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Original poster

What things do you find strange? Or unusual to you?

44 replies

cindylawless · 04/02/2023 19:40

For example, I had an oral surgeon take my tooth out recently. I felt all sad leaving, wondering how she copes knowing she will never know how I am or how life is for me. When I left that building it would be goodbye forever

Similarly, my DS is under Great Ormond street and has had the same consultant for 6 years. When he eventually turns 17? He will be discharged from their care and he will never see him again. How do these doctors cope? Must be so weird seeing someone every 6 months for years and then nothing

What things do you find unusual or strange?

OP posts:
Itisbetter · 05/02/2023 01:36

I think about our consultant for the dc and we will age out in a few weeks. I feel a deep gratitude for all they’ve done and will be sad not to see them anymore. So many small and large kindnesses and so much hard to hear straight talking. I don’t expect them to miss us or remember us particularly though.

Eyerollcentral · 05/02/2023 02:00

cindylawless · 04/02/2023 19:55

My son would've seen the same consultant for 16 years by the time he's done

But anyway, I have senior school teachers I'm friends with on Twitter :) they do know how I'm doing, and would speak to me if we passed in the street

Show quote history

The previous poster is right. You are completely egocentric. I’m so sorry your son has a condition that requires consultant supervision, but you do realise that consultant and your dentist have hundreds, if not thousands, of people under their care. That’s not to say they don’t care, but as a professional in a person facing role myself I can tell you they aren’t thinking about you outside their job and you should not underestimate how weird it is that you think they would.

Oopswediditagain2023 · 05/02/2023 02:04

My friend's mum works with children to 16 as a specialist nurse. She sees them all the time, often from them being tiny babies all the way through to being 16 and she still keeps in touch with some!

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General health
Someo · 05/02/2023 02:09

My sisters consultant sent her a guide to Amsterdam after her surgery. She was turning 18 and going away after having reconstructive surgery for cancer. He was bloody lovely.

AllOutofEverything · 05/02/2023 02:10

I used to be a nursery nurse. There are young adults walking around who I spent five days a week with for a few years who now would not know who I was. I saw a local paper story about two twins I cared for, a happy story when they were 18. I spent 3 years with them and know things about their very early childhood they will not remember and yet they would not know who I was if I did meet them. It feels kind of strange.

PleaseCleanTheWholeToilet · 05/02/2023 02:11

Spent alot of my childhood in hospital

Years later as a young adult, The nurse who always looked after me spotted me and knew me by name
I didnt have a clue who she was

mondaytosunday · 05/02/2023 02:17

My father was a doctor and my sister is now. She is a psychiatrist and works partially in a long term facility.
Not to burst your bubble, but really out of sight out of mind. I'm sure they do occasionally have a patient they come to care a bit for, but they wouldn't be able to do their jobs if they spent their time missing people. Teachers can be different. For one thing they spend much more time with students, daily in the case of junior school, and watch them grow and develop. But doctors may see patients as their particular illness, not so much as 'Johnny who has cancer' as 'cancer patient Johnny', if you see the difference.
I doubt your surgeon will remember you at all a few weeks later. She probably removed or treated a dozen people that same day.

airfryerandelectricblanket · 05/02/2023 02:18

A friend has a restaurant in a tourist resort abroad.

She has lots of customers each year and some will come in a number of times during their holiday.

She's had a few who have contacted her to say they were coming back out again on holiday and couldn't wait to see her when they got there.

My friend would always reply saying she was really looking forward to seeing them too, but realistically she no idea who she was messaging! She just hoped she recognised them when they walked back into the restaurant.

She said she literally has thousands of customers a year!!!!

SpittinKitten · 05/02/2023 02:20

I was a v prem baby; a nurse from my special care unit sent me a birthday card until I was at least 18.

Trez1510 · 05/02/2023 02:37

I know medical professionals remember me. Not because I'm special, but because my condition was out of the ordinary. (For reference: I'm someone who is one of less than 10 recorded cases (worldwide) with my condition.)

They have written medical journals about my condition etc. so they will, no doubt, remember my name, my scan images, the trials/errors/tribulations involved in reaching a solution (which they did!), they will definitely remember my face, but they won't remember 'me' as a person.

I would imagine most medical professionals only really recall specific patients if the patient was their first [insert condition], their condition/case was extremely rare or there were traumatic events surrounding the condition e.g. first ever premature baby, first ever cancer diagnosis etc.

Beyond that, we are, rightly, CHI numbers or merely the worst case of [insert condition] they have ever encountered. 👍

YesIReallyDoLikeRootBeer · 05/02/2023 02:52

ErrolTheDragon · 04/02/2023 19:53

That's a pretty egocentric idea tbh.
Just imagine being a teacher, do you expect them to think about the hundreds of pupils who pass through their classroom?

I find it strange to think that you believe teachers DONT think about their former students. I work with Special Ed kids. They are in my room for 3 years. I think about my former students all the time. I'm always very happy when I happen to run into one of them in later years.

ManAboutTown · 05/02/2023 04:11

A bit different - but leaving places you've lived for a long time. My last three were for 3,8 and 16 years and it was weird knowing you would never go into that place again.

Never bothered me with shorter term lets

frazzled101 · 05/02/2023 05:30

I was in hospital last year for 8 days and 4 of the patients on the ward were there for my entire stay.

We knew each others medical problems, overheard each others calls to family, there was no visitors allowed. They saw me leave the ward for surgery and return.

I often wonder how they are now. 2 of them were very old and unwell and I wonder if they're still alive.

AnnoyedFromSlough · 05/02/2023 05:38

cindylawless · 04/02/2023 19:40

For example, I had an oral surgeon take my tooth out recently. I felt all sad leaving, wondering how she copes knowing she will never know how I am or how life is for me. When I left that building it would be goodbye forever

Similarly, my DS is under Great Ormond street and has had the same consultant for 6 years. When he eventually turns 17? He will be discharged from their care and he will never see him again. How do these doctors cope? Must be so weird seeing someone every 6 months for years and then nothing

What things do you find unusual or strange?

Op, do you find it odd that you will never know how your oral surgeon is doing? Honestly, they will have a bigger impact on your life than you will on theirs. They are probably the only oral surgeon you will have in a hopefully fairly long period of time. You will be one of several just that day.

Trez1510 · 05/02/2023 09:42

frazzled101 · 05/02/2023 05:30

I was in hospital last year for 8 days and 4 of the patients on the ward were there for my entire stay.

We knew each others medical problems, overheard each others calls to family, there was no visitors allowed. They saw me leave the ward for surgery and return.

I often wonder how they are now. 2 of them were very old and unwell and I wonder if they're still alive.

Undoubtedly there are people whose paths we cross, and they ours, who will live long in our memories sometimes even out of proportion to the time we spent with them. I think that's normal for most people, and I have a few of my own in my memories.

What the OP was talking about was she thought a medical professional should feel 'something' sadness? regret? because she (the medical professional) will never know what happened to her (the OP) once she left the building.

As others have mentioned that's a bizarre level of egocentric thought i.e. that a very briefly encountered medical professional would need to 'cope' with having no further insight to the OP's life.

Riverlee · 05/02/2023 14:09

Another thing I find strange when you think about it is that everything has been designed, manufactured, sold etc, from the tiniest little screw to a large building. An object isn’t there by chance.

Polakieum · 05/02/2023 16:40

I had an oral surgeon take my tooth out recently. I felt all sad leaving, wondering how she copes knowing she will never know how I am or how life is for me. When I left that building it would be goodbye forever

😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣

Noodlehen · 05/02/2023 22:16

Polakieum · 05/02/2023 16:40

I had an oral surgeon take my tooth out recently. I felt all sad leaving, wondering how she copes knowing she will never know how I am or how life is for me. When I left that building it would be goodbye forever

😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣

why did you requote this I’m dead all over again 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Notellinganyone · 05/02/2023 22:22

MyBloodyMaryneedsmoreTabasco · 05/02/2023 01:23

I don't know what I'd think of as unusual, but just wanted to say: I absolutely do think of children I've taught. I don't remember all of them instantly, I've taught for 25 years, so that's a lot of children. However, I bumped into a parent in the supermarket a few weeks ago and recognised her so asked after her DD and without even thinking said, "Ah, it was her birthday recently wasn't it?" Her DD is now 21 and I taught her in Reception. We do remember.
Sorry for derailing OP!

Me too. I’ve been teaching as long as you have - keep up with some students via Facebook- sometimes they email me out of the blue to let me know how they are doing.

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