no such thing as "i'm fine, thank you" anymore!

dunno why but had a lot of "not that great" or "sorta getting better" in response to "como estas?" today.

-one patient responded with "my brother was just killed in a car accident and my cousin was shot to death last weekend." a drunk driver ran into her uncle's car somewhere in jersey, killing her brother and leaving her uncle in critical condition. her cousin was shot five times in his apartment building by two 14-year olds in the projects of new york. one of them was caught and the police are still looking for the other one, who happens to be the nephew of her cousin's baby's mama. i hear the term 'baby's mama' way too often here!

-another with "my mother just had part of her lung removed because her breast cancer spread to her lung"

-my coworker was a little stressed because she will soon have her uncle move in with her and her family. her uncle was just released from prison after 25 years. he has cancer and liver problems. he is currently in a halfway home, where they do not provide meals. so, she must leave work early to pick up food for him before visiting hours are closed.

meanwhile we still laugh a lot all day long.

-last patient of the day had a huge hickey on her neck. but i always need to ask about anything unusual. so in the most casual way possible, "is everything okay right here?" pointing to the lesion. responded by, "oh yeah! i know i'm an old hag, but my boyfriend gave me a hickey."

aiya.