Today I had an appointment at the hospital - just a standard mammography screening, of which I must have had some 15-20 over the past 30 years. The very first time, back when I was 40, I experienced the scare of getting called back afterwards, to also do an ultrasound... Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing. Since then, no repeat of that - but the memory still pops to mind for me every time! I'm in no particular risk group myself, but I have had enough friends suffering from breast cancer over the years (and some dying from it) to not take anything for granted...
When this year I got an appointment for 5 February I was half counting on having to re-schedule because of snow or ice or whatever. But the snow that fell over the weekend melted away again, and today we had sun and blue skies, and temperatures well over 0'C. My appointment was at 13:35 (1:35 pm), and there's a direct (although kind of "roundabout") bus from my part of town all the way to the hospital; so I had no trouble getting there. I even kind of enjoyed the bus ride as it took me along some streets/roads I don't see very often nowadays - but used to see all the more of during the years when the hospital was also my place of work! (I worked as medical secretary for a number of years.)
The photo above shows the main entrance. Just about the first thing I saw when I got inside was a couple of very oddly dressed characters... And what on earth were they doing??
Clowns blowing soap bubbles - and catching the attention of a small boy. :)
I have heard of hospital clowns, but I don't think I've seen any live in action before. Wikipedia has an article entitled Clown Care and it seems that this is something practiced world-wide now.
They parody the hospital routine to help children adapt to their surroundings, they also distract from and demystify painful or frightening procedures. The atmosphere of fun and laughter can help children forget about the illness and the stress for a moment. - Research on the physiological health benefits of laughter has been conducted for decades and continues to be carried out by medical physicians internationally. There is also a growing group of researchers that are exploring the psychological benefits of laughter, and specifically the work of Clown-Doctors. [Wikipedia]
Can't say I've ever been a really huge fan of clowns (or circus) myself, but this little boy did seem to enjoy the sudden appearance of bubbles, anyway.
A little while later, in a corridor on the floor above, I also saw the same little boy drawn to this playful zebra sculpture. Whatever else he was there for, I hope the bubbles and the zebra served as good distractions. :) (In a way, I suppose they did even for me!!)
My own examination was as usual no "fun", but it was over very quickly; and then I was free to leave. I ended up taking a different bus downhill to the city centre, and then walked the rest of the way home from there. (All in all I wasn't away from home for more than a couple of hours.)
I like clowns, and this reminds me of Patch Adams, who would give out red clown noses to children in hospitals. Great movie also with Robin Williams. But somehow the popular correctness has delegated clowns to scary people who might do you harm. That's probably because some did. But hey, the majority didn't and did give good laughs! I have decided to not undergo any more mammos, nor colonoscopies. If those parts get diseased, so be it. I'm focusing on parts that I know need attention already, and that's quite a few!!
ReplyDeletemany people are afraid of clowns, but the way these clowns are dressed, like nurses and doctors, looks like fun. and bubbles are always fun.. We often talk about our health should be really good because Beau makes us laugh many times a day.. every day.
ReplyDeleteglad you had an outing, not fun but only for a few minutes and a ride and a walk sounds good to me... I noticed over the past 50 years of mamos, they have gotten easier than the first years were, still NO FUN but not the pain of the old ones
Love the zebra. Hospitals can be so scary for children, so I'm glad they are doing their part to help. I like the zebra. I got called back for another mammogram once. Had to wait over the Thanksgiving holiday to get the results! Will you get a call or a letter with the results?
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