@TinyTiger had asked me to post something that changed me within the scope of my experience. That was yesterday's post. It got pretty deep, and I had some strong emotion when I wrote it. Let's go polar opposite.

I will start out by saying what I'm about to tell you actually happened. It is a popular joke among medics, usually told in first person (which makes any joke funnier...just ask Will Hunting). This, however, is absolutely true because of the special nature of my patient.

Partner and I picked up a guy that we had transported several times. He was a terminal cancer patient who I knew had a great sense of humor, but had a hard time letting it out. We had picked him up from the VA hospital in San Antonio for transport back out to Fredericksburg. We had a lot of time together. He was mostly alone, but got family visits from time to time. Anyway, we clicked. I figured out he was a smartass.

So anyway, we were on this long transport, and I needed to record his temperature per the orders I was given. This particular ambulance company that we worked for still had mercury thermometers onboard as a backup to the electric ones. So anyway, I had my chance...

I told my patient I needed to take his temp but my electronic thermometer was malfunctioning, and would he mind if I used the old school thermometer. He said sure. I wiped it and put it under his tongue. Then I looked at the case and made sure he saw a concerned look on my face. I leaned toward the cab window and, very loudly, asked "Hey Partner! Have you seen the rectal thermometer?" With no hesitation, "NO!"

I turned to my patient and asked, "Hey, does that thermometer taste funny?"

The look on his face was priceless, then I broke a smile, then we proceeded to laugh for 20 minutes.

Win. Made him belly laugh for a long time. It was a good day for a guy in a bad situation.