Yesterday my husband had his every six months appointment with the neurologist. It was really cold out and there was no parking, so I had to park in another lot, then we walked about five minutes. My husband was telling me how he had done hours of Yoga, then lunch, which was not "the usual thinly sliced pork", and that there were two new men at The Adult Day Care Center. He said it was a better ratio, although there were still more women than men. I said, "Most guys wouldn't be complaining about that." He laughed and then asked why we were seeing the doctor.
Inwardly, I sighed. Outwardly, I smiled and said, "You like this doctor. He is helpful with your Alzheimer's...and you've been getting more worried at night, afraid you won't wake up in time for work. You've been eating your breakfast at 3am, then waking me up. The doctor will know what to do to help us." He looked at me as the automatic doors swung open, and said, "I remember this place. Should I hang up my coat?"
I had misjudged the driving time, so we were early. So was the doctor, who greeted us, dressed quite casually and rubbing his hands with sanitizer. I commented that between The Day Center, the hospital for my Mom, Pine Acres, and the YMCA, I'd been smelling sanitizer a lot. He said, "I do this about a hundred times a day."
He asked my husband if he'd had any surgery. My husband said no. I said two oral surgeries, but forgot the mastectomy. The doctor said my husband looked healthy, like he'd put on weight. I explained his new breakfast, five days of a big meal in the middle of the day, then supper and ice cream before bed. The doctor was doing his blood pressure and got all excited. Not about the blood pressure, which was normal, but about the ice cream!
He sat down and asked my husband what his favorite flavor was. My husband looked at me and asked nervously if this was a new test. He couldn't remember the name but said, "The green ice cream with chocolate chips in it or whatever she gives me." The doctor started telling us his favorite flavor is coffee and that he only gets it from the college where one of his kids goes, since they have their own cows, dairy, and will pack the ice cream with dry ice after asking how far away you live. He's a trim man and gave the impression that he doesn't eat ice cream every night, but would love to. He got this faraway look, then told us he asks everyone he knows if they're going to Pennsylvania to pick some up for him, so he always has a supply.
It was the weirdest visit. Then he did a few more tests, refilled several prescriptions and rubbed his hands with sanitizer, as he wished us a Happy Thanksgiving. My husband saw several instruments on the exam table and asked if they belonged to us. I said no. As we walked back to the car, my husband said, "That was kinda strange. I guess he really likes coffee ice cream. He made it sound like he sent his kid to that college just so he could get the ice cream. He's probably rich, right?" (I was thinking he was a bit crazy, between the hand sanitizer and the coffee ice cream obsession, but we all have our idiosyncrasies and he is a good doctor, so I just said, "All that talk about ice cream made me hungry and I don't even like ice cream!")