensive wigs. While one was out being cleaned and cared for, she would wear the other. Very few people look as well in their own hair as this lady did in her wig!
    A Christian Scientist
    One of my best friends in medical school was a chemical engineer by training since his father refused to pay for any other education for him. Hence, he was forced to pay for medical school himself. Tom was a musician, a largely self taught virtuoso at the organ and a terrific piano player as well. He auditioned for the job of organist at the First Church of Christ Scientist in Rochester among sharp competition given that the Eastman School of Music, like the medical school, was a part of the University. He was hired immediately and began playing for services at the church. There was much sought after vocal talent in town for the churches, and one “diva” sang at the Christian Scientist Church. Tom however, made a serious error by leaving several of his medical school books under the organ where they were eventually discovered. His contact telephone number was, of all places, the Anatomy Department. The call telling him he had been fired came to him there. The following Sunday, a new person sat at the organ in church. The vocalist got up to sing, noted that Tom was not at the organ and said, “I do not sing without Mr. Harter!” Then she sat down. The following Sunday, he was back playing the organ having promised to never ever do anything that would connect him with the medical school. And he was able to continue to finance his education.
    The Bakery Truck
    It was the middle of winter in Rochester, NY. My roommate and I lived in an apartment in the low-rent district. We were first year medical students. It had snowed all night and was terribly cold, below zero, and very windy. My car, parked behind the apartment, would not start and was buried in snow as well.
    So we set out, bundled up, to the main road early in the morning. Of course, everything had been plowed already, Rochester being set up to deal with snow. We were looking for a ride and, sure enough, along came a bakery truck. The driver stopped for us and said that he was going up toward the University but would have to drop us off on the far side of the bridge over the Genesee River so as to keep to his schedule.
    Off we went, warm in the truck for a 3-4 mile ride to a place in sight of the medical school on the other side of the Genesee River. Well, I have been cold before and since but never as badly as while we were crossing that bridge in howling wind and a deep freeze. That evening, having been delivered home by a classmate, we dug my car out, got it running and were good to go for the next day. Winter in Rochester is only a minor