Good Friday

I should have known it was going to be an unusual day when it began snowing while I drove to work. Last week people were wearing shorts and sandals. Spring flowers were in full bloom. And now it was snowing. Odd weather throws people off. Long weekends are also unsettling.

One patient of mine had called the office requesting an earlier appointment that day. We played phone tag for a while. I was waiting for her to call back when one of my colleague's patients called in a panic. I calmed her down as best as possible. I reassured her she was in good hands and left a note for her analyst. When I finally got through to my patient's home, her husband answered the phone. There was great relief in his voice when heard it was me calling. I had space for her to come in early.

When this woman came in, she spilled out a heartbreaking story about the accidental death of her oldest daughter's classmate the day before. Seeing as this happened in another community, this was the first I'd heard of it. It was a some kind of bike accident. The dead child was 12. Yesterday was the first time I had occasion to lend out my copy of the book When a Friend Dies.

An hour or so later, there's a phone call from another patient who I've been treating for many years. She is hysterical. She developed a temporary blind area in one eye and her preschooler was throwing up. She feared something was making her child sick. I gave her the appointment time that was open because of the rescheduling of the first patient. During the hour, I find out that her eye doctor thought she'd had what is called an ocular migraine. I also learned (as I had suspected) that she'd been horribly constipated for the past two weeks and had been straining on the pot. Years ago she'd consulted me because of her debilitating headaches. Once she started drinking plenty of water, eating high fiber cereal, eating a banana a day and walking regularly, a life time of constipation induced headaches vanished. Once she knew what she needed to do to avoid any more scary trips to the eye doctor, we talked about her worries concerning her kid. It turned out the tot got a tummy ache and puked after a visit to Grandma's. Well, dear old Grandma forgot that it's not wise to give little people too many treats and had stuffed the kid full of Easter candy before sending him home.The only thing making the kid sick was an over-indulgent Grandma. One more mother reassured and settled down.

Last patient came in. Actually it was only one half of a couple I've been treating for a while.Things had been really weird between them this past week. I couldn't quite pinpoint the problem. It seems the tension has been building for a couple days. On top of this, she told me, that yesterday her step-son got the news that his friend and classmate was killed in a bike accident when he was at her house. It was the same tragic story rocking yet another family. Everything she talked about and even her dreams had to do with dead children. It was death, death and more death. It was her dream that helped me to understand. It was a very complex multi-layered dream which brought up a really terrifying time, three Aprils ago when the doctors informed her that her tiny infant daughter would have to have open heart surgery. There's a lot more there, but I believe we did the work we needed to do last night.

Then I drove home through more snow flurries. Hubster greeted me with the happy news that oldest daughter got the new job that she really wanted. It will be a good opportunity for her...room to advance, a stimulating environment and lots of great benefits. It was a hard day, yet a productive one and it ended with some truly wonderful news. It really was a good Friday, yes it was.